By David Morgan, Associate Editor
MADISON, Ill. – David Malukas is a man on a mission.
Since a preseason wrist injury sidelined him and eventually saw him booted from his ride at Arrow McLaren before even turning a lap for them, the 22-year old from Chicago has been working to prove himself in his current home at Meyer Shank Racing after taking over driving duties for the No. 66 Honda.
In the five races since his return to the cockpit, Malukas has been progressively getting better, leading into this weekend’s race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, where Saturday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presents his best opportunity yet.
With an average finish of 2.5 in the two NTT IndyCar Series races he has run at the 1.25-mile oval just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, along with two wins and a podium in his Indy Lights career at the track, Malukas is hoping to be able continue that magic this weekend and finish on the top step of the podium to score his first career IndyCar Series win.
Malukas started practice and qualifying day at Gateway off on the right foot, posting the fast time in the opening practice of the day and followed it up with a top-three qualifying speed, which saw him bumped to the outside of the front row after his teammate, Felix Rosenqvist, served his nine-place grid penalty.
As a result, Malukas is in prime position to strike when the green flag drops on Saturday evening.
“I don’t know why, what it is with this track,” Malukas said. “I wish I knew what made it so special for me and I could just put that on every track, you know? But yeah, I mean, coming into it, as soon as I went out, I just felt like I was right at home. Like, oh man, we’re gonna have some good speed here. I’m gonna run with it even though I don’t know what it is, we’re gonna run with it and try to get that good result.”
He added that while the he and the team had started to build some momentum, having the Olympic break was good for all parties involved to rest and recharge for the final stretch run of the season, especially as he works to get his wrist truly back to 100%.
“It was actually very good for us to rest the hand, now coming after a three-week break is pretty extreme,” Malukas said. “You know, you come back into it and you’re like, do I even know how to drive anymore? You know, left and right. So, it felt a little bit weird getting back into it, but it was good for us, that…
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