IndyCar: Arrow McLaren need a new driver for Long Beach race
By Asher Fair
David Malukas has still not been cleared to return to the NTT IndyCar Series after undergoing surgery for a wrist injury he suffered in a preseason mountain biking incident.
Malukas, who competed for Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports in 2022 and 2023, has yet to officially make his debut behind the wheel of the No. 6 Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren.
Callum Ilott replaced him for the season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida last month, and he again stood in for the 22-year-old Chicago, Illinois native during the exhibition race at the Thermal Club.
David Malukas remains sidelined
Ilott is back behind the wheel of the No. 6 Chevrolet for this week's two-day Indy 500 test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and it has also been confirmed that Malukas will not compete in the second points race on the 17-race schedule.
That race, for which Malukas had been expected to return when his initial recovery timetable was laid out, is scheduled to take place on the streets of Long Beach, California on Sunday, April 21.
Due to Ilott's conflicting commitments in the FIA World Endurance Championship, he will be unable to replace Malukas in this event, meaning that McLaren must find another new driver for the No. 6 Chevrolet.
With Malukas ruled out for this race, his status for the following race at Barber Motorsports Park remains in question as well. While the series is in the midst of a six-week break between the season's first two points races, there is only one week between the second and the third.
As a result of this latest development, the No. 6 Chevrolet will have seen three different drivers in the last three points races, dating back to last year's season finale at Laguna Seca, by the time the Long Beach race concludes, and none of them will have been the driver actually confirmed as the car's full-time pilot for 2024.
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Felix Rosenqvist drove the car full-time in 2023 before making the move to Meyer Shank Racing for 2024. Malukas has yet to officially replace him.
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