David Malukas could be on the way to one of IndyCar’s giants sooner than perhaps expected.
The 22-year-old is one of IndyCar’s rising talents, securing two podiums in his first two seasons in the series, as well as 10 top-10 finishes in his career thus far.
Joining Meyer Shank Racing in place of Tom Blomqvist from Laguna Seca onwards, Malukas has impressed in 2024, qualifying in the top 12 in five of his six races so far – including third last time out at Gateway – and has recorded a best finish of sixth at Toronto.
Malukas already has his seat secured for 2025, but it has been suggested that he could be soon on the move yet again.
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David Malukas is on a ‘one-year rental’ with AJ Foyt before signing with Penske
The American was due to race for Arrow McLaren in 2024, but a broken wrist in a mountain bike accident in February left him sidelined; an injury that Malukas is still yet to fully recover from.
After four races of the season passed, Malukas was released by McLaren due to having an unclear recovery time and later joined MSR for the remainder of the season following the race at Road America.
His 2025 seat will mark Malukas’ third team in a year, as he makes the surprise move to A. J. Foyt Racing. The American is ‘excited for the future’ with the team and is hoping to return A. J. Foyt to the top step of the podium.
Many have speculated that the main reason for Malukas’ decision to join A. J. Foyt is due to their relationship with Penske. The two teams’ partnership sees the former receive technical support from the latter, while Penske can get their young engineers and drivers some experience with a well-established IndyCar team.
With many tipping Malukas for the future with Penske, Marshall Pruett claims that is already in motion, as he suggested that the 22-year-old deal with A. J. Foyt is a one-year ‘rental’ before making the switch to Penske.
On The RACER mailbag, Pruett was asked about the story they covered on the matter and that the headline should have read that Malukas was in fact joining Penske, as ‘it doesn’t take too much to figure this out’, he responded: “You write the news story as it’s presented.
“You write the silly season or Mailbag updates to colour in the margins that don’t belong in a straight news piece. Malukas has been signed by Penske, I’m told, and is a one-year ‘rental’ by Foyt.”
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Who will David Malukas replace at Penske?
With Malukas seemingly set for a future at Penske, the question now is who he will replace at the IndyCar giants.
Penske currently boasts a strong driver line-up in multi-winners Will Power, Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin. Between the three of them – who will all stay with the team for 2025 – they have won six races so far this season.
The obvious name Malukas could come in for is Power, with the Australian now being 43 and out of contract at the end of 2025, although it is understood that Penske has the option to trigger an extension by a further year.
The two drivers came to blows at the last race in Gateway, with Power later taking responsibility for the collision that took both him and Malukas out of the race.