David Malukas Returns From Hospital to Lead Nashville Practice
Hours after a roughly 200-mph corner entry ended in a rear-first SAFER Barrier impact, Malukas passed INDYCAR's medical checks, climbed into a backup Chevrolet, and set the evening's fastest lap.
Source: INDYCAR
LEBANON, Tenn. — David Malukas returned from a Nashville-area hospital Saturday evening, climbed into Team Penske's backup No. 12 Chevrolet, and led final practice at Nashville Superspeedway. The fastest lap came only hours after an impact that ended his opening session, damaged the SAFER Barrier, and left him with a badly bruised right knee.
The sequence began about 19 minutes into the 9 a.m. practice. Malukas had completed four laps and recorded a 196.340-mph best, which ultimately ranked third in the session, when the car became loose in Turn 2. It half-spun and struck the outside barrier heavily with the rear.
FOX's broadcast reported that Malukas entered the corner at 201 mph. It cited SMT data estimating the impact at 130 to 140 mph. Those numbers describe the available broadcast data, not a public INDYCAR crash-recorder report, so they should not be treated as a complete measure of the forces the driver experienced.
Malukas's right knee struck the steering wheel or its quick-release collar during the impact, knocking the wheel free. He remained in the cockpit for several minutes before exiting with help from the AMR INDYCAR Safety Team and walking to its vehicle.
INDYCAR Deputy Medical Director Dr. Angi Fiege said Malukas was awake, alert, and in good spirits. He was evaluated at the infield medical center, then transported by private vehicle to a local hospital for additional testing and observation.
The barrier needed attention too. SAFER stands for Steel and Foam Energy Reduction. Its linked steel face and foam backing are designed to absorb energy and extend the time over which a car decelerates instead of leaving the chassis to meet an exposed concrete wall. Track crews spent more than 20 minutes repairing the damaged section before practice resumed.
While Malukas underwent testing, Team Penske pulled out a backup chassis. The crew considered having Conor Daly perform an installation run during qualifying, but the car was not ready. Formalizing a substitute also would have ended Malukas's opportunity to return that weekend, so the team waited for the medical decision.
Malukas arrived back at the speedway at approximately 4:15 p.m. INDYCAR asked him to demonstrate that he could enter and exit the backup car before granting final clearance.
"Everything came back clean, nothing's broken and nothing's torn," Malukas said. He described the knee as badly bruised and thanked the medical and safety personnel who helped move the process along.
The rebuilt program then became a competitive one. Malukas used information from teammates Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin to replace the track time he had lost. He finished the evening atop the speed chart at 193.766 mph, with McLaughlin second at 193.484.
That pace fit his season. Malukas arrived fourth in the championship and led all drivers with 116 oval points after finishing third at Phoenix, second at Indianapolis, and seventh at Gateway. He had also qualified on the front row for five consecutive oval races before missing Saturday's session.
He will start Sunday's 300-lap race from the rear of the 25-car field. The larger result was already visible Saturday night: the barrier, medical team, driver, and crew had each completed a different part of the same recovery.