Nashville, TN (Sunday, August 7, 2022) – Rookie David Malukas (#18 HMD Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports) was on his way to what could possibly have been his best finish this season but contact with another competitor took him out of the race when he was running seventh in Sunday’s Big Machine Music City Grand Prix.
Started: 7th
Finished: 20th
- Malukas had a great start to the race as he moved into sixth place for the first 10 laps of the 80-lap event.
- While he fell to 12th before heading to pit lane for his first stop on Lap 20, he then made up ground and was running third when a full course caution came out on Lap 26.
- The rookie continued to run strong and was still in third place by the time he made his second stop on Lap 54, under a full course caution.
- Malukas gained a position on his pit stop but with five other cars having stopped a few laps earlier than him, he was running seventh to take the restart.
- His race ended when Kyle Kirkwood dove on the inside of him going into Turn 9 on Lap 65.
- The #18 HMD driver didn’t see Kirkwood and the contact between the two put an end to Malukas’ race.
- He ended up 20th on the results sheet.
- Malukas has a best finish of eighth this season (Race 2 at Iowa Speedway) and a best start of fifth (Toronto).
David Malukas, #18 Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports Honda
“Our race ended up short. It was very unfortunate. Kyle (Kirkwood) came in for a late move. It seemed a bit on the desperate side, and we collided. We weren’t going to make it through the turn. However, before that crash happened, we were having a very good race. We were maybe looking at a podium with the way the strategies were playing out. Who knows what would have happened, but it seemed like we were on the right track. The driving was good, the strategy was good, the pit stops were great, and I think it was going to be our best result as a team this year, but sadly, Nashville is not so forgiving.”