David Malukas started "hallucinating" in extremely hot IndyCar Road America race: "Was seeing bears and things"

David Malukas has revealed that he started "hallucinating" during IndyCar's 2025 XPEL Grand Prix at Road America on Sunday. The AJ Foyt Racing driver was severely "dehydrated" in the second half of the grueling 55-lap race around the 4.048-mile circuit.

The temperatures at the start of the race hovered around 94 degrees Fahrenheit (~34 degrees Celsius) and increased slightly to 96 degrees as the race progressed. Many drivers opted for cool suits to combat the heat and maintain performance. In a post-race interview with FrontStretch, the 23-year-old said:

"Oh, man. That was actually horrendous. We decided not to do cool suit, we were having some issues with it. Man, it was so hot! I think it was about 35 laps in when I was like squinting my eyes, you know, focus on what's in front of me. I don't even know what the car is. There's like seven front... rear wings. I'm like hallucinating over here.

I thought I was seeing bears and things. I was getting real, real dehydrated. So soon as we came in, I was launching everything out (of the cockpit to get out of the car). Everybody was like, 'Hey, good recovery.' I'm like, 'Get me out, get me out. I need water.' So yeah, tough race." [1:45]

Malukas faced an early setback at IndyCar's XPEL Grand Prix at Road America. He bumped into the back of Christian Lundgaard's car in Turn 2 on Lap 1 and spun out onto the gravel, bringing out the race's first caution period. He could continue once the IndyCar safety crew towed him back onto the track, but he was dead last.

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David Malukas explains the reason behind his lap 1 incident at Road America: "Caught me off guard"

David Malukas in the gravel at the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America - Source: Getty

David Malukas' lap 1 incident at the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America stemmed from his front tires locking up. He was caught off guard by the braking of his car. In the interview mentioned above, he explained how his AJ Foyt Racing crew had changed the race trim of his vehicle, also impacting the braking.

"We did a different trim level for the race and the braking performance just plummeted. It was the right call because you can make passes very well, but definitely caught me off guard. I was really surprised, hit break, then just locked up. We had to box because I shot those tires because after that, I kept locking up, locking up," David Malukas said. [1:10]

The No. 4 Chevy driver suffered the same issue even on his second set of tires. Figuring out his new braking point became another challenge in the scorching race. Surprisingly, in the chaotic race with multiple cautions and various drivers on different strategies, Malukas went from starting seventh to dead last and back to secure a seventh-place finish.

Alex Palou won the race, securing his sixth win of the season and reinstating his dominance in IndyCar. Felix Rosenqvist and Malukas' teammate Santino Ferrucci occupied the other two spots on the podium.