By David Morgan, Associate Editor
MADISON, Ill. – David Malukas is on a mission.
The 23-year-old Chicago, Illinois native made a statement in the final on-track time ahead of Sunday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway topping the board in both the high line and full field final practice session on the 1.25-mile oval.
Piloting his No. 4 A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet, Malukas has been fast throughout the day, posting the third fastest time in first practice, qualifying in fourth place, and now topping final practice.
Gateway was the track he scored his first career podium finish in 2022 when he drove for Dale Coyne Racing and has consistently found himself in the mix for the win.
Asked what his secret to success at Gateway is, Malukas explained that it’s as much a mystery to himself as it is everyone else.
“I don’t know,” Malukas said with a laugh. “Everybody keeps asking me that and I wish I knew. ‘Cause then I would just do that in every track, you know?
“I think it’s just something that I’ve managed to understand really well with the car. The difference of one and two to three and four, getting that set up to where it needs to be. I think I’ve managed to just get that connection, but I don’t know.”
A.J. Foyt Racing team president Larry Foyt explained on the practice broadcast that while it may have been a slow start to the season with Malukas joining the fold, he has really picked things up as of late.
“It was a great pick up for us, for sure,” said Foyt. “He’s been great. He came over to the team and it was a lot of new people. A new engineer for him. The switch to Chevrolet. It didn’t start off as fast as we wanted, but he’s really showing I think the potential of himself and the team right now.”
Josef Newgarden, who was fastest in the opening practice of the weekend and looks to score a sixth win at Gateway, was second on the timing sheet when final practice concluded, being among the drivers to mix it up during the session to find the limit for his No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet.
Just testing out some race moves in practice 🫣 pic.twitter.com/dzXijEnVo9
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) June 15, 2025
Newgarden did not run in the high line session due to sensor issue with the car and inability to make any changes to the car during that session. He returned to the track during the full field final practice, seemingly no worse for wear.
Three-time and defending series champion, Alex Palou was third on the board in final practice as he will aim to go back-to-back in oval races after conquering the Indianapolis 500 in May.
The remainder of the top-10 in final practice went to Scott Dixon, Christian Lundgaard, Alexander Rossi, Nolan Siegel, Kyffin Simpson, Felix Rosenqvist, and Colton Herta.
All that remains now is Sunday’s race, which is scheduled for an 8:20 pm ET green flag on FOX.
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