David Malukas is ‘going into it blind’ heading into Iowa Speedway

Jeffrey Hrunka - INDYCAR Contributor

Riley Ogle (Motorsports Today, 2025)

David Malukas and A.J. Foyt Racing have been the talk of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES garage heading into Iowa Speedway, with this first-year partnership showing significant success on ovals through the first half of the season. 

However, a new short track package and extended race lengths at Iowa could spell trouble for the Chicago native, as neither he nor A.J. Foyt Racing tested at the track a couple of weeks ago. Malukas talked with the media on Tuesday, July 8, ahead of the doubleheader weekend.

“A lot of unknowns going into it, but the good news is everybody's kind of going to be in that same format,” said Malukas. "We're going to have to be kind of battling each other on who can figure it out the quickest.”

After NASCAR repaved Iowa Speedway to aid its racing series, the IndyCar product suffered for it. Between the doubleheader weekends in 2023 and 2024, the number of overtakes decreased by 27%, while the number of lead changes was cut in half from 13 to 7.

“INDYCAR is trying to do everything that they can,” Malukas said. Iowa used to be an incredible circuit for us with many, many passes, so hopefully, with these changes and the new package that INDYCAR is working on, we can get back to the old ways.”

IndyCar tested a new aerodynamic package and tire compound specifically designed for the Iowa Speedway on June 25. 

Of the teams that tested the compound two weeks ago, AJ Foyt Racing and Malukas missed out on the test, heavily relying on their technical alliance with Team Penske for data heading into the weekend.

"I'm very 50/50. We'll see if INDYCAR can do it,” Malukas said. “Obviously, we didn't get any testing, so it's hard for me to put any perspective on it. We’re going to be going into it blind.”

Malukas aims to build on his recent success in his first season with AJ Foyt Racing. He currently sits in a career-best 12th in the points standings, with career showings in the first two oval races of the season at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and WWT Raceway. 

In those races, he finished second in the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 and led a career-high 67 laps in the Bommarito 500.

“It comes down to having good consistency in these races,” Malukas said. “I feel like our qualifying performances have been there but kind of missing out on these little, kind of finite things that happen and spiral us into losing a few spots.”

Maulkas has a best finish of eighth around "The Fastest Short Track on the Planet," with an average finish of 13.7. He has not been able to replicate the same success he has had at the latter two ovals, but looks to A.J. Foyt's technical partnership with Team Penske for confidence heading into the weekend.

“I think the success has always been there for Iowa,” Malukas said. “So, I'm very excited to see how that short oval car is going to be compared when it comes to Iowa, and we get there and see. It definitely feels good going into Iowa knowing we're going to have a pretty good car.”

The NTT INDYCAR SERIES travels to Des Moines, Iowa, for the only doubleheader of the season at Iowa Speedway on Saturday, July 11, and Sunday, July 12. The Sykn 275 and the Farm to Fresh 275 will be on FOX.

“With all that chaos going on, to get on top of it and try to push forward and make these moves, it gets tough,” said Malukas. “That's why, for Iowa, no matter how hard you push, it's going to come down to the wire for making sure that we can get a good result out of [the weekend].”