Arrow McLaren today announced that the team has released David Malukas for the remainder of the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season due to him being unavailable for the entirety of the season to date, with no confirmed return date, as a result of a left wrist injury, which occurred February 11, in a mountain biking incident.
The team has raced at four events with two different drivers, both who were new to the team following David’s incident and currently race in other series: Callum Ilott and Théo Pourchaire.
David joined the team in September 2023 and was set to race his third NTT INDYCAR SERIES season with Arrow McLaren until this wrist injury sidelined him from races in St. Petersburg, The Thermal Club in Palm Springs, Long Beach and Barber Motorsports Park.
Arrow McLaren is finalizing its driver assignments for the remainder of the 2024 season and will announce confirmations for upcoming races in due course.
David Malukas, Driver, said:
“The past three months have been challenging. I felt privileged to have had the opportunity to drive for Arrow McLaren and regret that it never materialized. I would have loved to have continued representing the team and its partners going forward. They have been good, and I appreciate all they have done for me.
“I’ve done everything possible to speed up the rehab process—treatments, physiotherapy, strength training—but my recovery has taken longer than anticipated. Every injury is different, and every body heals at a different pace. I’ll turn my full attention to getting back to 100 percent and then prove that I am ready and able to compete to win.”
An update- Marshall Pruett reports that Davis Malukas will be out six as his left wrist heals. His first would be Long Beach April 21
Athletes gonna Athlete. Sometimes their need to challenge themselves results in an off-season mishap. Arrow McLaren driver David Malukas fractured his hand in a mountain biking accident and had surgery yesterday. The injury will likely keep him out of next week’s testing and the full grid test at Sebring the last week of February. It may also prevent him from starting the season at St. Pete the weekend of March 8-10.
I think he will be in the car for the season opener. Other drivers have driven with broken hands before. Jimmie Johnson fractured a bone in his hand in a practice crash at Long Beach in 2022 and still drove in the race.
The injury carries a bit more significance for Malukas since this is his first season with Arrow McLaren. The team has shown little tolerance for drivers who don’t meet their standards. Missing the season opener will put Malukas in a difficult spot in the season standings. He will need to win a race to make up for it.
How restrictive can teams be in restricting their drivers’ off-season activities? Many teams don’t allow drivers to race in some other series, and there have been restrictions on things like skydiving in some contracts. Will this incident lead to more restrictive contracts in the future?
I wish David a speedy recovery. He is one of the best interviews in the paddock, and a great guy. I as hoping this would be his breakout season with a strong team. It still may be, but we might have to wait until midseason to see him realize his potential
If last week’s hybrid testing at IMS proved anything, is that the drivers are still uncertain how the new power tool will work during a race, how it will affect fuel mileage, and its effect on tire wear. Two of the drivers participating in the test, Marcus Ericsson and David Malukas, not only need to learn how to work the new hybrid system, but they also have the added burden of getting acquainted with new teams as well.
Ericsson and Malukas spoke to the media after the morning session on Friday.
Both drivers are excited about their new teams, and they are happy to get the opportunity to test so soon.
Ericsson likes that he is going o Andretti as a known quantity, unlike when he joined Ganassi four years ago.
Marcus Ericsson
“I hadn’t really shown what I can do (when joining Ganassi) and then now, coming from being a 500 winner, and then, winning multiple races. I think you can definitely feel that excitement from the organization and the team for me to get there and you know, I’m excited to get to get going and get working. I think, like I said, the potential is really big in the team…”
Ericsson said that the hybrid addition will keep the drivers even busier in the cockpit, but he thinks it will show which drivers really are the best.
“…on an oval you have the weight jacker, you have in front the rear bar and now you have to regen and deploy as well, so it’s getting busier in the cockpits I think that’s the biggest thing. And then we’re still working on you know, different things, which is you know, how much range and how much deploy and all that. There’s still a process that we’re going through that I think is exciting, it’s exciting, but it’s serious. It’s a really cool up here that we’re gonna have, and I’m hoping it’s gonna be a way where you can as a driver be, you know, smarter than your competitors and do it better than your competitors. “
Ericsson is thrilled that he has the opportunity to test with his new team so soon, and he hopes to get to do more testing to help him learn the team and the car.
Malukas was a bit overwhelmed at the wealth of resources he now has available at Arrow Mclaren, and he is excited to take advantage of them.
David Malukas
“I walked in and every quarter I looked around, obviously shining gold and like so many so much stuff. And you know coming in I don’t even know how to use it but thankfully they have you ever good. Everybody’s been super friendly and introducing everything to me. They can get comfortable. And specifically, Tony has been showing me the ropes. Like hey, so this is how you use this resource. This is what I think you should do and it’s really getting me comfortable and getting used to all these sporting resources.”
Like Ericsson, Malukas is excited to get some laps in the car with his new team, and he appreciates their trust in him.
“Yeah, they’re trusting me I can get the feedback and from my side, I just get to do laps and do more and more laps and at the end of the day, the more practice.”
He thinks the hybrid power system is a positive foir the series.
“I find it very good. I’ve you know been enjoying it. You know, it adds more tools for the drivers I feel like it can kind of separate you know, the drivers from the top to that the best to the worst on when it comes to hydroset. It’s another tool that you can time to regen once you deploy setup passes. I think it’s gonna have a bit of a bit of a big play here at the moment.”
Malukas isn’t sure what effect the added weight will have on tire wear. he was hoping they will get more information Friday afternoon.
” I think we’ll see by the end of today. Once we start doing a bit longer runs, being in traffic, seeing how it’s gonna play out but it all depends on when you want to use that extra power. You know, if you want to say the tire, use it on the straight, don’t use it in the corner and then it’s you know, you’re kind of saving the tire.”
There will be some more hybrid testing at different tracks before the end of the year, but testing isn’t racing. The big test will be at St. Pete in the season opener. Until then we have to wait and see.
In one of the biggest non surprises of the week, David Malukas signed a multi year deal to drive for Arrow McLaren. The 22 year old driver will drive car number6, driven the last two seasons by Felix Rosenquist.
Malukas will complete his second year in Indycar Sunday deriving for Dale Cayne Racing with HMD Motorsports. His best finish in the series was a second place at World Wide Technology Raceway in 2022. He finished third at the track in August. Malukas also has several top 5s in the series.
The press release from Arrow McLaren:
“I can’t wait to race in papaya next season”
Arrow McLaren today announced that David Malukas has signed a multiyear deal with the team ahead of the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season.
The 21-year-old American-Lithuanian driver is one of the youngest in the paddock and has shown speed and potential over his first two seasons in the series with two podium finishes for Dale Coyne Racing with HMD.
David, a multi-time karting champion, came to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES through INDY NXT, where he finished second in 2021 with a series record of 16 podiums.
David will join Arrow McLaren drivers Pato O’Ward and Alexander Rossi in the team’s lineup and will race the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet for team partners NTT DATA, onsemi and SmartStop.
David Malukas, 2024 Arrow McLaren Driver, said:
“I can’t wait to race in papaya next season. Arrow McLaren has been a threat to the top contenders all season long, and I’m excited to join the team and see what their Chevrolets can do. Pato and Alexander both know what it takes to win, so it will be fun racing alongside them and learning from them as well.”
Gavin Ward, Racing Director, Arrow McLaren:
“We’ve been extremely impressed with how quickly David has gotten up to speed in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. At 21, he’s already one of the strongest oval racers in the field and his competitiveness on road and street courses has been steadily improving. That speed combined with an excellent attitude and work ethic makes us thrilled to have him join the team.”
Zak Brown, CEO, McLaren Racing:
“David is an up and comer in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, and based on what we’ve seen from him so far in his first two seasons, I’m confident there’s a lot of talent we can extract from him through the resources we have at Arrow McLaren. Beyond what he can do on a racetrack, he’s got a great personality and we’re excited to welcome him to the McLaren Racing family.”
David Malukas had his best race of 2022 at Weather Tech Raceway, finishing second to Josef Newgarden. He is excited to return to the track and expects another good result.
“Things are looking up for Gateway, but it’s also a little bit of pressure being put down because it was a really good performance last year, so you have to come in and try to replicate it,” the Dale Coyne Racing with HMD said in a media conference yesterday. “Either way, though, I’m very excited. I think we have a good opportunity to do something.”
Malukas also touched on his 2024 plans, saying the Marcus Ericsson signing with Andretti earlier in the day does not affect his plans at all. He is very confident of where he will be next season, although he gave no hints.
Much of the discussion centered around the introduction of an alternate tire for the race, the first time Indycar will use an alternate tire on an oval. Malukas thinks it is a good idea and will add to the race.
“…overall I think it’s going to be good just to add kind of more flavor to the racing with the strategy with different tires. But I don’t really know how it’s going to be. I don’t know if the dropoff is going to be massive, but you would expect it to be a little bit more than the primaries. Overall, I don’t know, I think it’s going to be a good addition, I think, just more chaos in the race.”
I asked him if he would like to see alternate tires at all the ovals. ” Yeah, I mean, I think it really depends on how it’s going to end up — how the race is going to go. That’s going to be a really good question for afterwards. Just going into it, not knowing how it’s going to be, I don’t know how it wouldn’t be a good thing. It’s going to add more variety to the strategy and more opportunities for everybody within the field to get an opportunity to try to make the jump and be in the front by the end of it. As of right now, I think it should be, and I think it would be a really good addition. But then again, who knows. Maybe it will affect things in the wrong way and it won’t be a good result, but I think it will be.” Malukas also thinks the different tire strategy could possibly make this particular race less of a fuel saving race, whuich the last couple of Gateway races have turned into. ” Yeah. I mean, quite possibly, yeah. It really just depends on how long the alternates will be able to last. If they have a massive dropoff, then most likely, yeah, you probably don’t need to do a fuel save, if everybody need to do that extra stop. But yeah, I don’t know. It’s something to see or if it’s going to add more variety if the tires do start trying to fall off quicker, then are people going to try to stay out and maybe try to make them last and have a bigger differential from people on new tires and old tires and then have an experience where it’s a bit like Iowa where the lap-per-lap distance is actually a few seconds quicker. I don’t know. It’s something that we’ll add — maybe it’ll add more of that possibility of not being a fuel-save race.”
The Bommarito Automotive Group 500 is Sunday at 3:30 pm Eastern on NBC and Peacock.
Today is the first in a series of preview articles as we head into the 2023 NTT Indycar Series season. Let’s take a look at four drivers who I think are going to have much improved years. Three are rookies from last year, and one young veteran I think is about to hit his stride. We will also look at some drivers who may be fighting for their jobs this year.
Drivers to Watch
Kyle Kirkwood
Kirkwood seems to be enjoying his new team. he has been quick in testing, as have his Andretti teammates. What remains to be seen is if his racecraft has improved. Last year Kirkwood sometimes tried too hard to overcome equipment deficits. the result was a lot of unforced errors and a 24th place finish in the final standings. He has the equipment and the team behind him to succeed this year. i expect to see a lot of the Kirkwood we saw on the Road to Indy in 2023. Will he win a race? I think that is possible, but not likely this season.
Christian Lundgaard
Lundgaard quietly earned Rookie of the Year in 2022, and showed steady improvement as the season went on. He earned seven Top 10 finishes, including two Top Fives and one podium. A year’s experience, backing by Hy-Vee, and an improving RLLteam should combine to see even better results for Lundgaard in 2023. I see him ending up in the TopTen at the end of the year.
David Malukas
A rough start to 2022 probably cost Malukas the Rookie of the Year title. He lost to Lundgaard by only 18 points. A driver who showed increasing maturity as the year progressed, Malukas drive to a brilliant second place at World Wide Technology Raceway. Malukas had one other top 10, at Iowa. He was the highest finishing rookie at the Indianapolis 500, but his lack of NASCAR titles cost him Indy Rookie of the Year. Of the three sophomores, I think Malukas is the most probable to eke out a win in 2023. Dale Coyne Racing doesn’t have the best equipment, but they know how to play the rules, and I think a race will fall his way.
Rinus VeeKay
It’s time for Rinus to stop teasing us. The potential is there for a breakout season. We have been waiting for the ECR driver to put together a solid, consistent season. VeeKay won the pole at Barber and finished third after a slow out lap following his second pit stop. He had a decent year in 2022 with six Top Tens and three Top Fives, but just one podium. Maybe we expect too much of VeeKay. I look for a top ten season finish and more regular top five appearances. A win is possible.
Hot Seats
Three drivers need to have really good seasons if they wish to stay in Indycar in 2024. One will be leaving his current team after the season, and this year is an audition for all the other teams. The other two have to show significant improvement in 2023.
Jack Harvey
We still aren’t sure what kind of a driver Jack Harvey is. Harvey had just one Top ten in 2022. That will not be good enough this coming season., I hoped for better results since he joined the series. For 2023, a different sponsor, different car number, and new crew may help Harvey rise to the level that fans have expected of him. I’m not expecting a win, but a final spot in the top 15 would be a significant improvement.
Romain Grosjean
I don’t know Grosjean’s contract status, but I thought when he joined Andretti, he would be a consistent contender for podiums and wins, 2022 was not a good year for Andretti overall, but I thought the former F1 driver would enhance their program. It didn’t happen. Grosjean has been quick in testing during the preseason, and he seems to feel the team has a better baseline heading into 2023. A win is possible, but more top five and top ten finishes are needed.
Felix Rosenqvist
Rosenqvist will depart Arrow McLaren at the end of 2023. In 2022,he had to fight to keep his job, and he showed himself to be up to the task. In 2023 his objective si to show the other teams that he belongs in Indycar. I think he does, and I have no doubt Rosenqvist will show well this season. A win will be tough given his teammates and the competition from other teams,but look for Rosenqvist to have a deal in place with a new team for 2024 before the season ends.
Just when you thought Silly Season was over, the NTT Indycar Series grid for 2023 became both clearer and cloudier in the last week.
Devlin DeFrancesco will stay in the 29 car for Andretti Autosport in 2023. He has had a somewhat uneven season, but DeFrancesco has qualified well in several of recent races. He started ninth at Gateway
Colton Herta
Formula 1 rumors have again risen around Colton Herta. Red Bull has made inquiries about his filling one of the Alpha Tauri seats which may soon be vacant. Herta is still shy of the required 40 points for an F1 super license. My guess is he is back in the 26 for one more year. Herta would likely be a reserve driver in F1 in 2023.
The Newest Hottest Driver
I thought it was a foregone conclusion that David Malukas would be back with dale Coyne Racing next year. The rookie has begun to get notice from other teams, and his second place at gateway two weeks ago really cranked up the free agent buzz.
David Malukas
There seems to be great interest from Chip Ganassi Racing, which could have as many as two openings in 2023, depending on the Alex Palou situation with McLaren, and whether Jimmie Johnson returns with Carvana.
This puzzle may not be resolved for awhile. My fear is that Malukas may end up the odd man out. That would be a huge mistake for the series.
Where Do Indy Lights Drivers Fit?
Linus Lundqvist will most likely win the Indy lights championship and have three Indycar races, including the Indianapolis 500, guaranteed. If Malukas moves to Ganassi, could Lundqvist move into the seat at Coyne?
Matthew Brabham and Hunter McElrea are also seeking Indycar rides. Ernie Francis, Jr. may also be looking to move up, at least for the 500.
Indycar in2023 will have the usual problem of too many drivers seeking too few seats. The grid is expected to expand next season, but the driver situation will only improve when the elusive third OEM appears.
There is nothing like an impending rain storm to liven up what began as a pretty dull race. The processional fuel saving start began to get intriguing when some cars began pitting around lap 51. The Coyne cars of Takuma Sato and David Malukas were among the early stoppers. Both had time leading. the race. As it turned out, Malukas was the eventual beneficiary of track position when the race resumed.
Forty laps of racing under the lights is nice for a sprint or midget feature. Indycar needs to seriously consider returning the non Indy ovals to night races. I don’t care if they can only be on Peacock. As I watched the Silver Crown cars Friday night under the lights, the feeling was bittersweet that Indycar would run in daylight the following day.
As Scott Mclaughlin mentioned after the race, the handling of the cars changes as the sun goes down and the track cools. This phenomenon is what makes night races more intriguing.
Outshining the Winner
The 2005 Indianapolis 500 saw Danica Patrick beco9me the first woman to lead the 500 . She eventually finished fourth. After the race race, and in the weeks following, if you weren’t paying attention, you wouldn’t knwo Dan wheldon actually won the race.
Saturday night was a bit like that. Second place David Malukas seemed to be the center of attention, while winner Josef Newgarden was the second biggest story. I am okay with this. Malukas has matured steadily throughout the season. he has been quick on ovals, and his road course game has improved tremendously.
It will be a while before the grin leaves David Malukas’ face.
To see him hunt down and pass Mclaughlin and nearly catch Newgarden was one of the highlights of the season.
Speculation has begun about where Malukas will race next year. Some say he will replace Alex Palou at Ganassi. I’m sure he got a call from Mclaren after the race.
Points Race Gets Even Tighter
I thought this race would shake up the points race, but only a couple positions switched and there are four drivers still with a realistic shot at the title.
Will Power holds a three point lead over Newgarden. His lead is basically the bonus points he earned for Saturday’s race. Scott Dixon is only 14 points behind. He has come back from farther than that to win with two races left.
Notes
I watched the first few laps of the race last night and I was surprised at the sparse grandstand crowd. Weather may have made some decide to stay home, but I wonder if the NASCAR race in June may have affected attendance as well. When tracks force people to decide which major event to attend, Indycar seems to take the hit. The promoters need to do a better job promoting all their bug events equally.
I have said this before, but I think it is time for Ed Carpenter to become an Indy only only driver for a couple more years. Carpenter has had a dismal season. His average finish in five races this season was 19.2 with a best of 13th. His third car could be the avenue for Paretta Autosport to have a full time entry in 2023.
The pits at night take on a kind of state fair atmosphere. It definitely has a different vibe after dark.
I watched the restart from a spot in the infield. I have never been as close to cars during a race as I was when the race resumed. The sound and the vibrations were overwhelming. Cars zipped by like I was using fast forward on my remote. I may have to be at this spot for the start next year.
Thanks for following my coverage this past weekend. Later this week, i will examine the points chase in more depth.
The eighteenth Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg began late this morning with a gala luncheon. Drivers from each of the series racing on the downtown streets were present. Mayor Ken Welch, who will serve as the race’s Grand Marshall, welcomed everyone. The race expects a record crowd for the three day long event.
St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch
The drivers each gave brief remarks.
I chatted with Takuma Sato, David Malukas, and Kyle Kirkwood.
Sato is enjoying his new team, Dale Coyne Racing.
Takuma Sato
“I love it. Right obviously you know some nervousness but it’s a lot of excitement in a new team new boys engineers and you know, I’m happily settling. So very, very good.”
About his rookie teammate, Sato said,
“…he’s obviously the one of the upcoming young drivers, is very bright and cheerful and he’s been quick to learn so I think we have a really good opportunity to work together.”
Sato is excited for this weekend, but thinks there are a lot of unknowns.
“Well, I would say you know, re are little unknown factors but yeah, that’s how it is and in particular for the first practice for the day.”
David Malukas
Sato’s teammate, David Malukas is eager to begin his Indycar career. He ha d a lot of praise for Sato, who was on his radio during the first test day at Sebring.
“Sebring was great. I mean, the first day was amazing, I think we ended up being like P two on the time. It’s like I was always surprised. Second day, we tried many different changes, because the whole goal we’re not winning Sebring. We didn’t want to chase the car to try to get ready for today. And we found some pluses somewhere like confusing, but in the end we were exactly right. After three months off, I was like really impressed with the car. I was like, What do I do? Takuma has been a big help. Oh, of course. I mean, he has so much expertise and he helped me so incredibly. Like he helped me so much the first day; he didn’t actually drive so like he had the headset on and he was talking to me telling me some information like what I should do. He’s awesome. He’s so friendly.”
Malukas is concerned about pit stops and driving on the alternate tires. About the red tires, he said,
“So I hear rumors. I heard some rumors that like actually sometimes the car’s slower with it because it’s so much grip and it’s so hard that they don’t want you to stand on it, I don’t know. Hopefully we could see like, I mean, there’s a big jump with it. Hopefully we can figure it out and hope like I still hold on to the wheel. Because I heard it gets even heavier.”
Pit stops are totally new to Malukas, but he thinks the walls and the limiter may help him.
“Oh, that’s still very new to me. We did some practice and man I’m not gonna lie I was pretty bad. Takuma did it like perfectly every time so that’s gonna be, I think, the hard part for me is getting it right. I’ve never done that my whole life. So we’ll see how it goes. I think now you know that I like an actual wall and there’s people everywhere. I think it’d be a bit easier because you know, at Sebring we’re trying to simulate a situation with tires, everything and it just wasn’t good. So we’ll see.”
Kyle Kirkwood
Kyle Kirkwood is happy with how testing went last week and appreciates the help he has received from his A. J. Foyt Racing teammates, Dalton Kellett and Tatiana Calderon.
“Dalton has obviously a wealth of knowledge as well as engineering capabilities and Tatiana hsa a lot of experience. She n a lot of different cars, so there’s a lot of things that she’s been able to add to the team that are just like I’ve never really thought to do that.”
Kirkwood is uncertain how the alternate tires will perform.
“They changed this weekend. I don’t know what’s gonna happen. I think from my knowledge, looking at the seat they’re gonna be quicker but they’re going to go away faster. I don’t know what made you know, I’ll let you know I’ve never driven on red tire so that’s what I was wondering. Yeah, anticipation. I’ll let you know after the first practice.”
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 