IndyCar’s David Malukas hospitalized after Nashville Superspeedway crash
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It’s been a big weekend for IndyCar as the series’ race at Nashville Superspeedway on Sunday took a huge lead in the FIFA World Cup final, but it’s off to a scary start thanks to a major crash that forced Team Penske’s David Malukas out of Saturday’s qualifying session.
Malukas, who spent his first season behind the wheel of the No. 12 Chevrolet, lost the rear of his car mid-corner during Saturday morning practice and hit the SAFER barrier left-rear first.
A heavy blow destroyed the rear of Malukas’ car.
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This was clearly the end of Malukas’ training session and he was reported to be “alert, alert and in good spirits.”
Team Penske’s David Malukas had a major crash during practice at Nashville Superspeedway that severely damaged his No. 12 Chevrolet and sent him to the hospital. (Photo: Brandon Badraoui/Lumen via Getty Images)
However, it was soon revealed that Malukas had been taken to a local hospital for further testing and evaluation.
IndyCar vet Conor Daly was selected to take over Malukas’ car in qualifying. However, his status for Saturday evening practice and Sunday’s race, the Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix, remains uncertain.
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Interestingly, Malukas was already due to receive a nine-place grid penalty for his unapproved engine change.
David Malukas will miss qualifying and will be replaced by Conor Daly. The team said Daly would use this session for a test drive if the car was ready. (Photo: Brandon Badraoui/Lumen via Getty Images)
Now, with the car needing major repairs after the accident, if it is ready for qualifying it will be Daly’s job to do a test drive to ensure whoever is in it is ready to go for the rest of the weekend.
Even after qualifying had started the team was still working to put the car together; Additionally, if Daly qualified, Malukas would have to ride the remainder of the weekend, even if he was healthy enough to return.
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Malukas currently sits fourth in the championship standings, 66 points behind leader Alex Palou, and has performed well in his first season in one of the series’ leading teams.
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Currently chasing his first win, the 24-year-old Chicago native has one pole, five top-fives and nine top-tens this year, including a second-place finish at the Indianapolis 500.
This week, Malukas was one of three drivers, along with Palou and Indy 500 winner Felix Rosenqvist, to visit the White House ahead of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix in Washington, D.C.
