David Malukas came agonisingly close to IndyCar’s greatest prize on Sunday, finishing third on the road in the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 in what proved to be both a breakthrough performance and an emotional journey of redemption for the young American driver.
It got even better for him yesterday as Marcus Ericsson lost 2nd place for his car failing a tech inspection moved him up another spot.
Running with A.J. Foyt Racing, Malukas found himself in genuine contention for victory in the closing stages, battling race winner Alex Palou and Marcus Ericsson as the field approached the final 15 laps. It was a position that seemed almost unthinkable just one year ago, when the 22-year-old was sidelined from the sport entirely.
“Yeah, all those yellow flags, seeing our position of the car and how good we were, I mean, we had it at the end there,” Malukas reflected after the race, his voice heavy with emotion. “Definitely picturing it, and man, we gave it our all in those last — I think it was about 15 to go, and we turned it up, and I was just hanging on for dear life trying to get something out of it. Those two lap cars kind of came in and ruined the fun for us and chose this winner. That’s just kind of how this track goes.”
A year of transformation
The podium finish at the 2025 Indy 500 represented far more than just a strong result for Malukas and his team. It marked the culmination of what he described as “the toughest year I think of my life really” – a period that saw him lose his ride, suffer a serious hand injury, and face an uncertain future in motorsport.
“If I look back one year ago today, I wasn’t even in INDYCAR anymore,” Malukas revealed in a poignant post-race interview after Arrow McLaren let him go. “I didn’t have a left hand, and I was up here in the media centre just being a fan. And I could say one year later that I’m back in the 500 and not just back, but I’m fighting for the win, which is incredible to say.”
Masterclass at the Brickyard
The race itself proved to be a masterclass in strategic execution from the A.J. Foyt Racing squad. Starting the month with solid pace, Malukas and the team built momentum throughout practice and qualifying, positioning themselves as dark horses for race day. When the green flag finally dropped after weather delays and early incidents, including Scott McLaughlin’s crash during the pace laps, Malukas found his rhythm quickly.
By lap 67, he had moved into the top five alongside race leader Takuma Sato, and as the strategic pit cycles played out, Malukas consistently maintained his position among the frontrunners. The young driver praised his team’s preparation and execution throughout the month of May.
“The guys did an incredible job from start to finish. And that’s not speaking about the race, it’s speaking about this month,” Malukas explained. “As soon as we unloaded the car, we’ve put the car in the right direction, and never took a blindside. Our path was clear, and it kind of led to getting this P3 finish. That comes down to them. It was from the engineers and mechanics, just an incredible job.”
So close to glory
The 2025 Indy 500’s dramatic conclusion saw Malukas running in the top three as the field approached the final pit window. With teammate Santino Ferrucci also running strongly, A.J. Foyt Racing appeared to have two cars capable of challenging for the victory. However, lapped traffic ultimately played a decisive role in determining the outcome.
“It was more leading up before that when we filtered back out after the last pit stop is where things got out of our hand, where the two lappers came in and Palou was able to time a run and sneak behind them and able to take their tow and obviously get his lucky win there,” Malukas explained, showing both disappointment and respect for his victorious rival.
Despite the near-miss, Malukas recognised the significance of the result for both his personal journey and his team’s morale. A.J. Foyt Racing had endured a difficult start to the 2025 season, with various mechanical failures and incidents hampering their progress in the championship standings.
“I think as a season as a whole we’ve had so many unfortunate events, and they tend to topple, and morale is such a big deal when it comes to team unity and having performance out of it,” he reflected. “We were just in a very unfortunate spot and things kept not going in our favour, and it was really putting everybody down.”
Lessons learned for Malukas in the 2025 Indy 500
The Indianapolis 500 result, combined with Ferrucci’s seventh-place finish, provided the team with the boost they desperately needed. For Malukas personally, it validated his decision to persevere through the darkest period of his career and demonstrated that his talent remained undiminished despite the setbacks.
“It’s been an insane year. It’s always going to be a year of maturity for me. I’ve aged — although it was a year, I feel like I’ve aged 10,” Malukas admitted. “Everything happens for a reason, and I’m taking all this knowledge and everything I’ve learned in the past year and all the hardships and going to put it into more success in the future.”
Looking ahead, the third-place finish at Indianapolis provides Malukas and A.J. Foyt Racing with significant momentum as they tackle the remainder of the 2025 IndyCar season. For a driver who found himself on the outside looking in just twelve months ago, the podium at the Brickyard represents both vindication and a platform for future success.
“The morale is very high in the team. Even though we were still P3, man, it’s an incredible time,” Malukas concluded. “A lot, a lot of positives to take out of it, and we’re going to push into results for the rest of the season.”
It got even better for David Malukas yesterday as Marcus Ericsson losing 2nd place for his car failing a tech inspection moved him up another spot.
