Portland, OR (Saturday, September 2, 2023) – David Malukas (#18 HMD Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports) was hoping for a better starting position for tomorrow’s Grand Prix of Portland but had to settle with a 24th place on the starting grid after struggling with the alternate tires.
Starting: 24th
- Malukas went out in group 2 for Round 1 of qualifying and spent the first part of the 10-minute session in the top 6.
- He registered a fastest time of 58.9016 seconds on the primary Firestone tires on his fourth lap around the 12-turn, 1.964-mile road course at Portland International Raceway.
- His time put him sixth in his group before heading to pit lane for a set of the alternate Firestone tires.
- Unfortunately for Malukas and the team, they were not able to get the maximum on the alternate tire and he was unable to improve his time.
- Malukas ended up 12th in his group and 24th on the starting grid.
- The driver of the #18 HMD entry started 10th and finished 14th at the 2022 Grand Prix of Portland.
- 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
“We were expecting the alternate Firestone tire to react differently when we went out on them in qualifying. We were expecting understeer, but it went the opposite direction, so we weren’t ready for that, and we weren’t able to get the most of the red tires and improve our time. We’re starting from the back, but a lot can happen. We know we have a good car and I look forward to moving up in the race.”