David Malukas experienced a challenging moment during the first practice session for the Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix at the Nashville Superspeedway, after suffering an accident that required repairs to the track wall.
With about 40 minutes left in the session, the Chicago driver was in second place on the time sheet with a record of 196.340 mph on a lap. Unfortunately, he lost control of his vehicle on lap 2, performing a half spin before hitting the wall at the same corner.
The collision was violent enough to cause the steering wheel of his car to disconnect. Thanks to the quick actions of the AMR safety team, Malukas was able to exit his Team Penske car under his own power, seemingly without suffering serious injuries.
Additionally, the section of the SAFER barrier that was impacted was damaged, and track personnel had to initiate immediate repairs. Competition officials decided to extend the practice session by another 10 minutes, as the repairs took more than 20 minutes.
According to the FOX Sports report, Malukas entered the corner at 201 mph before losing control, with data estimating the impact of the crash at a speed between 130 and 140 mph.
It remains to be seen whether Malukas will need to switch to a backup car, as he had already suffered a nine-position grid penalty for an unapproved engine change. He currently sits fourth in the IndyCar championship standings, with two podium finishes in the Phoenix and Indianapolis 500 races, and three top 10 finishes in the oval races of this season.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
