NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY (Lebanon, Tenn.) — David Malukas was taken to a local hospital for further testing after a hard crash in INDYCAR practice and will not qualify his car for the race.
Conor Daly, a journeyman who has a deep resume as a substitute driver and competed in the Indianapolis 500 this year, will drive the Team Penske No. 12 car in qualifying, Team Penske INDYCAR President Jonathan Diuguid told me and other reporters Saturday afternoon.
The status of Malukas for the final practice from 6-8 p.m. CT today and the race tomorrow is still to be determined, Diuguid said.
“David is still being evaluated, and we’re waiting for some feedback on that,” Diuguid said.
Malukas already had a nine-spot grid penalty for the race Sunday because he is on his fifth engine of the season. So the team will ask Daly to just shake down the backup car to make sure there are no issues and the car would start from the rear of the field.
“If the car is ready for qualifying, Conor is going to go do a shakedown run for us and treat it as an install check,” Diuguid said. “We obviously already have a nine-place grid penalty so [we’re] basically just trying to get that car prepared.”
Malukas was taken to the hospital by private vehicle, not in an ambulance nor a medical helicopter. He was awake and alert and in good spirits, according to Dr. Angi Fiege of the INDYCAR Medical team.
Fourth in the INDYCAR standings, Malukas posted the third-fastest lap in practice but crashed on his fifth lap on the 1.33-mile concrete oval. From video of the incident, it appeared his right knee hit the steering wheel following the impact with the wall.
“He got out of the car under his own power and walked along,” Diuguid said. “He’s just being evaluated by INDYCAR doctors right now.”
David Malukas crashed at Nashville Superspeedway preparing for Sunday’s Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix.
The rear of the car was destroyed, and the team had the backup chassis out and was working on it to get it ready for the remainder of the weekend. Diuguid was hopeful it would be ready for qualifying.
“They’re pushing quite hard right now, so we hope [it’s ready],” he said.
INDYCAR rules do allow for Team Penske to use a substitute driver to qualify for the race, and in order to race, the substitute driver would need to participate in the practice session on Saturday night or a special practice session at some point prior to the event.
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