Bruised knee, crash, missed qualifying, then Malukas third

David Malukas turned a bruised right knee, a hard crash in practice and a missed qualifying session into a third-place finish Monday at Nashville Superspeedway, giving him his fifth podium of the season in the rain-delayed Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix. He started 25th and said the comeback was emotional after what he described as the hardest race of his life.

Malukas also led 59 laps in the 225-lap race, using a different tire strategy to work through the field. He credited strategist Travis Law for the call that helped him rebound after the crash in Saturday practice. Malukas said he battled exhaustion during the race and was grateful to everyone who helped get him and the car ready to race again.

The result moved Malukas from fourth to second in the IndyCar standings, 83 points behind winner Alex Palou. Josef Newgarden finished second and Scott McLaughlin was fourth after recovering from a pit-sequence setback and running out of tire at the end. McLaughlin had dropped to 12th during the pit cycle before charging back, and Alexander Rossi and Scott Dixon made contact on Lap 123 when Dixon hit the back of Rossi’s car as Rossi slowed to pit.