Both Chevrolet drivers inside the top four in the NTT IndyCar Series championship standings have been penalized ahead of Sunday's Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway, the 12th of 18 events on the 2026 schedule.
Arrow McLaren's Christian Lundgaard, who is third in the standings with two victories, and Team Penske's David Malukas, who is fourth with three runner-up finishes, have been issued nine-position grid penalties for Sunday's 300-lap race around the four-turn, 1.333-mile (2.145-kilometer) Lebanon, Tennessee oval.
Both Lundgaard's No. 7 Chevrolet and Malukas' No. 12 Chevrolet were fitted with their fifth engines of the season following the recent test at the Milwaukee Mile, adding their names to the long list of recent Chevrolet drivers to change engines.
Lundgaard, Malukas penalized at Nashville
They were penalized in accordance with Rule 16.1.2.3.2 and Rule 16.1.6.1.2 of the IndyCar rulebook.
The former states that a "fifth (5th) Engine is eligible to earn Engine Manufacturer points and will be considered an Approved Engine Change-Out if a Full Season Entrant has completed the Full Season Entrant Engine Mileage with its first four (4) Engines. Otherwise, a fifth (5th) or more Engine does not earn Engine Manufacturer points and will be considered an Unapproved Engine Change-Out."
While the penalty is a six-position starting grid penalty when the next race is a road or street course event, it's a nine-spot penalty when the next race is an oval event. The Nashville race is the fourth of six oval races on the calendar and the first since early June's race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.
Malukas, who trails Chip Ganassi Racing's Alex Palou by 66 points for the championship lead, is the series' oval points leader, with a nine-point advantage over teammate Josef Newgarden. Lundgaard is 16th in the oval standings but is 65 points below Palou for the overall points lead.
Since the penalty was announced, it has been confirmed that Malukas will not qualify on Saturday, with Conor Daly set to replace him behind the wheel of the No. 12 Chevrolet in the qualifying session after Malukas was taken to the hospital following his crash in morning practice.
Sunday's Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix is set to be shown live on Fox after the World Cup Final, with coverage set to begin at 5:30 p.m. ET. A pre-race show is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss any of the action!
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