Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports’ David Malukas came from 19th on the grid at the XPEL 375 at Texas Motor Speedway and ended the race in 11th place and in doing so was the highest placed rookie in the opening oval race of the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series season.
Speaking following the race Malukas said:
“Wow, that’s a long race! Thank goodness for those yellows, it allowed me to rest a bit. We had a few incidents or moments, I guess. I stalled in pit lane and then had a moment trying to make a pass driving on the second line, but throughout all of it we were able to come out in 11th. I think that really shows how great IndyCar is and how great Texas Motor Speedway is. You have moments where unfortunate things can happen but you can still be a front runner. I want to thank the team for giving me a great car and everyone for their support.”
Takuma Sato in the No.51 Nurtec ODT Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda had a great start to the XPEL 375 at Texas Motor Speedway running in the top three however he was forced to retire from the race and speaking following the action he said:
“We had mixed feelings today. Obviously disappointed to not finish the race but David (Malukas) had an exciting race which was good for the team. We had a very fast car today. At the start, we weren’t very good, but I was able to regain my position moving up from fifth to third. I was able to stretch out our first stint. I think our tire management was better so I led the race in the perfect first stint. Unfortunately, we had a little issue with our teammate in pit lane and I couldn’t get into my box because I was blocked so I lost significant positions. In my second stint, as I was trying to get back to the front I was side by side with DeFrancesco and he had a moment and came up the track and made contact and I ended up damaging my suspension. It’s very unfortunate but the team did a fantastic job this weekend. I’m excited for the next race in Long Beach, we’ll be refreshed, and we’ll try our best again.”