AVONEDALE, Ariz. – David Malukas paced the first on-track session for the Unser IndyCar Open Test at Phoenix Raceway on Tuesday in preparation for the Good Ranchers 250 on March 7.

The Team Penske newcomer paced teammate Josef Newgarden in a lockout of the two fastest laps of the day, blazing around the track in 20.8569 seconds. Malukas logged over 50 laps across four hours, each time emerging from his Chevrolet with a big grin written across his face.

“It's a dream for me,” Malukas said. “Every time I come in and out of the pits, I'm smiling. I got a big smile on my face, and I think on top of that, it adds to the performance.

Malukas transitioned to Penske following the 2025 season, replacing two-time IndyCar champ Will Power in the No. 12. Despite big shoes to fill, the 24-year-old has adapted to the challenge.

“I'm feeling great,” Malukas said. “This is the best I've felt in a very long time. The chemistry I have with the guys, the team, I'm just so happy. I get to race this beautiful car. It's fantastic.”

As for the track, Malukas explained that the threshold for maximizing grip took time to discover.

“It's very, very fast,” Malukas said. He described the track as offering a lot of grip after setting the best lap during his second-to-last practice run. “We are on the limit,” Malukas said.

"It's definitely going to be already one of my favorite tracks just to drive in,” Malukas said. “We didn't get any race running today, so I think that's going to be something more that we're looking into tomorrow, and hopefully try and get an idea of is racing going to be good here.”

Malukas leaned heavily on the experience of Penske teammate Newgarden, one of four active IndyCar drivers with experience at Phoenix. He said that data benefits the whole organization.

“If we can split our test items that we want to do and we can fully trust that Josef and Scott is going to do these different test items,” Malukas said. “We're going to know if it's going to be good or bad.”

That's the dream with any team that you want to accomplish.”

Kyle Kirdwood was also among the fastest drivers, setting the fourth-quickest lap. Kirkwood explained what fans might be able to expect ahead of the upcoming IndyCar race in March.

“The initial insight is it's going to be probably a one-lane track,” Kirkwood said. “But it's going to be a track where you can get runs on people and still make passes happen.”

Kirkwood is a two-time oval winner, splitting wins at Nashville and Gateway, and offered his thoughts on what makes Phoenix Raceway unique compared to other tracks.

“It's two of the most vastly different ends of an oval that I've been to with three, four being super tight, kind of almost like a 90 with a lot of banking,” Kirkwood said. “It's somewhat like Gateway, but with even just a little bit more character in three, four than one, two.”

Will Power and Alex Palou, along with Malukas, Newgarden and Kirkwood, completed the top five fastest drivers. Only one caution for the incident slowed the opening day of testing.

Rookie Ciao Collet encountered the turn four wall with an hour remaining in the session. Collet was checked and released from the care center, and his team installed a new rear wing onto his car.

Testing will resume on Wednesday, Feb. 18, at 9 a.m. MST. Access to the track is free for the public, and the first 300 fans to visit the Midway can enjoy an autograph session at 12:45 p.m.