It's a big weekend for IndyCar with the series' race at Nashville Superspeedway on Sunday getting a big lead-in from the FIFA World Cup final, but it got off to a scary start thanks to a big crash for Team Penske's David Malukas that has ruled him out of Saturday's qualifying session.Malukas, who is in his first season behind the wheel of the No.12 Chevrolet, lost the rear of his car mid-corner and went left rear first into the SAFER barrier during practice on Saturday morning.It was a heavy impact that destroyed the rear of Malukas' car.INDYCAR ANNOUNCES START TIME FOR HIGHLY ANTICIPATED FREEDOM 250 GRAND PRIX ON THE STREETS OF WASHINGTON, DCThat was obviously the end of Malukas' practice session, and he was reported to be "awake, alert, and in good spirits."Team Penske's David Malukas suffered a big crash in practice at Nashville Superspeedway that heavily damaged his No.
12 Chevrolet and sent him to the hospital.(Photo by Brandon Badraoui/Lumen via Getty Images)But a little bit later, it was revealed that Malukas had been taken to a local hospital for further testing and evaluation.IndyCar vet Conor Daly has since been tapped to take over Malukas' car for qualifying.
However, his status for Saturday evening's practice and Sunday's race, the Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix, remains unclear.TRUMP TOUTS INDYCAR DRIVERS' 'SPECIAL' ABILITY AT FREEDOM 250 GRAND PRIX SHOWCASE, SEEMINGLY ENDING HOT DEBATEInterestingly, Malukas was already set to serve a nine-place grid penalty due to an unapproved engine change.David Malukas will miss qualifying, with Conor Daly taking his place.The team said that if the car is ready, Daly will use the session to perform a shakedown run.
(Photo by Brandon Badraoui/Lumen via Getty Images)Now, with the car needing major repairs after the crash, if it's ready for qualifying, Daly's job will be to perform a shakedown run to ensure it's ready to go for the rest of the weekend regardless of who is in it.Even after qualifying had got...