"Had to get 4-5 surgeries": IndyCar star David Malukas reveals aftermath of career-changing injury

Team Penske driver David Malukas has revealed the painful aftermath of his career-changing wrist injury. The IndyCar prodigy got into a mountain biking accident weeks before the 2024 season began.

Malukas was about to enter a new and pivotal phase in his racing career, having signed with Arrow McLaren in September 2023. However, it all came crashing down after the accident, which left him with a fractured and dislocated left wrist. On February 13, he underwent surgery on the wrist, and the stitches were taken out just under 10 days later.

The recovery process took longer than expected for David Malukas, and Arrow McLaren released him from the team after he missed four races. In a recent episode of the Stickers & Send It podcast hosted by motorsport broadcaster Tom Gaymor and IndyCar driver Jack Harvey, Malukas opened up about the rollercoaster that was his post-surgery recovery process.

"I had to get four, five surgeries at the end," said the Team Penske driver. "Through that time, the recovery was always changing. One week it's looking good, the next week, it's not. It was going up and down. And eventually, finally got the green light to get working on it. But by that time, it had already been a few months of being a cast, all locked up."

"So by the time I started moving it again, it was so weak. I had to start by moving rice through my fingers initially, and that was... all my muscles of my hand were shaking just to move some rice around. It was very, very weak, and it was a hard process to get it back up and running," he added.

After Arrow McLaren axed him, David Malukas was left without any racing commitments for the season until Meyer Shank Racing came to his rescue and signed him for the second half of the season. Before the 2024 season ended, AJ Foyt Racing signed him for 2025 for the No. 4 entry that was understood to be sponsored entirely by Team Penske, which had a technical alliance with AJFR.

David Malukas nearly lost hope of an IndyCar return after McLaren axe

David Malukas speaks with an AJ Foyt Racing crew member at the 2025 IndyCar Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix - Source: Getty

David Malukas has spoken about his wrist injury as a pivotal point in his IndyCar career, one that matured him beyond his years. He saw the opportunity of a lifetime with McLaren slip right out of his hands and couldn't do anything to fight for the seat.

"It was such a long time, and to be sitting out of the car and just thinking, 'Man, if I don't get into a ride...' And even if I get something, possibly for next year, and it's so hard to get into IndyCar," Malukas said on the podcast. "Right now, the talent pool is so strong. There's so many people waiting to jump in and go for it. I really thought it was lost and gone."

He described that phase of his career as possibly the toughest, and one that had him feeling low often.

"A lot of sad days, but I got up and worked really hard. Definitely would not be the drive I am today or the person I am today. That made me mature many, many years. I think I matured 10 years in one year."

However, as David Malukas' recovery process reached completion and he started showing up to the IndyCar paddock to remind team bosses of his availability, the tides turned. A "miracle call" from Meyer Shank Racing brought him right back to the center of action and towards the call-up from AJ Foyt Racing.

In 2025, the soreness from the wrist injury continued to trouble Malukas. Nonetheless, he had an impressive run with AJFR, including a runner-up finish at the 109th Indianapolis 500. Throughout the season, he was rumored to replace two-time IndyCar champion Will Power at Team Penske in 2026, a move that was confirmed in the first month of the offseason in September.

David Malukas will begin writing a new and possibly the most engrossing chapter of his IndyCar career with Team Penske in 2026.