David Malukas Earns First Career NTT P1 Award at Phoenix David Malukas secured his first career NTT P1 Award in qualifying for the Good Ranchers 250 at Phoenix Raceway, marking a significant milestone in his IndyCar career. The Chicago-area native, who joined Team Penske this offseason for his fifth season in the series, turned the fastest two-lap qualifying average of 175.383 mph in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. His pole position sets the stage for a potential first career victory in the 250-lap race scheduled for Saturday. Malukas, who previously earned second-place finishes three times last season with AJ Foyt Racing, expressed his excitement about finally securing pole position. “Finally!” he said. “I’m so happy. So many P2s. The story of ovals last season was we had it, waited until the last few guys and then boom, you get P2. But finally we got it.” Malukas was the 13th of 24 drivers to attempt qualifying on the 1-mile desert oval after leading practice sessions at 175.605 mph. The pole position also marked a front-row sweep for Team Penske, the most successful team in recent years on short ovals. Josef Newgarden, who won at Phoenix in 2018, qualified second at 174.548 mph in the No. 2 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing had a breakthrough performance on the short oval, a challenge for the team in recent seasons. Graham Rahal qualified third at 173.993 mph in the No. 15 Fifth Third Bank Honda, while rookie Mick Schumacher, competing in his first oval race, secured the fourth starting spot at 173.667 mph in the No. 47 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda. Schumacher, a Formula One veteran, praised his team’s effort. “We knew what we had to do, and we managed to put a good couple of laps together,” he said. “I’m excited to run the race.#david_malukas #team_penske #phoenix_raceway #good_ranchers_250 #josef_newgarden
