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It’s a big weekend for IndyCar, with Sunday’s race at Nashville Superspeedway taking a big lead from the FIFA World Cup final, but it got off to a scary start thanks to a big crash for Team Penske’s David Malukas that has ruled him out of Saturday’s qualifying session.
Malukas, who is in his first season behind the wheel of the No. 12 Chevrolet, lost the rear end of his car mid-corner and went left-rear-first into the SAFER barrier during Saturday morning practice.
It was a heavy impact that destroyed the rear of Malukas’ car.
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It was apparently the end of Malukas’ training session and he was reported to be “alert, alert and in good spirits.”
Team Penske’s David Malukas suffered a major crash in practice at Nashville Superspeedway that damaged his No. 12 Chevrolet and sent him to the hospital. (Photo by Brandon Badraoui/Lumen via Getty Images)
But a little later, it was revealed that Malukas had been taken to a local hospital for further tests and evaluation.
IndyCar vet Conor Daly has since been asked to take over Malukas’ car for qualifying. However, his status for Saturday night’s practice and Sunday’s race, the Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix, remains unclear.
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Interestingly, Malukas was already set to serve a nine-place grid penalty due to an unsanctioned engine change.
David Malukas will miss the qualifier, with Conor Daly taking his place. The team said that if the car is ready, Daly will use the session to conduct a shakedown run. (Photo by Brandon Badraoui/Lumen via Getty Images)
Now, with the car needing major repairs after the crash if it is to be ready to qualify, Daly’s task will be to carry out a shakedown run to ensure it is ready to run for the rest of the weekend, whoever is in it.
Even after qualifying got underway, the team was still working on putting the car together, with the added consideration that if Daly races in qualifying, he will have to drive the rest of the weekend, even if Malukas is fit enough to return.
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Malukas currently sits fourth in the championship, 66 points behind leader Alex Palou, and has performed well in his first season with one of the series’ leading teams.
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While still chasing his first win, the 24-year-old from Chicago has one pole, five top fives and nine top tens on the year, including a runner-up finish in this year’s Indianapolis 500.
This week, Malukas was one of three drivers—along with Palou and Indy 500 winner Felix Rosenqvist—to visit the White House ahead of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix in Washington, DC.
