IndyCar: 5 possible replacements for Marcus Ericsson in 2024
By Asher Fair
Possible Marcus Ericsson replacements for 2024: No. 2 – David Malukas
Late last season, David Malukas emerged as a potential replacement for Alex Palou at Chip Ganassi Racing, provided Palou did leave the team after two seasons.
In fact, Malukas even encouraged reporters to write about him potentially having interest shown in him from some of the sport’s top teams, even though he had a deal in place to return to the No. 18 Honda in 2023. HMD Motorsports is owned by his father Henry.
But just as Palou ended up back with Chip Ganassi Racing, Malukas ended up back with Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports for a second season this year. However, 2024 should produce a different story.
Malukas was impressive down the stretch in 2022, particularly in the oval races. He finished in eighth place in the oval standings with a career-high second place finish at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, and he picked up where he left off in 2023, placing fourth at Texas Motor Speedway.
He has also improved in the road and street course races, having already doubled his top 10 finish total in such races from all of last year.
Let’s also not forget where Palou came from before he joined Chip Ganassi Racing — and immediately won a championship. He competed for Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh in 2020 and finished in 16th place in the standings with three DNFs, one podium finish, three top 10 finishes, and an average finish of 14th — the exact statline posted by Malukas as a rookie in 2022.