Malukas humbled by Detroit result after strong Indy performances

David Malukas hoped to close May with another impressive run after finishing second at the Indianapolis Grand Prix and second at the Indy 500, but his trip north to the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix left the Team Penske driver with his worst finish of the season after a mistake-filled weekend in Michigan.

An error in qualifying left the No. 12 Chevy broken beyond immediate repair, which forced his Penske crew to prepare a backup car for Malukas to start 25th and last in the 100-lap street race. He made progress in the early going to near the top 20, and by the midpoint in the race, Malukas was running behind injured teammate Josef Newgarden for a long stretch as the pair circulated in 15th and 16th, respectively.

As the various race strategies played out when caution periods arose, Malukas found himself towards the front of the field as the final quarter of the event approached, but a tussle for position with Mick Schumacher in one of the tightest sections of the track ruined their changes as the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver went into the tire barrier and Malukas made use of an escape road with the No. 12 Chevy to avoid further contact.

At the checkered flag, Malukas was credited with 22nd place among the 25 drivers which came with a drop from second in the Drivers’ championship—from 42 points behind Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou after the Indy 500 to 79 down to Palou—to third and 17 back from Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood.

“I’m not going to lie, from start to finish, that was one of my worst performances,” Malukas acknowledged. “Mentally, I need to go back and reset and really deep dive on everything. I feel so bad for the team, Verizon, Chevy, everybody involved and all of the sponsors. That was not a good performance for me.”

The series heads to World Wide Technology Raceway in a few days for a Sunday night race where Malukas and his Team Penske teammates are favorites for a strong showing.

“I need this week to reset,” Malukas said. “Take a deep breath and come back for Gateway.”