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It’s a big weekend for IndyCar with the series’ race at Nashville Superspeedway Sunday getting a big lead-in from the FIFA World Cup final.
But it got off to a scary start after a big crash for Team Penske’s David Malukas that has ruled him out of Saturday’s qualifying session.
Malukas, in his first season behind the wheel of the No. 12 Chevrolet, lost the rear of his car mid-corner and went left rear first into the SAFER barrier during practice on Saturday morning.
The impact of the crash destroyed the rear of Malukas’ car.
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That was obviously the end of Malukas’ practice session, and he was reported to be “awake, alert and in good spirits.”
Team Penske’s David Malukas was involved a crash in practice at Nashville Superspeedway that heavily damaged his No. 12 Chevrolet and sent him to the hospital. (Brandon Badraoui/Lumen via Getty Images)
But a little bit later, it was revealed that Malukas had been taken to a local hospital for further testing and evaluation.
IndyCar vet Conor Daly has since been tapped to take over Malukas’ car for qualifying. However, his status for Saturday evening’s practice and Sunday’s race, the Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix, remains unclear.
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Interestingly, Malukas was already set to serve a nine-place grid penalty due to an unapproved engine change.
David Malukas will miss qualifying, and Conor Daly will take his place. The team said that if the car is ready, Daly will use the session to perform a shakedown run. (Brandon Badraoui/Lumen via Getty Images)
The car is in need of major repairs after the crash, and if it’s ready for qualifying, Daly’s job will be to perform a shakedown run to ensure it’s ready to go for the rest of the weekend regardless of who is in it.
Even after qualifying had gotten underway, the team was still working to put the car together, with the added consideration that if Daly drives in qualifying, he will have to drive the rest of the weekend, even if Malukas is healthy enough to return.
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Malukas is sitting in fourth place in the championship standings, 66 points behind leader Àlex Palou, and has performed well in his first season with one of the series’ premier teams.
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While he’s still chasing his first win, the 24-year-old from Chicago has one pole, five top fives and nine top tens on the year, including a second-place finish in this year’s Indianapolis 500.
This week, Malukas was one of three drivers — along with Palou and Indy 500 winner Felix Rosenqvist — who visited the White House ahead of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C.
