Malukas fastest on first day of running in Phoenix Unser Open Test
- Dan Jones
- 10 minutes ago
- 4 min read
A full field of IndyCars were back on track at Phoenix Raceway for the first time since 2018, as the series completed the first of two days of running at the inaugural Unser Open Test. The Arizona oval will return to the IndyCar schedule for the first time since 2018 when the series visits on March 7th in a shared weekend with the NASCAR Cup and O'Reilly series'.
Since IndyCar's last race in 2018, the circuit has undergone extensive changes including the start/finish straight moving to the other side of the circuit which has seen the oval's corner numbers inversed. The renovations also saw the introduction of the dogleg, although IndyCar will be enforcing track limits which will prevent drivers from using that portion of track.
David Malukas topped the 25-car strong field in the opening day of running with a fastest lap of 172.605 mph in his first oval outing for Team Penske. Penske's impressive day saw defending Phoenix race winner Josef Newgarden second with Scott McLaughlin in eighth.
"I love it. Very, very nice," reflected Malukas on his first laps at Phoenix. "From just the difference [Turns] 1 and 2, 3 and 4 , it's almost giving me similarities to Gateway, just having that difference between the two and trying to get the car setup how you like it in that short time frame on the back straight and getting the car swapped with the tools that we have in the car to get that good lap time.
"For me, so far very good day. Enjoyed it."
Will Power was the top non-Penske car in third, 0.9 mph off Malukas' pace followed by teammate Kyle Kirkwood in fifth. Reigning series and Indianapolis 500 Champion Álex Palou rounded out the top five ahead of fellow Chip Ganassi Racing-affiliated cars in Marcus Armstrong and Felix Rosenqvist.
Scott Dixon finished ninth in the times with Ed Carpenter Racing's Alexander Rossi rounding out the top 10. Graham Rahal led an encouraging day for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in 11th, with Pato O'Ward the top Arrow McLaren driver down in 16th.
Christian Rasmussen completed the most laps of any driver with 128, with Rossi, Rinus VeeKay, Nolan Siegel, Sting Ray Robb and Mick Schumacher also hitting the century mark.
The day had started with an hour's running for the series rookies which saw Caio Collet initially lead the way over Dennis Hauger and Mick Schumacher. Collet's day would go south though after he collided with the Turn 4 wall which put him out of running for the remainder of the afternoon. Collet was quickly cleared by IndyCar medical and is set to continue running tomorrow.
There were a lot of unknowns heading into the day's running considering the lack of running that IndyCar have had in recent seasons but the mood was generally positive, lead by Kirkwood.
"My interpretation of it was, 'oh, it's going to be kind of lower grip, just looking at the asphalt.' Usually I'm like tracks out this way get a little bit bumpy in the desert, It's just not that. It's pretty high-grip. It's very, very smooth, very fast. It's pretty enjoyable to drive."
However, there was one unexpected challenge of running in the desert.
"There's a few nuances that have caught me out a little bit," added Kirkwood. "It's the sunlight at this time of day going into [Turn] 3 , it feels like you're driving into a cave, and you don't know where you're going to end up. For instance, I ended up a whole lane higher going on my first lap looking into the sun after I didn't run for about 20 minutes because the sun changed. I go out, and I'm instantly just in the wrong lane."
The circuit is one of very few ovals that have a different corner banking and radius on separate ends of the oval, instantly giving it comparisons to World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway - although Kirkwood describes Phoenix as having "just a little bit more character".
The extreme differences create a unique setup challenge for teams when trying to prepare a car for the venue, which can lead to multiple different approaches when trying to find the fastest way around the 1-mile (1.609km) oval.
"I think it defers driver to driver," said Malukas. "You can get it either set up for [Turns] 1 and 2 or set up for 3 and 4 and try to match the difference, or you can try to fight for something in between.
"I think that's why I enjoy that game so much, because it's do you want to find more time in 1 and 2 or find more time in 3 and 4 or maybe try to go in between and be a little bit slower in both, but overall it might be better? It adds to this game. I just have a fantastic time. I don't know. It's like a big game of chess trying to figure out where do we want the setup. With all these great minds at Team Penske, it makes it a lot more fun."
The complete difference on the opposite ends of the circuit is something that Kirkwood reflected on positively in his first visit to the venue.
"You look at them. The casual fan can show up and be, like, 'Oh, yeah, I can tell that's way different than down there, right?' You did tell 10 degrees of banking or whatever it might be. It's probably less than that. It is substantially different.
"It requires a vastly different car on both ends of the track and driving style. So it's something that I'm still coming to grips with, because it's want just two 180 corners like Gateway. You kind of have 100 degree corner and then a 180 on that side. It takes a different driving style that I've not ever had the pleasure of running before."
The day saw limited running in traffic, with early expectations that March's race will see one-lane running - very similar to the running that IndyCar experienced in 2018. More traffic running is expected to be completed on Wednesday,
Wednesday's running will see cars on track between 09:00 and 12:00 MT (16:00-19:00 GMT) and 13:30 and 16:30 MT (20:30-23:30 GMT) which will be open to the public in the final official series test before the IndyCar season begins on March 1st on the Streets of St. Petersburg.
