Malukas qualifies third while Rosenqvist starts 19th after receiving six place grid-penalty for an engine change
Lexington, Ohio (6 July 2024) – Meyer Shank Racing’s (MSR) David Malukas is making a statement for skipping pre-season training as the third-year driver from Chicago put his No. 66 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda in the third spot on the grid for Sunday’s Honda Indy 200 of Mid-Ohio (NBC/Peacock 1:30pm, SiriusXM Ch. 218) in just his second NTT INDYCAR SERIES race of the season. The result is the seventh time in 10 races that MSR has made an appearance in the Firestone Fast 6.
Malukas, who took over in the cockpit of the No. 66 machine two weeks ago at Laguna Seca, matched a career-best and posted the best Mid-Ohio qualifying result ever for the Central Ohio-based MSR squad as he claimed the third position after three rounds of qualifying Saturday at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
The MSR pilot had just one lap to put down a fast time in the Firestone Fast 6 before pitting and making another single lap run for pole. Doing just that, Malukas posted the third fastest time which marks the fourth time this year that an MSR car will start in the top three.
Felix Rosenqvist (No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda) narrowly missed out on advancing into the second round of qualifying, getting knocked out in the final few seconds of the opening session. His best lap of 1:05.6921 left him seventh in the qualifying run and just one, one-hundredth of a second shy of the transfer. The time initially set him into the 13th spot on the grid for Sunday’s race, however, a six-place grid penalty for an engine change will relegate him to the 19th starting spot for tomorrow’s 80-lap race.
Sunday’s Honda Indy 200 of Mid-Ohio will air on NBC and Peacock starting at 1:30 p.m. ET. SiriusXM will also host live race coverage via IndyCar Radio on XM Ch. 218.
Meyer Shank Racing Driver Quotes:
Felix Rosenqvist: “I went a little too hard in the last corner of the last lap and understeered a little bit. It’s hard when you know you could have advanced pretty easily, but you went for it and it didn’t work out. We’ll have the (six place) grid penalty as well so we’ll be deeper in the field and will have some work to do tomorrow.”
David Malukas: “Talk about a turn around. This year has been an emotional rollercoaster and just looking back on everything, I’ve been allowed to reach my max potential. At Laguna there was so much pace there but with the hand, I had to break it in and get it back to where it needs to be. I knew coming into here the guys has done an incredible job prepping the car, and Josh with Honda did an awesome job as well. I knew that the set up was there and the car was there and we just had to put it together. It was a perfect situation for me and I couldn’t be happier.”