David Malukas is running out of ways to prove he belongs at the front of IndyCar without actually winning a race.
The 24-year-old American has been knocking on the door all season in his first year with Team Penske. He has piled up top finishes, qualified near the front and now has another brutal near-miss to add to the résumé. At Milwaukee, Malukas led 93 laps and appeared to have his first career IndyCar victory in his hands before a late restart issue allowed Pato O'Ward to steal the win. He finished second — his fourth runner-up result of the season.
At this point, it feels like Malukas is simply snakebit.
It's the same feeling you get watching Tommy Fleetwood chase that first PGA Tour win or Sheldon Creed keep getting agonizingly close in the O'Reilly Series. You can see the talent. You can see the speed. You can see the breakthrough coming.
Malukas just needs everything to finally fall his way.

#malukas #american

The IndyCar Series will race by the National Archives and the Smithsonian Air and ***** e Museum today in the Freedom 250 on the streets of Washington, D.C.
Championship points leader Alex Palou starts from the pole position for the longest street course race in series history, 147 laps on a 7-turn, 1.7-mile layout. He has an outside chance to lock up his fourth consecutive ***** le, and fifth in six years.
Kyle Kirkwood also earns a front-row starting spot as he and David Malukas (starting 6th) and Christian Lundgaard (9th) fight for second place in the standings.
President Trump is scheduled to wave the green flag shortly after 1 p.m.
We will have leaderboard updates and highlights throughout, so remember to refresh.

#race

MARKHAM, Ontario – Now that IndyCar drivers have gone on track following construction delays at the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham, teams and drivers are adjusting to their first practice session on the new street circuit. While drivers got some time to do simulator work for the 12-turn, 2.19-mile course in the weeks leading up to the event, racing on the real surface has some differences.
The biggest question coming into the weekend was how the tight, right-handed hairpin in Turn 5 would race. Marcus Armstrong said he and Meyer Shank Racing teammate Felix Rosenqvist thought there'd be a lot of grip at the top of the turn, which would make entering Turn 5 high and wide the ideal path. After one practice, Armstrong isn't so sure.
"I think I tried everything just to see what works," Armstrong said. "As the track evolves, it's probably going to change. Just like Long Beach, that really tight hairpin, it builds a lot of rubber. The line that you take at the start of the weekend can vary a lot towards the end of the weekend. I guess we're going to have to keep adapting to that grip. It's a very tricky corner. Zero grip. You're like sliding in, sliding mid-corner, and sliding out."
Team Penske's David Malukas felt the simulator was "spot on" except at the hairpin. Malukas didn't realize the elevation that takes place on the straightaway between Turns 4 and 5 until he did the track walk Friday. He's not confident that cars will be able to go two-wide into the turn, which leads into the longest straightaway on the track.
"If it is clean air running, I don't think it's big enough of a run," Malukas said. "You can maybe do a dive bomb, but you're going to go wide when the other guy does the normal corner, so I don't know."

#track #drivers #wide #going

The NTT IndyCar Series competed at Portland International Raceway, and it was a thrilling event. Alex Palou entered with a commanding lead in the points standings after winning at Nashville Superspeedway. However, was the four-time IndyCar champion able to enter victory lane at Portland?
Palou and the No. 10 team for Chip Ganassi Racing won the OnlyBulls Grand Prix of Portland on Sunday, earning their sixth victory of the 2026 IndyCar season. The driver of the No. 10 car won by four seconds over Felix Rosenqvist and eight seconds over Will Power.
Now, Palou has a 110-point lead over Kyle Kirkwood in the standings. Meanwhile, David Malukas has a 118-point deficit to Palou. Barring a historic collapse, the Chip Ganassi Racing driver seems destined for a fifth IndyCar championship. Palou is the best driver in the world, and he continues to flex his muscles.
No. 10 Alex Palou
No. 60 Felix Rosenqvist

#portland #driver #chip #racing

Felix Rosenqvist wins pole position for the IndyCar Series race at Portland International Raceway, with Alex Palou also on the front row. It is Rosenqvist's second pole of the year.
David Malukas, who was scheduled to serve a six-position grid penalty in the previous race in Nashville, will serve it here because he crashed in pre-qualifying practice at Nashville, forcing him to the rear of the field. Caio Collet is also serving a six-spot grid penalty for an excessive engine change.
Here's the qualifying lineup for Only Bulls Grand Prix of Portland, a 110-lap race on the 12-turn, 1.964-mile road course.
*: Serving a six-spot grid penalty for an unapproved engine change
Row 1

#penalty #nashville #serve

As the IndyCar Series enters its closing stretch, Team Penske veteran Scott McLaughlin believes the key to aiding teammate David Malukas in his championship pursuit against points leader Alex Palou comes down to flawless execution and a collective team effort.
Malukas currently sits 83 points behind four-time and reigning series champion Palou in the overall standings, facing his first true ******* le fight in IndyCar. Drawing on his own championship experience, McLaughlin's advice is simple: ignore the points and focus on execution.
"Firstly, one race at a time for everybody," said McLaughlin, 33. "Just take it as it comes, especially in this series these days, how competitive it is."
While Malukas has battled for championships during his junior formula career, notably finishing runner-up to Kyle Kirkwood for the 2021 Indy NXT ******* le, an IndyCar ******* le fight presents a different level of pressure. McLaughlin, who has finished third in the IndyCar championship twice (2023-24), emphasized that building the composure needed for these moments takes time on track.
Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske

#indycar #championship #time #title

Pato O'Ward earned his first podium and his first victory of the 2026 season at Mid-Ohio, holding off teammate Christian Lundgaard. They started 1-2, and finished 1-2, with O'Ward pulling off a daring pass on pole-sitter Lundgaard partway through the race. Just under a second separated them at the checkered flaag.
This is O'Ward's tenth career win, tying him with Pete DePaolo and Jimmy Vasser for 40th on the all-time wins list.
Kyle Kirkwood finished third, leading the way for Andretti Global, followed Juncos Hollinger Racing's Rinus VeeKay in fourth, and championship leader Alex Palou in fifth for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Will Power, Christian Rasmusen, David Malukas, Josef Newgarden, and Nolan Siegel filled out the remainder of the top ten.
Caio Collet led the way for the 2026 rookie class, finishing 11th. The race went completely caution-free with no incidents.