It wasn't his only mistake of the night: Malukas was scolded by McLaughlin for mispronouncing his last name. “I’m going to put it in the back of my brain and remember it for next time.” But I guess rookie season, rookie stuff,” Malukas said. “It was a bit unfortunate I did it so late. What took him so long to try the outside lane? Although he ran out of time to catch Newgarden, Malukas was closing in quickly when Newgarden took his series-best fifth win of the season. His car like a rocket ship in the top lane, he sailed past McLaughlin on the outside. On fresh tires for the final run of the night, Malukas waited until two laps to go to experiment with the upper groove at Gateway. His 16th-place finish in the Indianapolis 500 was his lowest of the five ovals on the schedule his second-place finish Saturday night was the best of his maiden Ind圜ar season and his first career podium.Īnd yet he's left to wonder if a rookie mistake cost him a chance at running down Newgarden for the win at Gateway. He's still learning oval racing, even though his results show he's a quick study. He picked off McLaughlin, and if there had been one more lap, Malukas might have won his first Ind圜ar victory.
Newgarden thought, “Wow, that kid is hungry.’”Īlas, Malukas ran out of time on the 1.25-mile oval outside St. Then he set his sights over the final lap on Newgarden, the two-time Ind圜ar champion so far unable to take control of the championship race. The 20-year-old was flying and darted outside and around Scott McLaughlin for second.
– Josef Newgarden saw the checkered flag out his windshield as the hard-charging rookie sprinted closer and closer into his rearview mirror.ĭavid Malukas was coming fast for the leaders, seemingly out of nowhere, late Saturday night after a long rain delay and a strung-out race.
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