NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY (Lebanon, Tenn.) — David Malukas was taken to a local hospital for further testing after a hard crash in INDYCAR practice and was cleared to race after tests showed no broken bones or torn ligaments in his badly bruised right knee.l
Malukas practiced in a backup Team Penske No. 12 car Saturday night in preparation for the race Sunday. He missed qualifying and will start at the rear of the field.
After showing that he could get in and out of his car with no problem at the track, INDYCAR medical officials cleared Malukas.
Malukas spoke on the FOX Sports telecast of the final practice session.
“Everything is good,” Malukas said on the telecast, later adding, “Thankfully, everything came back clean. Nothing’s broken. Nothing’s torn. Which is pretty impressive because I literally took the [steering] wheel off with my knee.
“I couldn’t believe that. It’s just badly bruised.”
Malukas, who did not wear any sort of brace or wrap, was fastest in the final practice session.
“Honestly, I felt really good,” Malukas told me and other reporters after the session. “The medical team got me sorted out, and obviously a little bit of adrenaline I’m running on there.
“Honestly, with the knee, all the pain is with movement. And in the car, my knee is at full extension, so there’s no pain. It’s pretty funny — it’s painful getting in and out. But once you’re in it, it’s it’s great.”
Conor Daly, a journeyman who has a deep resume as a substitute driver and competed in the Indianapolis 500 this year, originally was set to drive the Team Penske No. 12 car in qualifying. But the team did not get the car ready, and INDYCAR told the team that it wouldn’t be able to change drivers twice during the weekend.
Malukas already had a nine-spot grid penalty for the race Sunday because he is on his fifth engine of the season. So he likely would have started middle of the pack at best.
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.
Fiege was at the car for what Malukas got in and out of the car and gave him a thumbs up after he got out.
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.
“It just snapped on me,” Malukas said. “I didn’t help myself with the tools. I was getting a lot of push on entry [to the turn], so I kept moving that front [sway] bar, and obviously mid-corner went into Turn 1 and had a big snap.
“It could have been many different things, but very, very unfortunate.”
His right knee hit the steering wheel following the impact with the wall and knocked the steering wheel off the car.
“I was talking with the medical team, and they said actually I’m not the first person to have that, and it seems this is a new occurrence that’s happening,” Malukas said. “So they took pictures of everything, and they’re going to study it.”
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 spent several hours trying to get the backup car ready.
INDYCAR rules would have allowed 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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