Toronto, ON (Sunday, July 16, 2023) – David Malukas (#18 HMD Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports) was on his way to a potential top 10 finish in the Honda Indy Toronto but damage suffered with 15 laps remaining put an end to his run.
Started: 17th
Finished: 20th
- Malukas stayed out of trouble at the start of the race and maintained his 17th place until he made his first pit stop on Lap 17.
- With cars on different strategies, Malukas exited pit lane in 19th place.
- He then climbed his way up the field and was 15th by the time he entered pit lane for his second stop.
- He took advantage of a full course caution to make another stop on Lap 49.
- He once again found himself in 15th after his stop, but Malukas made his way up and was running 11th by Lap 62.
- Unfortunately for the #18 HMD driver, a few taps of the wall throughout the race caused the left rear toe link to finally break on Lap 70.
- When the toe link snapped, Malukas was then hit from behind by Rahal which in turn caused damage to the gearbox.
- The team was able to replace the toe link but due to the damage to the gearbox, Malukas was unable to continue.
- So far this season, Malukas has a best starting position of ninth and a best finish of fourth (both at Texas Motor Speedway).
- Next up: Hy-Vee INDYCAR Race weekend at Iowa Speedway, July 21 to 23, 2023.
David Malukas, #18 Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports Honda
“We suffered damage with about 15 laps left in the race. We tapped the wall a few times throughout the race, so the toe link was getting damaged a bit each time until it fully snapped. At that time, Rahal hit me from behind and damaged the gearbox so unfortunately, we weren’t able to get back on track. It’s unfortunate. I think we need to qualify better as starting from further back you put yourself in tougher positions. That said, all in all this was probably the best pace we’ve had all season on street courses.”