David Malukas’ voice cracked as he tried to simultaneously process and explain his heartbreak between sobs following the 110th Indianapolis 500.
Photos of his bloodshot eyes and tear-streaked cheeks will forever be a peek into the soul of a man at a most vulnerable moment.
But the thing is, Malukas knew he was going to fight through the emotions and come out stronger. Maybe not at that exact moment, but not long after.
Malukas would go to bed the loser in Indy’s closest finish, his dream ripped away from him in agonizing fashion. But he would wake up with back-to-back runner-up finishes in the biggest race in the world, employed by the best team in the NTT IndyCar Series and with every expectation of having many more chances to win races and championships.
Just two years earlier, he’d been through worse.
That May Malukas was an unemployed race car driver – released from his Arrow McLaren ride before his first race – believing his career might be over, curled up on the floor of his shower, crying.
“And then I had a conversation with my mom,” Malukas said. “She told me, ‘We left Lithuania, we came to America at the same age as you are. We had no money, we didn’t speak any English. We didn’t have any jobs, and we just had to completely start from scratch.’”
From that second beginning, Henry and Daiva Malukas built a successful trucking business in the Chicago area and a bountiful life that allowed their son to pursue his racing aspirations.
David had heard stories, but they didn’t resonate the same way to a kid.
“I said, wow, at the end of the day, I am 22 years old, my wrist hurts a little bit, but I have a roof over my head. I’ve been blessed for every situation I have, and if I truly want something and I’m obsessed with it, I can make it happen,” Malukas said. “And I told myself, any problem I had, I found a solution, so why is this any different?
“Now a few years later, my situation’s better than it’s ever been.”
Although his next chance at the 500 is 11 months away, Malukas will get another opportunity for his first NTT IndyCar victory in the XPEL Grand Prix on June 21 at Road America in Elkhart Lake.
He comes into the Father’s Day weekend event, the start of the second half of the season, third in the standings, ahead of Team Penske mates Josef Newgarden in sixth place and Scott McLaughlin in seventh.
Penske cars have won two of the past four races at Road America and four of the 11 IndyCar has held there.
In 2021, Malukas won at Road America in the feeder series now known as Indy NXT, driving for his father’s team. The following season they made the move to IndyCar, joining with Dale Coyne’s established but small team.
Malukas showed enough in two seasons to earn a significant promotion to Arrow McLaren, only to have that rug pulled out after he suffered a fractured wrist in a cycling accident before the 2024 season.
Malukas was able to catch on mid-year when Meyer Shank pulled the plug on sports car racer Tom Blomqvist. That led to a season at Penske-affiliated A.J. Foyt Racing and then Team Penske itself, replacing champion Will Power in the Verizon-sponsored No. 12 Chevrolet.
While Malukas’ move for 2026 brought the same excitement as Christmas morning, it also was intimidating to someone not afraid to admit he can be a little goofy.
“You look at the trailers, everything’s chrome, everything’s reflective, you’re like, what’s going on in there?” Malukas said.
Inside, though, he found a warm atmosphere that is a perfect blend of competition and camaraderie.
“When you go to these other teams, you talk to people, and it’s like, ‘Oh, I’ve been here for a few months.’ ‘I’ve been here for a year,’” Malukas said. “You go to Team Penske, everybody’s like, ‘Yeah, I’ve been here since I was born.’
“When you have all of these connections, everybody’s there for so long, it literally feels just like your second family, and then they opened their arms to me, and I felt like I got welcomed so easily.”
The veteran drivers Newgarden and McLaughlin were as welcoming as anyone, Malukas said, and through half a season they’re only scratching the surface of their potential. Mutual trust makes a weekend’s two practice sessions seem like six in terms of the data the three acquire, and Malukas’ setup preferences seem to fit neatly and predictably between those of the other two.
Newgarden and McLaughlin had access to Malukas’ data already in 2025 when he was with Foyt. Now they all benefit from a closer look.
“There’s for sure some things I’ve taken on board since he came to the team with how he drove the car, engine settings, anything like that,” McLaughlin said. “He’s for sure been a positive guy to have around, a positive driver in terms of talent, how fast he’s been.
“We just knew what he had. It was up to him to just execute that. He’s done that with flying colors.”
Although the teammates would be glad to help Malukas deal with the heartbreak of Indy, there’s been no need, said McLaughlin, who had a similar experience a year earlier when he crashed on a pace lap.
“There’s only so much people can say to you,” McLaughlin said. “You just have to get on the horse and get on with it.”
Which is what Malukas has done, for the most part.
Two days before the start of the Road America weekend, though, he was trying to fall asleep when his mind began replaying the final half minute of the 500, running through scenarios of what he might have done differently or what else he could try next time.
“You learn more from your losses than you do your gains,” Malukas said.
“So when I look at the 500, yeah, OK, it’s heartbreak. We just missed out on it, and who knows if we’d have such good of an opportunity to go for 500? But I already know no matter what I’m more driven than ever. Everything happens for a reason.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: David Malukas learned to turn every heartbreak into IndyCar fuel
Reporting by Dave Kallmann, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Dave Kallmann, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
