By David Morgan, Associate Editor
LEBANON, Tenn. – David Malukas came into Sunday’s Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway full of optimism that this could finally be the day he won a race in the NTT IndyCar Series.
Unfortunately, his day would see him being airlifted to a local hospital after a crash on Lap 82.
The driver of the No. 4 A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet started from the outside of the front row and kept himself in the mix at the front of the field, but as he found himself trying to navigate around rookie Louis Foster, it all came to a crashing halt.
As the two drivers charged into Turn 1, Foster moved high to defend a charging Malukas, with the two making contact as Malukas kept his foot in it and tried to complete the pass around the outside.
The contact sent Malukas hard into the outside SAFER barrier, with the contact heavy enough to necessitate a lengthy caution to repair the impact point.
Contact from Louis Foster sends David Malukas into the wall. pic.twitter.com/Kizl3bSSA5
— INDYCAR on FOX (@IndyCarOnFOX) August 31, 2025
Malukas was slow to exit his battered car afterwards, getting help from the AMR Safety Team to do so and sitting down on the edge of his car after climbing out to get his bearings back.
The 23-year-old would head to the INDYCAR Medical Unit as is protocol after any crash, but a short time later, the medical helicopter fired up with Malukas on board to take him to a local hospital for further evaluation.
“David is doing well. He’s awake, he’s alert. He is is really good spirits. We’re just sending him down to our trauma center for some precautionary evaluation and advanced imaging,” Dr. Julia Vaizer, INDYCAR Medical Director said.
Shortly after 5:00 pm Central, it was announced that Malukas had been released following his short visit to the hospital.
https://twitter.com/malukasdavid/status/1962302113599393979
For his part in the incident, Foster would be penalized for blocking and handed a drive-through penalty.
After the race, Foster expressed his best wishes to Malukas after learning that he had been transported to the hospital, but disagreed with the penalty call, noting he would be meeting with the stewards to get a better clarification on it.
“First off, I heard he went to hospital. Want to make sure he’s okay. I’ve heard that he is somewhat okay. That’s good to hear. I’ll text him after to make sure he’s okay,” said Foster.
“For me, we were trying to stay on the lead lap. Had one leader in front of me. I think he was second at the time. I held my line. He turned down into me. I couldn’t do a lot about it.
“I think he tried to chop across in front of me expecting me to back out of it more than I did. He hit my front right. Luckily, I didn’t get any damage. Luckily, he’s somewhat okay.
“Yeah, unfortunate. I think I got the penalty for blocking. I’m going to see the stewards afterwards because I’m not sure exactly what that was for.”
Be the first to comment