IndyCar Barber: Full Practice 2 results explored as 23-year-old David Malukas goes fastest

David Malukas delivered an eye-catching performance during the second practice session of the Children’s Grand Prix of Alabama. The 23-year-old set the fastest lap time, putting the paddock on alert ahead of qualifying.

The AJ Foyt Racing driver clocked an impressive 1 minute, 8.1661 seconds at Barber Motorsports Park to set the pace and edge several of the Grand Prix favorites — albeit on dry tires. Things would largely take a dramatic turn as intensifying rain around the 2.3-mile circuit meant no other driver could match his time for the remainder of the session.

With the rain at the Birmingham road course showing no sign of abating and about 10 minutes left in the session, several drivers had to switch to rain tires. Three-time IndyCar champion Alex Palou was the fastest of the group on wets, although his time of 1:08.1958 was over two-tenths slower than the benchmark Malukas had set on slicks.

Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard followed in third, clocking a time of 1:08.3082. The Danish driver was followed in fourth place by two-time Grand Prix of Alabama winner Will Power, who recorded a time of 1:08.5496.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing rookie Louis Foster posted the fifth-fastest time in the wet with a 1:08.5567. Scott McLaughlin completed his session in sixth with a time of 1:08.5815. Robert Shwartzman, Santino Ferrucci, Kyle Kirkwood, and Conor Daly rounded out the top ten fastest drivers of the session.

However, the practice didn’t go without incident, as Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward went into the barriers at Turn 17, while Marcus Ericsson triggered a red flag after sliding into the gravel at Turn 13.

Overall, David Malukas and his AJ Foyt team will hope they can convert their strong outing in practice into a solid qualifying position ahead of the main race.

---

David Malukas reacts after topping Barber’s practice session

David Malukas during the Indy 500 Open Testing - Source: Getty

David Malukas shared his thoughts following his drive that saw him top the second practice session at the Children’s of Alabama Grand Prix. The former Meyer Shank driver clocked the fastest time after opting to make a qualifying simulation run just before it began raining at the permanent road course.

The Illinois-born driver, who was visibly excited with his result following the conclusion of the session, reflected on the session afterwards. Speaking in a video shared on X (formerly Twitter) by IndyCar, the 23-year-old stated:

“Alright everybody, just finished up practice two there and I mean, top of the leaderboard. I think we got a little bit lucky with the timing. We did do the new tires a little bit earlier than everybody else, and we were able to get a clear run in. I do know Palou and Lundgaard, I think, also got some clear laps — hard to say. But we are definitely in the window.”

Comparing the session to his struggles during the first practice, he continued:

“It’s a good recovery from practice one. We were having a little bit of a struggle bus, but we stayed a little bit extra here until that thunderstorm came in last night and found a car and a setup that we love…”

Indeed, David Malukas had a difficult first session of the race weekend, as he could only manage a 22nd-place finish with a time of 01:08.5594 during the Friday (May 2) event.

Malukas will fancy his chances of upsetting the largely predicted order and putting his car as high up as he can during qualifying. So far, his best qualifying session remains the 10th place he achieved during the Long Beach Grand Prix in California.