Two things were learned from the first NTT IndyCar Series race at the partially-repaved Iowa Speedway: it was difficult to pass, and some of the best drivers in IndyCar ran into trouble on the .875-mile track.
While Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin took his first-career IndyCar win on an oval, others behind the Thirsty Threes were not so fortunate as their days were ended byeither wrecks or penalties.
The first salvo of trouble wouldn’t take long to fire.
Trouble struck early in turn 2 of lap one as both Juncos-Hollinger racing drivers of Agustin Canapino in the No. 78 and Romain Grosjean in the No. 77 Chevrolets as well as the No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda of Christian Lundgaard were collected by the No. 66 Honda of David Malukas drifting up the track.
Malukas took the blame for the opening lap wreck.
“A rookie mistake from my side,” Malukas told Frontstretch. “I really shouldn’t be doing that at this point in my racing career. I just lost the car. I didn’t anticipate the check up. I ended up just going over the apron. Obviously, first lap tires were cold. That was on me. So, I feel sorry for the guys. That was just really dumb.
“It’s really frustrating. For whole debut race to go back out and first lap to lose it like that, it was really really stupid. So like I said, it’s frustrating. It’s annoying. I want to beat myself up for it.”
Both JHR drivers declined to comment to Frontstretch.
Malukas made his 2024 oval debut on Saturday after missing much of the season’s beginning while recovering from an offseason injury. He raced in 2022 and 2023 full-time with Dale Coyne Racing and was a star at the ovals, most-notably a fourth at Texas Motor Speedway in 2023 and a runner-up result at Gateway in 2022.
For a driver who finished eighth and 12th last year in Corn Country to wreck on the first lap set the tone for many other drivers to have difficult days across the board.
Championship leader Alex Palou fell behind on the first pit stop of the day after stalling for the second consecutive week, sending him to 19th. Palou started to chip away at the competition, as he was one of only few cars that looked capable passing consistently during his fight back to the front.
Unfortunately for the Spaniard, he lost the car on the frontstretch before final pit stops, taking the points leader out and allowing contending drivers with much better…
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