David Malukas is turning IndyCar’s most painful finishes into a shot at glory
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“P2 champions. That's been the story of this season,” David Malukas said with a smirk after finishing second in IndyCar's Grand Prix at Road America, his third second-place finish in five races.
Malukas’ first year with Team Penske has largely been a success. He secured his first career pole at Phoenix Raceway, has four podium finishes in 10 races and leads his Team Penske teammates — Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden — by more than 60 points in the standings (a win is worth 50 points).
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The only thing the Chicago native hasn’t done is reach the checkered flag first, although he’s come agonizingly close.
The most notable of those second-place finishes came in the Indianapolis 500, when Malukas' No. 12 Chevrolet was beaten to the bricks by Felix Rosenqvist’s No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda by just 0.0233 seconds, the closest finish the Indy 500 has ever seen in its 110 renditions. It was the second year in a row Malukas finished second in the Indy 500 (although he finished third on track in 2025 before Marcus Ericsson was disqualified).
“I can't believe it,” Malukas said before looking over his right shoulder at a replay of the Indy 500 finish in the IMS media center. “This whole season, even before, just keep getting a lot of seconds but we just can't get … I don't know how much closer you can get to getting it, so yeah. Now we're even P2 in the championship. It's great, so many seconds.”
The latest second-place finish vaulted Malukas back to second in the championship, where he trails only four-time champion Alex Palou. Despite Palou winning four races this year, Malukas has remained in the championship hunt, trailing Palou by 60 points and leading Kyle Kirkwood — who won the Grand Prix of Arlington in March — by one.
Malukas’ focus throughout the season has been split. At times, he’s gone for wins, which is the expectation for any Team Penske driver. But at the same time, Malukas has protected results, which has kept him in the mix for a championship. The 24-year-old claimed frustration is “starting to build” to get his first IndyCar win.
“It's always just a battle of trying to keep that kind of contained,” Malukas said after Road America, where he was second to Christian Lundgaard for the second time this season. “At the end of the day we're still in a championship fight, still a good amount of races to go. We really never know what happens.
“You're still on that edge of I want to take some risks to go for the win, at the same time I need to keep it contained because I don't want to make something stupid and get out of some good points. That's the challenge of this year, balancing between those two forms of racing.”
Malukas now has five career second-place finishes, which is tied for the third-most in IndyCar history without a win. Only Vitor Meira (eight second-place finishes) and Geoff Brabham (six second-place finishes) did it more often than Malukas, who’s only in his fifth season in IndyCar.
Can Malukas win the championship without a win?
With eight races remaining, Malukas remains within striking distance of Palou. Through 10 races last year, Palou’s lead over Kirkwood — who was second at the time — was 113 points. Malukas’ 60-point deficit seems far less daunting.
There have been four drivers to win an IndyCar championship without winning a race: Ted Horn (1946 AAA championship), Tony Bettenhausen (1958 USAC championship), Tom Sneva (1978 USAC championship) and Scott Sharp (tied for 1996 Indy Racing League championship). Horn and Sharp did so in seasons with fewer than 10 races. Sneva was actually fired by Team Penske following the 1978 season despite winning the championship.
To surpass Palou without winning a race, Malukas would need a decent string of luck. Despite finishing higher than Palou in four of the last five races, Malukas has shrunk the gap between them by only three points. Catching up without a win is a tall task, and Malukas doing so would likely take Palou not finishing at least one of the eight remaining races (but that’s before you get to Kirkwood, and even Lundgaard, being in the conversation too).
In the meantime, there hasn’t been an active conversation between Malukas and his timing stand — led by strategist Travis Law — about protecting points when he’s in contention to win races. When Malukas was ahead of Palou and Kirkwood, as he was at Road America, the goal has still been to win while being smart in the cockpit.
“It's more of a mental note to myself to keep calm, keep that controlled,” Malukas said. “At the end of the day, I'm 24 years old. That younger side of me wants to come out and do some stupid stuff. I'm trying to keep it calm.”
Malukas has done almost everything Team Penske has asked of him in his first season with the team. Now, the focus is on finally getting that win and trying to stop Palou’s attempt at winning a record-tying fourth straight championship.
Until then, Malukas — affectionately nicknamed "Little Dave" until he gets his first win — is focused on staying calm, which has kept him near the front of the pack more often than not in 2026.
Zion Brown is IndyStar's motorsports reporter. Follow him at @z10nbr0wn. Get IndyStar's motor sports coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Motor Sports newsletter. Subscribe to the YouTube channel IndyStar TV: IndyCar for a behind-the-scenes look at IndyCar and expert analysis.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: David Malukas is turning IndyCar’s most painful finishes into a shot at glory