“Saved my career” is how Malukas describes the tumultuous 2024 Indianapolis Car Club season.
David Malukas began 2024 with a top spot at Arrow McLaren, but he finally lost his IndyCar ride after suffering a broken wrist in a preseason mountain riding accident. Everything changed when Meyer Shank Racing picked him up for the second half.
“Everything happens for a reason, as they say,” David Malukas said to Motorsport.com. “Given everything that has happened this year, I am probably ten times the driver I was before.
Despite facing some overwhelming odds throughout his 2024 IndyCar Series season, Malukas has improved as a result. The year started off with Arrow McLaren, but things rapidly went south after he was sidelined with a left wrist injury that required surgery due to a mountain bike accident less than a month before the season started. Less than three months later, the team released him, stating that he was unavailable and that there was no confirmed date of his comeback.
After a brief hiatus from social media and a type of mental reset, the departing Chicago-born product was given the chance to rejoin Meyer Shank Racing in early June for the season’s last nine races. He persevered through his injuries with remarkable speed, starting in the top six five times, including a best of second (twice, St. Louis, Milwaukee 1), despite not being fully recovered. Additionally, after crashing in St. Louis following contact from Team Penske’s Will Power and being on the wrong end of a strategy call in Nashville, he was left wondering what may have been with the potential victory fading.
The results table doesn’t accurately reflect the true pace Malukas was setting during his comeback; it only displays two top 10s with a best finish of sixth at the rough and uneven concrete playground that lines Toronto’s streets.
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