Written by Archie O’Reilly
Young David Malukas was supposed to be in the midst of his third season in the IndyCar Series at this point in the 2024 season. He was supposed to be living the dream of driving for one of motorsport’s leading operations.
But his Arrow McLaren career came to a crushing end without a race under his belt at the end of April due to issues in the recovery from a pre-season wrist dislocation suffered in a mountain biking accident. Though now four months on and seven championship races into the IndyCar season, Malukas is ready to start a new chapter.
Commencing at Laguna Seca this weekend, the 22-year-old will be taking the saddle of the No.66 Honda for Meyer Shank Racing (MSR). The entry had been piloted by sports car supremo but IndyCar rookie Tom Blomqvist before Leaders’ Circle concerns brewed.
One week on from his return to an Indy car with MSR in the recent Milwaukee Mile hybrid test, and half-an-hour before heading for some pre-weekend simulator time before travelling to California, Malukas hopped onto a call to speak to the media.
Here is the story of his road to recovery…
A rollercoaster of character-building
“Definitely been a rollercoaster, that’s for sure,” Malukas said, reflecting on the tumult of recent months. “Man, it started with obviously a big high, getting the whole Arrow McLaren [deal] signed. Then it went to a pretty big low after everything that’s happened with the injury.”
After missing four events, including the $1 Million Challenge exhibition at the Thermal Club, Arrow McLaren took the difficult decision to part ways with the driver they had signed from Dale Coyne Racing only around eight months prior. Commercial pressures and a lack of certainty for the team were unsustainable.
The contract termination did end the pressure on Malukas to over-push his recovery from February's surgery. But it was, of course, difficult to take and an extremely emotional time. He remained just as keen to get back in a car though.
“I would say the stress went away once the contract got terminated because there wasn’t such a heavy push on making a specific timeline,” he added. “At the same time I was working on the hand, doing everything I could just in case something were to happen. The MSR deal came around. I gave a call to the doctors: ‘Yeah, we think you’ll be ready.’
“Fast forward to now, we’re here. Definitely an emotional rollercoaster for me this 2024. It was a character-building year and now we’re back.”
Overcoming a “very dark” period
While he found a silver-lining from parting ways with Arrow McLaren and is now gearing up for his return to IndyCar competition, there was no softening of the blow for Malukas immediately upon his release.
“Honestly for me mentally, it was definitely one of the toughest things I had to go through,” he said. “Man, there were some really rough, rough days, especially after the whole termination and things going very dark for me.”
Malukas had his parents by his side all through the process. They had been “through a lot” themselves in their lives and were able to support their son through the toughest part of his career to date.
“They [parents] helped me through it, told me: ‘This is nothing, opportunities will come, just get ready,’” Malukas said. “They were kind of my rock to keep me going, that foundation I needed…
“Coming through it, as soon as you have so much pressure and things going down, your brain tends to say: ‘This is over, it’s done,’” he said. “It just thinks of the worst thing, goes to plan Z. My parents were there. My parents went through a lot of hardship coming from Lithuania coming to America - no money, not speaking a lick of English.
“They went through a lot of struggles - a lot worse than what I’m going through. They were the ones helping me through it because they understand it very well, more than anybody. They kept pushing me, kept motivating me. We stayed with it, did IndyCar content for the Month of May, smiled. I stayed positive, knew it was going to come.”
Factoring his parents’ positivity and entering a reflective state, Malukas has been able to see the brighter side of things through his recovery. He feels he may even be better off for the experience in the long run.
“It’s definitely changed me quite a bit,” he said.
“Looking back at certain moments like that, your brain tends to spiral a little bit, you start asking: ‘What is the reasoning? Why is this happening to me?’ These kinds of things. I feel like for myself, I believe in the fact that everything happens for a reason. I think the reason for that was to become the driver I can be, with the potential I needed.
“I needed something like that to obviously get me there, to try very hard, to just be better than I was before. It was a very tough few months for me. I think it was all needed. Now we can look forward and obviously become a better driver than I would have been.”
The help of Tony Kanaan’s simulator
Time in a simulator has been an invaluable part of Malukas’ recovery as he bidded to reach the stage that he is now at.
“I’ve been on the sim almost every day doing race simulations - two hours plus to the point where my [uninjured] right hand is getting a little bit tired,” he said. “We’re doing everything we can. We’ll be ready to go out there and perform.”
Throughout his push to recover while at Arrow McLaren, Tony Kanaan - now in a sporting director role - was a major part of supporting Malukas. Malukas has maintained the relationship and has continued to utilise Kanaan’s personal simulator on a regular basis.
Kanaan’s base also offers some nice entertainment.
“TK has let me use his fancy simulator place,” Malukas said. “It’s been very cool, very welcoming. Has been interesting… he streams in the background. Last few days he’s been wearing a wig. I turn around: ‘What is he doing?’ He’s been super friendly and awesome.”
Now at MSR, Malukas will get to work with Kanaan’s fellow Brazilian veteran and similarly exuberant personality, now part-owner at MSR, Helio Castroneves. A smile etched across his face, Malukas described them as “both of the best Brazilians in racing”.
Maintaining bonds at McLaren
Malukas has continued to work with Arrow McLaren trainer Sean Smith since departing the team rather than being left in the wilderness.
“He’s been fantastic throughout my entire recovery,” Malukas said. “We both know it’s very hard to find somebody new once you’ve already been with somebody that started from the early stages [of recovery]. They still let me use all that stuff.”
Bonds remain intact with Arrow McLaren at all levels, ranging from team personnel to executives like Kanaan. Malukas ultimately understood why the decision had to be taken to part ways, as wretched as it was at the time.
“The relationship is still very strong,” he said. “From both sides, I think we both wanted me to be in the car. It was just unfortunate the way things turned out. At the end of the day, business is business. They had obligations to hit. Obviously with the injury, I couldn’t do it.
“I still have very good relationships from the media side, mechanics, engineers, to Gavin [Ward, team principal] and TK and everybody onboard. It’s been very good. No holding on of emotions there.”
How is the wrist feeling now?
Malukas was initially penned in to return as early as the beginning of April but ultimately was not at a stage in his recovery to get back in the car until two months later in Milwaukee last week. It was the biggest test yet of his injured left wrist but was passed with little trouble.
A bigger test will come at Laguna Seca given the combination of right and left-hand corners.
“It’s feeling very good,” he said. “The Milwaukee test, I wasn’t really too worried going into it. Just being an oval, there’s not that much strain on the left wrist or hand, not much move on the steering wheel. It is also all just left-handers. Laguna is going to be a question mark with the repavement being heavier on the wheel. We are going to see what we can do.
“There’s a lot of things from the car side that we can do to help the steering and already have done from a setup standpoint to make it a bit easier for that wrist to move. But overall I think it’s going to be okay.”
There was long talk of having a test to phase Malukas back into driving. Joining forces with MSR ahead of Milwaukee offered the perfect opportunity for that, testing his reactions and the general durability of the wrist. And while it is not perfect - “nearing probably that 80 percent mark” - it is at a stage where getting back in the car is not a huge risk.
“It will definitely get back to 100 percent,” Malukas said. “I think it’s like anything in life. You can quickly get back to that 80, 90 percent range. That last little bit you have to slowly pick at. That’s going to take a lot longer. We’re not really worried too much about that.
“We were more worried about getting it to the 80 percent because that’s enough to get back into IndyCar and perform. The last 20 percent will come with time. It won’t be that much of a big factor or change. We’ll have to play it by ear to see how it will go. I’m happy with the progress it’s already made.”
With the Milwaukee test’s purpose being to put the hybrid system through its paces, there was the added deal of having to press certain buttons in the cockpit. But the movement in Malukas’ wrist is generally “very good” and there are no limitations in terms of his fingers given they were uninjured.
“It’s the bending of the wrist movement that’s a little bit stiff,” he said. “Obviously we fast-forwarded since the Milwaukee test even more. At this stage of the injury, I’d say every week it just jumps, jumps more and more by quite a bit.”
How the MSR move happened
Following on from the Month of May, Malukas’ MSR move came about “very fast” as the team sidelined Blomqvist for an initial two-race period. Castroneves stepped in for Detroit and Road America, bringing the team to a date by which Malukas was scheduled to have recovered.
“They reached out to me,” Malukas said. “I saw the news about Tom but I wasn’t really too sure on what the deal was with it. I thought maybe an injury or something of some sort happened. I didn’t reach out from my side because I didn’t really know. So MSR reached out to me and things really played out well.
“From when we initially started talks to when it was pen to paper, it was a total of seven to 10 days, somewhere around that realm. It did happen very fast… One door definitely closed and another one opened.”
The appeal of the MSR partnership
MSR has started the season in very strong fashion on Felix Rosenqvist’s side. The Swede, who moved to the team this year as he vacated the No.6 seat that Malukas was supposed to take at Arrow McLaren, sits 10th in points after five top-10 finishes so far this year. The team only had one top 10 all through 2023.
Rosenqvist also has a podium to his name in the $1 Million Challenge, for which he started on pole in his heat race. He also started the season with a pair of front-row starts, including the team’s first-ever pole in Long Beach. It is clear that Malukas is stepping into a team that can fight near the front.
“It’s going to be a win-win from both sides of the team,” he said. “From my side I am obviously getting back in the car, to be able to see where things are at after being out of the car for so many months. From the team side… another characteristic, I’ve seen Felix’s data at McLaren.
“We do have pretty good matching with the way we enter corners with heavy braking, focusing on exits. I think we’re going to mesh very well, work on creating a very good setup together, working at the practice sessions moving up to the race.”
Malukas has respect for Rosenqvist that goes back to the start of his IndyCar career.
“Felix was actually the first driver to come up to me when I first joined the IndyCar Series, to introduce me to the paddock, the series,” he said. “He is literally the nicest guy on the field. Having him as a teammate, he’s also very talented, he’s had an incredible season.”
An instantly welcome feeling
It is now almost two weeks since Malukas’ return was announced in advance of the Elkhart Lake weekend. And there is already a homely sense to MSR for him.
“It’s been amazing right off the bat,” he said. “Things have gone very smoothly. Already been smiles, making jokes right away. It’s been amazing… I think it’s a very good spot for me right now. I’m just so excited to get into it. It’s going to be very good.”
Malukas’ switch from Coyne to Arrow McLaren was a big jump in terms of stature of team by way of resources and number of personnel. MSR is more towards the Coyne side in terms of the amount of faces to get to know and Malukas feels he is already part of the furniture.
“As soon as I came in they welcomed me with open arms,” he said. “Kind of felt like family to me, just like long-lost brothers. I felt like I had known them forever and got to see them again. From [team co-owner Mike] Shank’s side to the engineering crew, the mechanics… so friendly, welcoming. I think it’s going to be a good last 10 races.”
Malukas is grateful for the trust shown by Mike Shank and his team as he steps back into IndyCar competition.
“He knows that I can do what I can in the car,” Malukas said. “From my side, it just feels very good that everybody on the team trusts me in that car and knows I can perform well in it. It’s the perfect environment for the way things are right now and for the future.
“I think it will help me reach my better potential of what I can be. I’m still 22, I’m still young, still have a lot to learn. Being in this environment is giving me that opportunity.”
Expectations for the races ahead
Malukas finished 16th and 17th in his two years in IndyCar with Coyne, stepping up after a runner-up Indy Lights finish (to Andretti’s Kyle Kirkwood) - a season in which he won seven races and only finished off the podium four times in 20 events.
He has two podiums to his name in IndyCar, both coming on the World Wide Technology Raceway oval. And there are six oval races to come in Malukas’ 10-race stint with MSR, with added confidence off the back of finishing fifth and seventh in the two free-for-all sessions on his return in the Milwaukee hybrid test.
But he acknowledges the value of not putting too much pressure on himself as he builds himself back up in race conditions.
“I think for the time being, just taking pressure off, going back into it,” Malukas said of his approach. “I never had an injury this bad before, let alone going back into a car. I don’t really know what to expect. Talking to people around me that have dealt with those things, especially with TK, take your time going into it, things are going to be very different.
“Just take everything slow. We’re going to see how it goes. I think the performance is going to be there, especially after how well the Milwaukee test went. Then again, you don’t know. It’s a road course [Laguna Seca]. We’ll take our time, see how it’s going to be, a little bit of a survival race. After that, focusing on more performance.”
Ready for his biggest year yet
Malukas’ excitement can hardly be contained. One look at his social media will show that.
“Time is just getting slower and slower,” he said. “I can’t wait to get back in it. It was the same way for the Milwaukee test. I’ve never been more careful in my life going upstairs or anything before I left… ‘Left foot, right foot.’ Really just focused that I can make it in one piece into the car.
“The test went fantastic. The speed was there. The team was there. It was really good. Going into Laguna I can’t wait.”
A lot has happened since the high of being unveiled as an Arrow McLaren driver at Laguna Seca back in September. But returning to the track for its earlier slot this year, Malukas is riding yet another high after the lows of recent months.
“We’ve definitely recovered and bounced back,” he said. “With Meyer Shank Racing, the whole opportunity, it’s fantastic for me. It’s a better situation for me in some ways. It was very, very good the way things turned out. Now we’re on the up.
“Of course, the beginning of the season started out rough. I’m very excited for the end of the season. If anything, 2024 is going to be one of the most adventurous coming from down here, now skyrocketing into the skies.
“It’s going to be the biggest year for me.”
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