First frustration, then regret, and finally clarification: After David Malukas’s bitter restart drama in Milwaukee, Chevrolet clarifies the cause of the glitch
It was the most crucial moment of Sunday’s make-up race in Milwaukee: With 19 laps to go, David Malukas was on track for his first IndyCar victory when his engine suddenly stuttered briefly while shifting up during the decisive restart. Pato O’Ward slipped through on the inside, celebrated the one-two finish—and a devastated Malukas had to settle for second place for the fourth time in the 2026 season and the sixth time in his career.
Immediately after the race, the 24-year-old lost his temper on IndyCar Radio: “Chevy just let us down. I mean, fuel-ignition in the intake plenum [‘Plenum Event’]—every time I drive out of the pit lane, I have to lift off the gas in first and second gear. That’s ridiculous.”
“The team did a fantastic job; this car was insane. We were so fast—faster than the rest. And then you get let down like that on that restart.” When asked if the rev limiter had kicked in, he added in frustration: “I don’t want to go into detail. We were let down today. We should have won that. We’re just cursed.”
Malukas’ Regret: “Childish and Immature”
But the dust settled quickly. On Monday morning, the Penske driver addressed the public on social media and completely backtracked: “Well, I’m not proud of what I said yesterday. It was childish and spoken out of frustration.”
“Chevy has done a great job for me this year, and without them I wouldn’t have achieved these results. I apologize for what I said—it was immature of me.”
Frustration from David Malukas after finishing P3 in Race 1 at Milwaukee.
He chats with @Ghenneberry47. pic.twitter.com/tmqAnMFLiW
— INDYCAR on FOX (@IndyCarOnFOX) August 31, 2026
Malukas directly refuted rumors that the engine manufacturer had forced him to issue a watered-down rebuttal: “Nobody said anything to me. Chevy admitted the mistake. My behavior and my words were simply wrong. When I crashed in a previous race and Chevy had to build a new engine, they didn’t tear me apart—they supported me.”
He simply woke up, felt guilty, and wanted to know what it feels like to be criticized despite giving 110 percent.
Chevrolet Clarifies: Sensor Malfunction Led to the Misfire
The U.S. manufacturer has since issued an official clarification. In a statement to Motorsport.com USA, Chevrolet explained the exact technical cause of the power loss on lap 231 and, at the same time, expressed understanding for Malukas’ emotional outburst.
“David Malukas had a problem with an engine sensor that caused a ‘plenum event’ while shifting up during the final restart shortly before the end of Sunday’s race at the Milwaukee Mile,” the manufacturer stated. The 2.2-liter twin-turbo V6 is operating at its absolute limit to provide drivers with maximum power.
— David Malukas (@malukasdavid) August 31, 2026
“We fully understand David’s frustration at having missed out on the victory he was aiming for. Motorsports is a constant balancing act between maximizing performance and minimizing risk. We will use the insights from last weekend for the season finale at Laguna Seca.”
That puts the heated feud to rest. For Malukas, however, the bitter statistic remains ahead of the finale at Laguna Seca Raceway: With six second-place finishes and not a single victory, he shares this unfortunate record with Romain Grosjean, among others—in this inglorious all-time list, only Victor Meira (eight second-place finishes) ranks ahead of him.