Malukas’ podium contending run cut short after contact
MADISON, Ill. (17 August 2024) – On a day when Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) was poised for one of its best events in its NTT INDYCAR SERIES history, Felix Rosenqvist (No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda) emerged from a spate of late-race incidents to finish sixth in Saturday night’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway.
Malukas parlayed his front row starting spot into a very strong race, using speed and quick pit work by the MSR crew to stay in the top three for most of the race. Meanwhile, Rosenqvist stayed in the hunt, making his way into the top 10 by the race’s halfway point.
On a night when multiple pit strategies were in play throughout the field, the race’s biggest move came after a Josef Newgarden spin on Lap 196. The resulting caution saw MSR split its strategy for the first time in the 260-lap race, leaving Malukas out on track with the leaders while Rosenqvist pitted with four of the other top-six cars.
The move appeared to have the team set up for its best tandem result in its history after Malukas pitted for the final time with 43 laps to go while running in the top three. Unsure whether or not the No. 60 car could make the final race distance on its fuel load, Rosenqvist pitted with 23 laps to go – a move that temporarily dropped him a lap to the leaders.
Things went by the wayside soon after though. Seeing an opening under the No. 12 car for what could have been the eventual race lead, Malukas went low to pass and suffered contact that sent him hard into the outside wall and ended his evening.
Unfortunately, the caution meant that the leaders could then pit under the caution, leaving Rosenqvist a lap down. He restarted in 8th and vaulted to sixth after another late-race incident to earn his sixth top-10 finish of the year. Malukas finished 21st but did lead a team season-high 11 laps early in the race.
The series heads to the Pacific Northwest next week for the final non-oval race of the 2024 season, the Bitnile.com Grand Prix of Portland, which takes place at the Portland International Raceway. Qualifying takes place at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturday while the race can be seen live on USA Network and Peacock beginning at 3:30 p.m. Eastern on Sunday. All session can be heard live on SiriusXM Channel 218.
Meyer Shank Racing Team Quotes:
Felix Rosenqvist: “Finished P6, even though we had the penalty and lost nine places going into the race. So I’m pretty happy that we recovered to be in this position, get some good points. It is good to be back in the game. We’ve been really strong all weekend, were second in qualifying, we had a little hiccup in the end there on our final stop will have to look into that. We likely could have been in the mix for a podium without that but it was honestly im happy to have a good weekend and be back in good points and hopefully we can keep this momentum up through the end of the year.”
David Malukas: It’s really unfortunate, we had a really good car today and I really wanted that result. (On the crash with Power) – I had a run, I set it up and I went down to the inside. I gave (Power) as much room as I could and there was room for both cars. I thought it was a good move and I’d do it again.”
Mike Shank: “We had one of our best weekends ever in this series. I think we did everything right, our strategy on both cars during the race was great, we had great cars in qualifying and it’s just unfortunate that we weren’t able to give David the result that we know he and the No. 66 crew deserved. Having Felix get a top six puts us back where we should be and we’re aiming to keep that pace for the final few races.”
