David Malukas showcased an incredible performance at the 2026 Indy GP held at the Indianapolis Road Course.
Malukas led 27 laps in his #12 Team Penske Chevrolet where he came home to finish in P2. This performance was his strongest of the season and tied his career best finish.
Malukas has now scored a total of five career podiums. Although pleased with this performance, he attributes a little bit of luck to the result but at the end of the day, feels that he and Team Penske, are headed into the Indianapolis 500 with good momentum.
Malukas and Team Penske are on the hunt after Indy GP
David Malukas’ arrival at Team Penske was a highly anticipated topic ahead of the 2026 IndyCar season. Currently sitting in third position in the standings, Malukas is showing up his veteran teammates, Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin. His performance at the Indy GP was just a testament to his speed and competitiveness so far this season.
Despite finishing the race in P2 behind the Arrow McLaren of Christian Lundgaard, Malukas kept himself positive. He led a total of 27 laps and was, at one point, a favorite to win the race.
When asked about Lundgaard’s winning pass on his #12 Team Penske car, Malukas admitted the Dane was rapid.
“Then at the end, I mean, Lundgaard was just so fast. I was trying everything I could sideways pretty much 50% of those laps. He was just still pulling, pulling.
“Look, we came into this weekend thinking this was going to be — at least for me, I came in thinking this was going to be our hardest race of the whole season, and it ended up being our best result yet, which it was just fantastic. It’s really, really cool.”
Regardless of the podium celebration, Malukas did attribute his result to being ‘fortunate’ and finding some luck throughout the race. He commented on the fact that numerous cars were taken out on the opening lap, and that it worked out for him that Kyle Kirkwood and Alex Palou dropped to the back under the second caution.
“Yeah, like I said, we were fortunate that race. So many things went our way. We were struggling with pace pretty much all weekend, and the guys just did a fantastic job.”
What’s next for Malukas?
Drivers tend to have a ‘short memory’ in racing. One good result resets when you head into the next weekend. For the entire 2026 IndyCar grid, the moment the Sonsio Grand Prix ends, the focus shifts to The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
In 2025, David Malukas had a bitter end to the Indianapolis 500, coming home to finish in P2 for A.J. Foyt Enterprises. Despite that being a solid performance at any other race during the season, the Indy 500 truly only celebrates the winner. As Ricky Bobby would say from Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006), “If you ain’t first, you’re last.”, and unfortunately that is the reality at the Indy 500.
Heading into the Indianapolis 500, Malukas said,
“It’s really good momentum going into the 500, and yeah, I’m very, very happy.”
The 2026 Indianapolis 500 kicked off on Tuesday, May 12th and will continue until Race Day on Sunday, May 24th. All eyes will be on Malukas and Team Penske as they head into the ‘500’ with a target on their backs.
