Team Penske's David Malukas had a rollercoaster of a weekend at Nashville Superspeedway. After he was confirmed to be receiving a grid penalty due to an engine change, he was quick in practice.
But he crashed during the session, leading to a hospital visit that ultimately determined he could indeed compete in the Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix. But after the No. 12 Chevrolet didn't qualify, he was forced to start at the back.
Malukas took the lead of Monday's rain-delayed race early on after staying out while most of the other drivers came into the pits during an early caution. He battled back from a lap down after being caught out by a later yellow, since he had already made his pit stop while several others hadn't.
He benefited from the race's final caution since he hadn't yet made his final pit stop of the afternoon, and he managed to hang on for a third place finish on a day he started 25th but still led 59 of 225 laps around the four-turn, 1.333-mile (2.145-kilometer) Lebanon, Tennessee oval.
But one aspect that has not been a rollercoaster when it comes to Malukas' first season behind the No. 12 car is the oval standings.
David Malukas leads IndyCar's oval standings, without a win
He took pole for the first oval race of the year at Phoenix Raceway before finishing in third, and he moved to the lead of the oval standings in the Indy 500 with a second place finish.
He hasn't looked back since.
Malukas entered the 2026 season with three career podium finishes on ovals, one in each of his first three full seasons, and he's scored three through the first four oval races of this season, including his second consecutive Indy 500 runner-up result.
His only non-podium on an oval this year so far is a seventh place finish at Gateway, and he leads a Penske 1-2-3 atop the oval standings, five points ahead of Josef Newgarden and 25 ahead of Scott McLaughlin.
Newgarden won at Phoenix and Gateway and placed second at Nashville, but his crash at Indy continues to keep him out of the top spot. McLaughlin hasn't finished lower than eighth on an oval all year.
The crazy part? Malukas still has zero career IndyCar wins to his name.
That actually might be a good thing, with two oval races, both at the Milwaukee Mile, remaining on this year's schedule.
McLaughlin won the 2024 oval championship, and he didn't win an oval race until that year. Chip Ganassi Racing's Alex Palou won the 2025 oval championship, and despite having won three series championships from 2021 to 2024, he didn't win an oval race until that year either.
Can Malukas get his first career IndyCar victory at Milwaukee, where he started on the front row a year ago, and seal the 2026 oval championship in doing so?
There are still three races on the IndyCar schedule before the Milwaukee doubleheader is scheduled to take place on the final weekend in August. Beginning on Sunday, August 9, there are set to be six races over a 29-day stretch to conclude the 2026 season. All six races are set to be shown live on Fox, so begin a free trial of FuboTV and catch all of the action!
