Malukas, McLaughlin left licking their wounds after missing out on Indy 500 win

Team Penske-Chevrolet aces David Malukas and Scott McLaughlin were left licking their wounds after finishing a close second and third in the Indianapolis 500.

“I just don't know what else we could have done,” said David Malukas after finishing runner up in the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500, just 0.0233 seconds behind winner Felix Rosenqvist. “We were driving 150 percent that whole race. The guys did a fantastic job getting the car where it needed to be. We had the fastest car out there that whole race. It was ours to win, and I knew that."

The Team Penske-Chevrolet driver, who was also classified second last year driving for AJ Foyt Racing, took the lead on the eighth and final restart, only to have Rosenqvist’s Meyer Shank-Honda slingshot past on the run to the yard of bricks for the 200th time, and miss out in the closest margin in Indy 500 history. “I've never pushed that hard in my whole life… I don't know how much closer you can get to getting it. So yeah. Now we're even P2 in the championship. It's great, so many seconds.

“But on a high note, this team, everybody from Verizon and the whole crew and even outside the 12 crew, but the 2 car, the 3 car, everybody -- I've been through many different teams, although I'm still young, 2024, from the wrist injury, been to so many different teams, and nobody is like Team Penske. Everybody here is just so closely connected and truly feels like family. Obviously coming from all of that, Roger was one of the first guys to come to me and tell me that he believes in me and told me to keep on pushing.

“Because of him, I can sit here and cry that I'm going for a P2 position. I think that's why it's really emotional for me because I wanted to get a win for this team and just wanted to be written across those history books. Everything happens for a reason. I think there's a reasoning to this. We're going to just use it as more motivation and just keep pushing forward, and someday maybe it'll happen.”

Asked if he was surprised by how much it hurt to miss out, Malukas replied: “Not really, to be honest. I just knew this whole month our car was spectacular, and I knew if we were going to be in a position like that, it was going to hurt. I was just so committed in my mind. I was not nervous, I was not anything on those last few restarts.

“For some reason in my head I felt like, ‘We got this. We're going to get it. And we didn't, by just a few little bits. I think that's why it hurts because in my mind I really thought we were going to win it, and we didn't get that right.

“I think it's when you give yourself a goal and when you don't achieve it, it tends to hurt, and I think that's why it hurts so much.”

McLaughlin, who led only five laps to Malukas’s 30, but who appeared as strong when exchanging the lead with Alex Palou’s Ganassi-Honda, was trying to remain positive about finishing third.

“I'm happy. I went from 10th to third in two laps,” said the 2024 Indy pole-sitter, who crashed out of the 2025 race on the pace laps. “I took the lead there for a little bit, and you're just so draggy out front. I feel for Dave. He's a good kid, and been great around here. I know he's going to be gutted, but he's young and he's going to be just fine.

“Just really happy for my Pennzoil Chevy guys. Probably kept a lid on it a little bit, but the last 365 days have ate at me to come back here, and even on the warmup lap, when I took the green I was like, well, this is good!

“But it's been an emotional month, and just nice to come back and execute. We weren't fast enough in traffic. I really struggled to hold with the 12 [Malukas] and the 10 [Palou] there at the last couple exchanges. So I had to make my hay on the restarts. I was just throwing it in and taking whatever gap I could. I really thought I was never coming out, so it was just nice to guess out of there, no crashing, and yeah, go third.”

McLaughlin admitted that he wasn’t paying attention to Rosenqvist’s battle with Malukas on the run to the line.

“I honestly was looking left to see Pato [O’Ward] and see if I got him on the line. It's quite a bit of money from fifth to third so I was trying to get third! I saw Dave go into Turn 3 and I thought he had it. I'm sorry to say that right now. But Felix was riding the top and I couldn't -- I wasn't really focused on the battle. I was focused on mine. I saw it after the race. It's crazy."