David Malukas is slowly becoming a household name in IndyCar and as he prepares for next season fans everywhere continue to cheer him on. Thanks to his strong social media presence consisting of making memes and posting vlogs to YouTube he’s building quite a reputation. However, social media isn’t the only thing he’s known for, and rightfully so. He’s still pretty young compared to some of the people he’s racing against but the 23-year-old is making his mark on the NTT IndyCar Series.
David Malukas Experienced a lot Over the Past few Years
Joining Dale Coyne Racing
After participating in many junior racing series including Indy Lights in 2019 and 2021, Dale Coyne Racing announced that Malukas was set to pilot the No. 18 as a full-time entry for the team during the 2022 and 2023 seasons. During his rookie year, he was teammates with Takuma Sato. During his rookie season, Malukas had his career-best race finish when he finished P2 at the Grand Prix of Illinois. He ended his first season with Dale Coyne with 305 points.
During his second year with Dale Coyne, Malukas was teammates with Sting Ray Robb, during the 2023 season. He had six top-10 finishes that year and finished 17 in the driver standings with 265 points. Robb finished below him at 23 in the standings with 147 points.
A Season Full of Ups and Downs
On September 2, 2023, Arrow McLaren announced that Malukas signed a multiyear contract with the team as the driver of the No. 6 car. However, his plans for 2024 were quickly derailed after he sustained a wrist injury during a mountain biking accident in the offseason. This ultimately led to Arrow McLaren dropping Malukas in April of this year when his recovery timeline remained unclear.
Luckily enough, Meyer Shank Racing was quick to sign David Malukas to the team for the remainder of the season. He drove the No. 66 alongside former Arrow McLaren driver Felix Rosenqvist. Some of the highlights from the rest of the 2024 season include qualifying P3 ar his second race back at Mid-Ohio and his best race finish of the year when he finished P6 at the Streets of Toronto.
Where Malukas’ Career Goes From Here
Before the end of the 2024 season, A.J. Foyt Racing confirmed that Malukas signed a multiyear contract with the team. Starting next year he’ll be partnered with Santino Ferrucci. This gives Malukas a bit of a leg up within IndyCar thanks to the relationship between A.J. Foyt Racing and Team Penske. Penske’s technical collaboration with A.J. Foyt allows Penske to keep an eye out for the Foyt drivers and what they could potentially bring to Penske. This works similarly to the way F1’s Red Bull Racing junior team VCARB has worked to benefit both teams.
If things run smoothly there’s a chance that “Team Penske driver, David Malukas” could become a reality. The most popular theory is that Malukas would replace one of the Penske drivers by the time one of their contracts are up in 2026. Right now, that is all speculation but Penske driver Will Power is known to have a good relationship with Malukas. It will be interesting to see how Malukas’ tenure as an A.J. Foyt driver pans out over the next few seasons.
