NASHVILLE — David Malukas found himself among among the NTT INDYCAR SERIES giants on Friday afternoon in Nashville. The sophomore driver was P7 in the opening practice session of the weekend. It was another impressive display, especially when he was surrounded on the speed charts in a crowded room of two Penske’s, two Ganassi’s, two McLaren’s, a pair of Andretti’s and the last race and pole winner on a street course in Christian Lundgaard. In the middle of all – Malukas.

Despite being so strong, the conversation surrounding the dual nationality of Lithuanian and American, Malukas, was about his future instead. He’s hopeful to be among one of those giants next season.

A little over a month ago, Malukas said that he was going to be racing elsewhere in 2024. Even in saying so, the speed returned to his car again. He was quick in Road America practice. He qualified 12th and finished 6th in Mid-Ohio. Toronto was rough patch again, but a pair of top 10 starts (9th, 3rd) in Iowa and finishes of 12th and 8th respectively that weekend has him beaming with a sense of pride.

Now that it seems like he’s once again inching closer to being in contention again, would he welcome returning?

“Yeah, I will not be returning to my team,” Malukas said. “It’s nothing from the team side. I love everybody there, from the engineers to the mechanics. It’s just for my future with what I want, to Dale (Coyne), things have been different from what kind of our views align. I’m wanting to go elsewhere.”

Malukas is taking a leap of faith. He said he has nothing signed yet. Nothing at the moment is guaranteed. However, something could be brewing too…

“There’s nothing signed. But, yes, there is something, but not guaranteed,” he says. “Haven’t signed yet. There is nothing signed. I’m still, like, free with anything, yeah.

 “I will know more in the next coming weeks. It’s still kind of, like, we’re interested but there’s nothing.”

The wait is simple. It’s what he and everyone else is basically waiting for and that’s the first domino to drop in Alex Palou. The Spaniard was originally slated to be going to Arrow McLaren Racing for 2024 but rumors are that he could be looking at not only staying with Ganassi, but potentially going overseas to F1 too.

That decision and what Ganassi does with Marcus Ericsson will shape what direction silly season goes.

“I mean, yeah, if drivers are going for that seat, yes,” Malukas said on the Palou decision affecting silly season. “There’s a few drivers in the field that have been rumored to move. I think it’s kind of everybody is waiting on them. As soon as those two drivers, I obviously don’t want to name them, but if those two drivers move, it’s going to be a massive domino effect of a lot of people starting to jump.

“The way I see it, I think it’s all rumors. I don’t know if things are actually going to change.”

In saying that, Malukas has a path that, “isn’t affected by that,” too.

“Yeah, we’ll see how it goes. But nothing is signed. Everything is still kind of in the talks. Hopefully in the next few weeks things are going to start kicking off.

“I do know if those drivers move, it’s going to be a lot. Hearing a lot of rumors there’s going to be a lot of changes.”

Malukas said that right now, it’s more securing his future than waiting on other drivers.

“If you wait, wait, nobody moves, now we don’t really have any options,” he continued. “Everybody is like, Well, we’ve already signed with other people.

“Yeah, if they move, then yes, maybe something. But there’s also a lot of other drivers going in for it, too. It’s going to be more of a battle. If nothing happens, there’s still something else.”

Malukas said at this point, there’s nothing else to really do. Every time he hops into his No. 18 Dallara-Honda, he gives it 110-percent, no matter the situation that he finds himself in.

“Is it affected by it? I don’t think so. I don’t normally try to do that, put extra stress on myself. I think there’s multiple options. I don’t think we’re going to be in a situation where we have to prove ourselves. I think I’ve proven as much as I could. Yeah, I think the teams know that, so…”

That could be frustrating for a young driver, one that’s searching for a future to have his future lay in limbo this late in the season. However, Malukas is taking it in stride.

“Yeah, but it’s just how the game works. There’s only so many seats in different teams. If nobody moves, then nothing’s going to happen. You could say it’s frustrating. At the end of the day it’s just how it is. I mean, I’m not really affected by it.”