David Malukas reflects on first Penske season as Scott Dixon's era at Chip Ganassi Racing ends
That is a wrap on the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season, and the finale at the Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey brought plenty of drama. brought his No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet home in fifth place on Sunday, locking in three consecutive top-five finishes to close out his campaign. It was his ninth top-five of the year, a result that left him satisfied with his first season at Penske even if he felt some early weekend mistakes held them back.
Malukas made a massive statement about his versatility this season. Before joining the squad, five of his six career top-five finishes across 61 starts came on ovals. This year, four of his nine top-five finishes came on permanent road courses. He noted that while street courses still need work, cracking the code on road courses was a huge step forward, though a tender left wrist made things difficult late in the 95-lap race. The pain stems from a fracture, dislocation, and torn ligaments suffered in a mountain biking accident back in February 2024, and it started giving out toward the end of the race, which featured just one caution on the opening lap. Despite that hurdle, Malukas ended up fifth in the championship standings—easily a career best, topping his previous best of 11th last season with AJ Foyt Racing—and finished as the top Team Penske driver, ahead of teammates in sixth and in eighth.
Up front, put on a charge in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda for Andretti Global. Starting sixth, he climbed to finish second in Sunday's race and secured second in the 2026 standings, finishing 86 points behind champion . Kirkwood noted the massive year-over-year jump for the team, which built strong momentum with and coming on very strong at the end of the year. He entered the weekend third in points, two behind , but Danish driver Lundgaard climbed from 11th on the grid to finish sixth in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Pato O’Ward also wrapped up a strong fourth in the final standings after finishing 11th Sunday in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, marking his sixth top-five points finish in seven full-time seasons. Meanwhile, Marcus Ericsson drove his No. 28 DKY Foundation Honda to a ninth-place finish on Sunday, jumping from eighth to seventh in the final standings.
