Team Penske’s David Malukas posted the fastest lap on the first day of the Unser IndyCar Open Test at Phoenix Raceway edging his teammate Josef Newgarden by 0.0708 seconds.
The 24-year-old Chicago native paced the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet to a speed of 172.605 mph (20.8569 seconds) in the final hour to secure the top spot on the timesheets.
The four-hour afternoon session kicked off with an hour dedicated to IndyCar rookies allowing newcomers like Mick Schumacher and Caio Collet to acclimate to the flat, high-banked tri-oval before opening to full-field running from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET.
Team Penske dominated from the outset with two-time champion Josef Newgarden holding the benchmark for much of the afternoon before David Malukas’ late flyer relegated him to second.
Andretti Global claimed third and fourth with new signing Will Power leading teammate Kyle Kirkwood. Power was the only other driver to log a sub-21-second lap as he embarks on his first full season with Andretti after 16 years and three titles at Penske.
Chip Ganassi Racing’s reigning four-time champion Alex Palou rounded out the top five, while teammate Scott Dixon placed ninth, his methodical approach yielding valuable long-run data essential for Ganassi’s championship defense.
Meyer Shank Racing duo of Marcus Armstrong and Felix Rosenqvist posted sixth and seventh fastest laps with Penske’s Scott McLaughlin, Chip Ganassi’s Scott Dixon and Ed Carpenter’s Alexander Rossi rounding out the top ten—Rossi’s teammate Christian Rasmussen logged most laps at 128.
INDY NXT champion Dennis Hauger was the fastest among the rookies in 17th for Dale Coyne Racing, followed by Mick Schumacher in 23rd for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
Caio Collet triggered the only incident of the session after his No. 4 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet brushed the outside wall at Turn 4 and spun. Fortunately, the rookie walked away unharmed as his team scrambles to make repairs ahead of Wednesday’s running.
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Results: Unser IndyCar Open Test Day 1 at Phoenix
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Time | Laps | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | David Malukas | Team Penske | 20.8569 | 68 | 172.605 |
| 2 | 2 | Josef Newgarden | Team Penske | 20.9277 | 82 | 172.021 |
| 3 | 26 | Will Power | Andretti Global | 20.9661 | 89 | 171.706 |
| 4 | 27 | Kyle Kirkwood | Andretti Global | 21.0007 | 68 | 171.423 |
| 5 | 10 | Alex Palou | Chip Ganassi Racing | 21.0088 | 55 | 171.357 |
| 6 | 66 | Marcus Armstrong | Meyer Shank Racing | 21.0626 | 56 | 170.919 |
| 7 | 60 | Felix Rosenqvist | Meyer Shank Racing | 21.1157 | 98 | 170.489 |
| 8 | 3 | Scott McLaughlin | Team Penske | 21.1227 | 77 | 170.433 |
| 9 | 9 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | 21.1539 | 67 | 170.181 |
| 10 | 20 | Alexander Rossi | Ed Carpenter Racing | 21.1876 | 118 | 169.911 |
| 11 | 15 | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | 21.1914 | 78 | 169.880 |
| 12 | 28 | Marcus Ericsson | Andretti Global | 21.1958 | 83 | 169.845 |
| 13 | 76 | Rinus VeeKay | Juncos Racing | 21.2086 | 108 | 169.742 |
| 14 | 21 | Christian Rasmussen | Ed Carpenter Racing | 21.2380 | 128 | 169.507 |
| 15 | 45 | Louis Foster | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | 21.2449 | 93 | 169.452 |
| 16 | 5 | Pato O’Ward | Arrow McLaren | 21.2509 | 98 | 169.405 |
| 17 | 19 | Dennis Hauger | Dale Coyne Racing | 21.2692 | 55 | 169.259 |
| 18 | 6 | Nolan Siegel | Arrow McLaren | 21.3074 | 104 | 168.955 |
| 19 | 77 | Sting Ray Robb | Juncos Racing | 21.3550 | 106 | 168.579 |
| 20 | 7 | Christian Lundgaard | Arrow McLaren | 21.4307 | 78 | 167.983 |
| 21 | 8 | Kyffin Simpson | Chip Ganassi Racing | 21.4985 | 97 | 167.454 |
| 22 | 14 | Santino Ferrucci | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | 21.7895 | 43 | 165.217 |
| 23 | 47 | Mick Schumacher | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | 21.9504 | 109 | 164.006 |
| 24 | 18 | Romain Grosjean | Dale Coyne Racing | 22.0550 | 40 | 163.228 |
| 25 | 4 | Caio Collet | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | 22.1574 | 51 | 162.474 |
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