Shattered driver explains tears after crash with Aussie

Young IndyCar driver David Malukas has clarified that Australian veteran Will Power did not make him cry after a crash last week.
After a side-by-side collision between Power and Malukas near the end of the race at Gateway, an emotional Malukas appeared to be crying as he said in an interview “and Will Power just came by screaming at me.”
But the 22-year-old explained on Saturday (AEST) that he was emotional because he felt like he had a chance to win before the contact with Power caused him to crash and finish 21st.
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David Malukas gets emotional. Twitter
The American’s tears were over a lost opportunity and not anything Power had shouted at him.
Power was actually fuming about the way Team Penske teammate Josef Newgarden gamed the ensuing restart – Newgarden as the leader deliberately waited very late in the zone to go to get a jump on his unsuspecting competitors – and the late acceleration caused Alexander Rossi to run into the back of Power and end both of their races.
So when Power was passing by Malukas, he admittedly screamed at him through a fence as Malukas was doing interviews.
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Will Power celebrates after winning at Iowa Speedway. AP
Malukas said Power had calmed considerably by the time he saw him afterward and Power was apologetic for taking his frustrations out on the younger driver.
“I was more emotional because that move right there I think was for the lead,” Malukas said.
“I think we were going to win it. I mean looking at it now and all the data… I don’t think that was going to be possible, but I think I got emotional in the fact that was probably going to be my first win.”
And even though Power flashed Newgarden the middle finger as Newgarden passed under caution, the two were fine the next day.
Ron Ruzewski, managing director of Penske’s IndyCar team, called Power the next day and asked him to go wakeboarding.
Power said that while standing on his dock, he saw a shirtless man approaching in a boat and knew immediately it was his teammate.
He said he and Newgarden had a pleasant day despite the racing fireworks.
Newgarden said he’d change nothing about waiting so late in the restart zone to advance as the leader and it was totally within IndyCar’s rules – which drivers have described as “vague, at best.”
IndyCar held a lengthy driver meeting in which restarts were discussed, with at least one competitor questioning why Newgarden wasn’t penalised for holding up the start.
Josef Newgarden after victory. Stan
Newgarden acknowledged he was “aggressive” in waiting so late in the zone to go but felt no shame in trying to win the race, which he did for his second victory of the season.
“There’s times I go early, there’s times I go in the middle and times I go kind of late, and I was trying to push it as aggressively as I could,” Newgarden said.
“I don’t think they have to overhaul the rules, but they probably need to provide better clarity for everyone.”
Power, who dropped from second to fourth in the standings after that chaotic ending at Gateway, said there’s too much racing remaining to concede to Alex Palou just yet.
Palou has a 59 point lead in the standings heading into Monday’s (AEST) race in Portland.
“I do still feel like we’re in it – it’s crazy, but it’s still almost a quarter of the races to go. Four races. A lot can change,” Power said.
Alex Palou at the 2022 Acura Grand Prix Of Long Beach. Getty
But Power acknowledged that Palou likely would need at least one very bad race – probably a mechanical failure – for the rest of the field to close the gap.
“He’s going to have to need a DNF at one of these… but that can happen,” Power said.
“You have two bad races and someone is within 10 or 20 points of you.”
Portland is a 12 turn, 3.16km road course where Palou has two victories in the last three years and is the defending race winner.
This year’s schedule is followed by a doubleheader next week at the Milwaukee Mile and the September season finale at Nashville Superspeedway.
Palou has never won on an oval, nor does he have previous race experience at Milwaukee or Nashville.
Alex Palou talks with owner Chip Ganassi after winning the REV Group Grand Prix. Getty
“I don’t think you are ever in control,” the Spaniard said.
“Someone can win three in a row and then you are panicking, right? I feel good, especially about being at Portland this weekend, but it’s not like: ‘oh, yeah, we’re good. Let’s take this easy’.”
Bad races are rare for Palou, who has a season low finish of 23rd at Iowa, where he admittedly made two very unusual mistakes.
He stalled his Chip Ganassi Racing entry and also spun.