Newton, IA (Sunday, July 23, 2023) – David Malukas (#18 HMD Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports) put in another strong performance on Sunday in the Hy-Vee One Step 250 presented by Gatorade to secure an eighth-place finish.
Started: 3rd
Finished: 8th
- Malukas kept with the leaders in his opening stint of the 250-lap race.
- He entered pit lane on Lap 52 from fifth to make his first stop of the day.
- The #18 HMD driver then took advantage of a full course caution to make his second stop from 8th on Lap 94.
- Malukas elected to make what would be his final stop on Lap 189, with cars on different strategies, he exited pit lane in 19th but quickly started moving back up the field.
- By lap 210 he was back in the top 10 and was running in that position when a full course caution came out on Lap 240.
- The race resumed with three laps remaining and Malukas took advantage of the final shootout to gain a couple of positions and take the checkered flag in eighth place.
- With his eighth place today, Malukas matches his best Iowa Speedway finish.
- So far this season, Malukas has a best starting position of third (Iowa Speedway Race 2) and a best finish of fourth (Texas Motor Speedway).
- Next up: the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix, August 12, 2023, on NBC at Noon ET.
David Malukas, #18 Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports Honda
“We finished eighth today. When you look at where we started in third that kind of hurts, but with the car we had today, we did everything we could, we timed everything well, but we didn’t quite have the same pace as the guys in front of us. Strategy wise, everything was much better today. In the three-lap shoot out at the end we managed to time our runs very well and gained a couple more spots and secure a top ten finish for us. Looking overall, it feels good after this weekend to have two consistent finishes and hopefully it sets us up going into the rest of the season.”