Madison, IL (Sunday, August 27, 2023) – David Malukas (#18 HMD Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports) scored his second career NTT INDYCAR SERIES podium on Sunday with a brilliant drive to a third-place finish at World Wide Technology Raceway.
Started: 6th
Finished: 3rd
- Malukas was on the move right from the start of the 260-lap event, moving into fourth place from his sixth place on the starting grid.
- The driver of the #18 HMD entry then took over third on a lap 11 restart and held onto that position for the majority of his first stint.
- With the field on different strategies, he exited pit lane in seventh place but was quick to regain his third place once the pit cycle was completed.
- Malukas ran with the front runners for the entire race taking over competitors as he worked his way through pit stop cycles.
- He made his fifth and final stop on Lap 206 and exited pit lane in 17th place one lap down to the leaders who still had to pit.
- From then on, he kept moving up the field, not just taking advantage of cars that were pitting ahead of him, but by also passing cars on track.
- By Lap 230 he had moved into fifth place and on Lap 248 after taking over third place he got by eventual race winner Scott Dixon to put himself back on the lead lap.
- 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: Bitnile.com Grand Prix of Portland, September 3, 2023, 3pm ET on NBC
David Malukas, #18 Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports Honda
“Our car was a race winning car today. We finished third which is obviously incredible, but at the same time I’m also frustrated because our car was so good. In the beginning we were equivalent to the Penske’s that were running at the front. In the race we tried to do a heavy fuel save at one point but that wasn’t working out for us like it did (Scott) Dixon who won the race on strategy. So, that put us back in the pack with the others a little bit and possibly from being closer to really fighting for a second-place finish but we fought our way back and took over third place and back on the lead lap. So overall I’m really happy with today’s result. The entire Dale Coyne Racing team did a great job. Thank you to them for giving me a great car here two years in a row.”