Leeds, Alabama (Sunday, May 1, 2022) – Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports rookie David Malukas took part in his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES race at Barber Motorsports Park on Sunday. The outcome wasn’t what he had hoped for, but he came home with a hard-fought 20th place.
- Malukas lost a couple of positions in the opening laps, falling from 18th on the starting grid to 20th, but he maintained his position and gaps to veteran drivers such as Will Power and Simon Pagenaud.
- Opting for a two-stop strategy, Malukas entered pit lane on Lap 29 from 13th.
- After exiting pit lane in 22nd, a full course caution brought the field back together and he ended up taking the restart in 16th place.
- The rookie then fell to 19th on lap 38 and remained in that position for the majority of his stint.
- He made his final stop on Lap 61 and once again exited pit lane in 22nd. This time however, he gained a couple of positions to take the checkered flag in 20th place.
- In four NTT INDYCAR SERIES starts this season, Malukas has a best finish of 11th at Texas, and a best starting position of 18th (Long Beach and Barber Motorsports Park).
David Malukas – #18 HMD Honda – Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports
“It was a tough race but I’m happy we survived what is supposedly one of the hardest races physically for drivers. There are a lot of elevation changes and fast long turns here. I am tired but I still feel like I had a lot of energy at the end. We did well with the fuel saving strategies. However, it was a bit unfortunate with how the yellow came out with what we were trying to do. At the end of the day, I think I tried my best, on my end. We had a bit of a kerfuffle in the pits and the bad timing on the yellow and we ended up coming out with a 20th place. But everyone at Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports did their best this weekend, the car felt good in the race and I’m happy we were able to finish.”