David Malukas Stays on Upswing with Fast Qualifying Performance
INDYCAR
David Malukas is on the move in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.
The 24-year-old driver piloting the No. 4 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet for A.J. Foyt Enterprises entered this hectic Month of May in the 18th position in the season standings. Three races later, he is 10th – and charging.
Malukas earned the second starting spot for Sunday's Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear, which is where he stood after the official results of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge were posted. Clearly, the Chicago native has momentum.
'We're starting off (in Detroit) where we finished (in Indianapolis),' Malukas said, smiling. 'We're still in that (second spot), but that's a really good (qualifying) session. As soon as we unloaded the car, we knew we were (going to) have a good run.
'I've just been really happy.'
Malukas felt he had a car quick enough to beat Colton Herta, the driver of the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of Andretti Global w/Curb-Agajanian who won the 15th pole of his career, but Herta edged him by .1713 of a second over the nine-turn, 1.645-mile downtown street circuit. Malukas said 'just a few tweaks' to the car's setup likely would have made a difference for him to swap positions with Herta.
Malukas did outqualify Andretti Global's Kyle Kirkwood, who edged him for the INDY NXT by Firestone championship in 2021. Kirkwood won 10 of the 20 races that season; Malukas won seven, Linus Lundqvist three. Kirkwood will start third in Sunday's race in the No. 27 Siemens AWS Honda.
Malukas still doesn't have a pole in his 51 events in this series, although this will be the third time he has started a race from the second position. The other two front-row starts came last year on oval tracks – World Wide Technology Raceway and the Milwaukee Mile – while driving for Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian.
This was Malukas' first appearance in the Firestone Fast Six qualifying round since earning the sixth starting position in last year's Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto. He finished sixth in that race.
Malukas said this momentum has been building for some time as he and the Foyt crew have gotten to know one another in their first season together. Specifically, Malukas singled out the recent tips he has received from Derek Miller, one of Chevrolet's trackside engineers.
'I think having that whole month (in Indianapolis), being with the (team) guys, understanding what we want (out of the car setup),' Malukas said of the reason for the competitive rise. 'Having Clarience Technologies on board with us – those guys have been ecstatic. I think the mood has really lifted us up, and we can see this momentum carrying (on).
'Man, what a good car, what a good group of guys here, what a good run here.'
Malukas also doesn't have a race win in this series, although as with pole pursuits, he has been close. His best result was a second-place finish in the 2022 race at World Wide Technology Raceway when he split a pair of Team Penske drivers in a late-race shootout. Josef Newgarden scored his third consecutive win in the event that year.
Sunday might offer Malukas' best chance to break through and become a race winner in this series. He is extremely fond of this circuit, although a 23rd-place finish in the 2023 race is his only start on it.
'Man, it's just so technical,' he said. 'It's something that I love, and I think (Saturday's) cooler temperatures are something that I've always been suited to ever since go-karting as a little kid. Yeah, everything kind of lined up for us today.'
It's worth noting that Malukas' first appearance in a Firestone Fast Six round came on Detroit's Belle Isle circuit in 2022. He qualified sixth that afternoon for Dale Coyne Racing w/HMD Motorsports. He likes the mojo of the Motor City, which could be just the lift he needs to win the 100-lap race (12:30 p.m. ET, FOX, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).
'That was kind of the first big transition for me, knowing that I actually had a strong opportunity to be quick and get good results here in INDYCAR,' he said. 'So, Detroit is my turnaround (event).'
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Indianapolis Star
20 minutes ago
- Indianapolis Star
'We should beat him': Kyle Kirkwood's win gives Andretti Global confidence it can beat Alex Palou
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And so when Kirkwood was asked whether his strategist Bryan Herta told the eventual Detroit Grand Prix race-winner over the radio that Palou had crashed out of Sunday's action on a Lap 72 restart — to no fault of the Ganassi driver's own — Kirkwood began to smile, as he said, 'No he didn't, but I knew it.' 'I shouldn't be smiling thinking that, but I knew that he crashed, and I knew we needed to capitalize on some points today, given the outcome for him,' Kirkwood continued. 'I feel bad for him, but this also does help us a lot with the points.' For weeks, if not months, Palou's rivals had been trying their darndest to speak into the existence of Palou's IndyCar reign — frankly not knowing what else to do as the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 10 team, led by lead engineer Julian Robertson, crew chief Ricky Davis and strategist Barry Wanser, made the right calls at every turn, executed flawless pit stops at every opportunity and engineered a speedy race car at all sorts of circuits — all with a three-time series champion in the cockpit to boot. And yet, as Palou learned the hard way during his first championship run at World Wide Technology Raceway, sometimes chaos can creep up behind you and tag you at a moment's notice with a simple lock of a trailing car's tires. 'Time will tell. You don't know if this run ends this weekend or next weekend or the weekend after. You have no idea,' fourth-place championship challenger Christian Lundgaard said Friday in Detroit. 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A race that had featured two instances of loose wheel-induced crashes and a beef-sparking spin was set to restart with just under 30 laps to go, following a caution to clear Callum Ilott's mangled No. 90 Prema Racing Chevy off the track. To their incredibly good fortune, Santino Ferrucci, Kyffin Simpson and Marcus Armstrong had pitted from 15th, 16th and 19th, respectively, just a couple laps before Ilott's day would come to an end, leaving the trio in the catbird seat as the other 22 cars dove into the pits, leaving them suddenly running 1-2-3 on equal strategy to the rest of the field, forced to fend off a hard-charging pack of five cars that had run up at the front virtually the entire day, but instead of first through fifth, now occupied fourth through eighth. 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'It's very unfortunate after an amazing recovery this weekend when we didn't have much pace,' Palou told the Fox broadcast after being released from the infield care center. 'It doesn't feel great, but there's not much we could've done there.' As he cycled around and saw the AMR Safety Team trucks flanking the yellow and red machine of the championship leader, Kirkwood said he didn't so much change his focus, but he realized this even deeper: 'I need to win this race," he said. 'I'd known that anywhere we ended up toward the front that we were going to have a good points day, and that was going to help us a lot.' Notably, O'Ward, Lundgaard (fourth in the championship, eighth in Sunday's race) and Felix Rosenqvist (sixth in the championship, 21st in Sunday's race after a late crash) weren't his direct late-race competitors, which made the precise spot Kirkwood finished less of a major hang-up. And yet, IndyCar's proverbial street course king — winner of four of IndyCar's last 11 street races — motored up to the front for what was a relatively comfortable victory by the checkered flag, even after weathering a late-race red flag that bunched back up the field behind Kirkwood with 12 laps to go. 'I'm fine with that,' Kirkwood said, when asked about the importance of both his win and Palou's DNF that handed the championship leader just five points compared to Kirkwood's 53. 'It's super important, but we've got to keep doing it. 'As we know (Palou) can skip out on still a handful more races and be absolutely fine. It's unfortunate for him that he ended up in the wall, but it actually helps us a lot in the championship. It puts us …' And then reality set in for Kirkwood, as he was clarified of the massive undertaking that still lies ahead with 10 races to go. '102 points? 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Indianapolis Star
4 hours ago
- Indianapolis Star
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USA Today
6 hours ago
- USA Today
IndyCar complete results: Kyle Kirkwood wins Detroit Grand Prix after Indy 500 winner Alex Palou crashes out
IndyCar complete results: Kyle Kirkwood wins Detroit Grand Prix after Indy 500 winner Alex Palou crashes out Kyle Kirkwood comes away from the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix with his second IndyCar Series victory of the year after he muscles past three cars late on a damaged wing. Kirkwood started 3rd, though he believes he had the best car and squandered a chance at pole position a day earlier. After the last round of pit stops, he picks off Marcus Armstrong, Kyffin Simpson and Santino Ferrucci on successive laps (76-78 of 100) to take the lead. Post-race, Kirkwood said his damaged wing didn't offer much of a problem. He also won at Long Beach. Ferrucci finishes a career-best 2nd, improving 19 places from his start. Pole-sitter Colton Herta completes the podium. They and 4th-place Will Power battle hard in the closing laps after a red flag as Kirkwood wins by 4+ seconds. Points leader Alex Palou crashes out and finishes 25th, down 20 spots from his start, but he retains a 90-point edge on Pato O'Ward in the season championship. Jinx!: Palou's crashcontinues streak of Indy 500 winner not winning next race Nathan Brown is your best IndyCar follow, and sign up for IndyStar's motorsports newsletter. Kyle Kirkwood Santino Ferrucci Colton Herta Will Power Kyffin Simpson Marcus Armstrong Pato O'Ward Christian Lundgaard Josef Newgarden Alexander Rossi Scott Dixon Scott McLaughlin Marcus Ericsson David Malukas Sting Ray Robb Robert Shwartzman Conor Daly Jacob Abel Nolan Siegel Graham Rahal Felix Rosenqvist Louis Foster Devlin DeFrancesco Christian Rasmussen Alex Palou Callum Ilott Rinus Veekay Lap 90: Santino Ferrucci gets past Will Power for 2nd, but he's 3+ seconds behind Kyle Kirkwood. Colton Herta also passes Power. Lap 89 restart: Kyle Kirkwood leads Will Power by 2 seconds. Lap 83 red flag: Felix Rosenqvist and Louis Foster crash hard. Foster's front suspension fails, he loses control and plows into Rosenqvist. Barrier repair requires a red flag and the cars head to the pits. Lap 78: Kyle Kirkwood gets by Santino Ferrucci for the lead, but Kirkwood has left front wing damage. Lap 77: Kyle Kirkwood muscles by Kyffin Simpson for 2nd, and he stalks leader Santino Ferrucci. Lap 76 restart: Kyle Kirkwood gets by Marcus Armstrong for 3rd place. Lap 72 restart: David Malukas gets into the rear of Alex Palou, ending the points leader's day. Malukas likely faces a penalty. Caution again. Lap 70: Santino Ferrucci, Kyffin Simpson and Marcus Armstrong — who had pitted shortly before the caution — are the top 3 and may have enough fuel to make it to the end. Coming out of the pits, Kyle Kirkwood is 4th, with Will Power, Colton Herta and Alex Palou trailing. Lap 67 caution: Callum Ilott smashes the wall shortly after making a pit stop. Lap 60: Kyle Kirkwood leads, with Will Power, Colton Herta, Alex Palou and David Malukas completing the top 5. They are on hard tires. Pato O'Ward is 6th, but he started 18th and is on soft tires. He wants to make up track position before the soft tires start losing grip. (Just before many of the leaders take pit stops) Kyle Kirkwood Colton Herta Will Power Alex Palou Pato O'Ward Felix Rosenqvist Marcus Armstrong Kyffin Simpson David Malukas Scott Dixon Christian Rasmussen hits a wall after a pit stop but keeps going. Lap 39: Scott Dixon goes the farthest on his first set of hard primary tires before pitting. He had qualified 10th but started 16th after an unapproved engine change coming into the weekend. Lap 33: Graham Rahal needs extensive work on the right rear in the pits. Christian Rasumussen Graham Rahal Louis Foster Marcus Ericsson Scott Dixon Alexander Rossi Robert Shwartzman Kyffin Simpson Sting Ray Robb Josef Newgarden Lap 23 restart: Christian Rasmussen leads Graham Rahal and Louis Foster. Lap 18 restart: Christian Rasmussen leads and Nolan Siegel spins out after getting hit from behind by Scott McLaughlin, who is assessed a drive-through penalty. Devlin DeFrancesco goes off track and loses his right rear tire. Caution. Lap 14, caution: Felix Rosenqvist spins. Laps 11-13: David Malukas, Christian Lundgaard, Kyle Kirkwood and Colton Herta pit to take on hard tires. They will be on a 3-pit stop strategy. Lap 10: The leaders started the race soft tires, and they're slowing rapidly. Colton Herta leads Kyle Kirkwood, with Christian Lundgaard third. Lap 1: Alex Palou moves up for third on the opening lap and David Malukas falls to fifth. Colton Herta keeps the lead. Row 1 1, Colton Herta 2, David Malukas Row 2 3, Kyle Kirkwood 4, Christian Lundgaard Row 3 5, Alex Palou 6, Rinus Veekay Row 4 7, Scott McLaughlin 8, Will Power Row 5 9, Marcus Armstrong 10, Christian Rasmussen Row 6 11, Graham Rahal (had 5th-best qualifying effort) 12, Marcus Ericsson Row 7 13, Louis Foster 14, Felix Rosenqvist Row 8 15, Alexander Rossi 16, Scott Dixon (had 10th-best qualifying result) Row 9 17, Callum Ilott 18, Pato O'Ward Row 10 19, Kyffin Simpson 20, Jacob Abel Row 11 21, Santino Ferrucci 22, Robert Shwartzman Row 12 23, Devlin DeFrancesco 24, Josef Newgarden Row 13 25, Conor Daly 26, Sting Ray Robb Row 14 27, Nolan Siegel Push-to-pass: 150 total seconds, in increments up to 15 seconds. Tire allotment: Five sets of primary tires (six for rookies) and five sets of alternate tires. Teams must use one set of primary tires and one set of new alternate tires for at least two laps in the race. Alex Palou, who has won five of the six races. Kyle Kirkwood has one win. Scott Dixon avoided the crashes and penalties on the tight downtown street course to come away with his 58th career win. From Nathan Brown, IndyStar Picking Alex Palou is so obvious that we're barring him from this portion of the preview for a while. Pato O'Ward sits second and Christian Lundgaard third in points, but they're more than two races' worth of max points behind Palou. Who makes a move in the points standings? Marcus Ericsson would have been 10th in points after crossing the finish line second in the Indianapolis 500, but he stands 20th after his car failed post-race tech inspection. He earned his lone podium finish in 2024 in Detroit, and with a similar performance this weekend, Ericsson makes up a lot of the ground he lost in the championship standings in Indy. Something you didn't see coming: At a track where he started on pole last year, but only finished 19th, Detroit seems like as good a track as any for Colton Herta to find some momentum. He sits just 9th in the championship standings with a single top-5 finish. However, the narrow streets of Detroit can be cruel, and somehow Herta and the No. 26 crew leave with a tough result unbecoming of the traditionally dominant street course program of Andretti Global. (All times ET; all IndyCar sessions are on IndyCar Live, IndyCar Radio and Sirius XM Channel 218) 9:30 a.m.: IndyCar warmup, FS1 10:30 a.m.: Indy NXT race, FS1 12:30 p.m.: IndyCar race, Fox TV: Coverage begins at 12:30 p.m. ET, Sunday, June 1, 2025, on Fox. Green flag is scheduled for 12:47 p.m. Will Buxton is the play-by-play voice, with analysts James Hinchcliffe and Townsend Bell. Kevin Lee and Jack Harvey are the pit reporters. Fox Sports app. Watch free with a Fubo trial IndyCar Nation is on SiriusXM Channel 218, IndyCar Live and the IndyCar Radio Network (check affiliates for each race) Sunday: Sunny, high around 70 degrees. (Team and drivers; *-Indianapolis 500 only)
