Portland, OR (Sunday, September 3, 2023) – David Malukas (#18 HMD Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports) was the biggest mover of the race in Sunday’s Bitnile.com Grand Prix of Portland as he moved up from his 23rd place on the starting grid to finish eighth.
Started: 23rd
Finished: 8th
- Malukas took advantage of an early caution period to pit for fuel only on Lap 4 of the 110-lap race.
- With cars on different strategies, Malukas made his way up the field and led a couple of laps before heading to pit lane for his second stop of the day on Lap 34.
- He exited pit lane in 17th place and once again moved up to field and returned to pit lane from fourth place on Lap 56.
- Malukas then made his final stop on Lap 83, and having gained overall positions throughout the race thanks to the team’s strategy, he found himself in 11th place once everyone had made their scheduled final stops.
- The sophomore driver gained another couple of positions on Lap 90 to move into 9th and he took over 8th place with three laps remaining.
- So far this season, Malukas has a best starting position of third (Iowa Speedway Race 2) and a best finish of third (World Wide Technology Raceway).
- Next Up: the season ending Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey, Sept 10, 2023 (NBC 2:30pm ET)
David Malukas, #18 Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports Honda
“It was a really good race for us, moving up to eighth place after starting 23rd. We’re not sure what happened in qualifying yesterday, but we knew we could do better today and that the pace was there. We knew if we worked hard in the race that we would get the car where it needed to be, and we came home with a top eight finish. I’m really proud of the Dale Coyne Racing team, it was a really good strategy, and we made some good moves and were the biggest mover in the race and I have to thank the team for that.”