IndyCar: David Malukas hopes to stop slump this weekend at Mid-Ohio
David Malukas could really use a good finish right now.
After starting his sophomore season in the NTT IndyCar Series on a relatively high note with top 10 finishes at St. Petersburg and Texas, the 21-year-old Chicago-area native has suffered a series of early retirements in the last few rounds.
Malukas finished a disappointing 27th at Road America due to engine issues. His race in Detroit also ended early due to contact with the wall, and in the Indianapolis 500, he had to retire early due to handling issues after another competitor made contact with his car.
Needless to say, it's been a frustrating last few races for the Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports driver.
"I would say the way this season is going it isn’t as great as I’d want it to be the second time around," Malukas told Auto Racing Digest. "I would have expected us to be a little bit better.
"But then again, if you keep taking into account the people that we have and kind of the big turnaround - because we have lost a lot of key people (over the off-season) - I think if you put it into perspective the mistakes that we are having are reasonable. But, yeah, it’s definitely not what I want."
While the last few races have been frustrating (Malukas said his punching bag has taken a beating recently), he said the only way to move forward is to push the reset button in this weekend's race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
"You’re not going to get better from looking at the bad races that you’ve had previously, " Malukas said. "It's all about pushing forward and working hard. Thankfully the shop is only 20 minutes from me so I go over there and talk with the engineers and try to figure out a new gameplan coming into the next race."
That's why he's so intent on Sunday’s race as being the one where his luck begins to turn around. He finished ninth in his debut at Mid-Ohio last year and considers the track one of his favorites.
"I love Mid-Ohio," Malukas said. "When you look at Mid-Ohio initially, you would say it’s more of a technical track.- which it very much is - and maybe the racing isn’t really going to be there.
"But Mid-Ohio is special in the fact that it is a very technical track and a very fun track to drive around, but also the racing is very good there and you can make passes going into (turns) three and four.
"There’s a lot of good places to run on the track and I love it. It’s for sure one of my absolute favorite tracks. It’s a place I went to going up through the ladder series, so Mid-Ohio has always been close to me. It’s an amazing track. There’s nothing like it.
"The track from a driver’s perspective is what I’d call a very free-flowing track. It’s all about rhythm. Once you get into the infield section, every corner has a big elevation change from an up to a down.
"When you get into a rhythm there isn’t a better feeling than hitting the apex and going through those elevation changes. There’s not a single track that will give you the same feeling that Mid-Ohio gives you."
Hopefully for Malukas, it will be nothing but good feelings this weekend. With nine race remaining in the 17-race NTT IndyCar Series schedule, Malukas is hopeful the No. 18 team can rebound in the season's second half.
"You know, it started off really strong," Malukas said of 2023. "Coming into this season we had a few changes in the team. A new engineer (Alex Athanasiadis). Some new people came in and we started off really strong.
"Maybe some people started off a little bit slow, but things went off on a good kick and everything was great. But recently, mistakes that the team and I have been making when it comes to qualifying and a few different things have been catching us a bit off-guard.
"But like I said, it’s a lot of new people and every single time we’re learning. I’m thinking more towards the end of this season and even Mid-Ohio, we’ll definitely be in a better state."