Missing the season opener is nothing new to drivers in the Indycar Series. Arrow McLaren driver David Malukas adds his name to a list of illustrious drivers. There have been plenty over the years. As of this writing there hasn’t been a replacement named at Arrow McLaren to open the season on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. Callum Illot has been tabbed to run the Malukas entry in Homestead prior to the season for some hybrid engine testing. He looks to be in a great position to join the team in a one off scenario, but nothing has been officially announced. Not often, but sometimes subbing for a driver can end up paying big dividends. Let’s look back.
I started watching Indycar in the early 1980’s but I figure going back 30 plus years is a good place to start. The first senario that really pops into my head is 1985. Al Unser Sr. replaced Rick Mears at the season opening race in Long Beach that year. Mears was recovering from devastating foot and leg injuries he suffered during practice for the race at Sanair Speedway the previous year. There was question at the time if Mears would ever walk again, much less race. The end result was magic for Unser Sr. though. While Big Al did miss the race in Milwaukee following the Indianapolis 500, he went on to capture the CART PPG Indycar Championship that year. Though Unser Sr. only won one race, his consistency allowed him to beat out son Al Unser Jr. to the championship by just one point.
In 1990 Raul Boesel took over for the injured Scott Pruett in the Budweiser Truesports Lola. Pruett had a vicious crash during preseason testing in West Palm Beach, Florida. While he did not win any races as a substitute, Boesel did have seven top 10 finishes. That’s pretty good considering Boesel was driving a year old Lola. It was hampered by new rules that cut downforce out of the car. Truesports ran a year old car due to the team designing their own chassis for the following year. Rideless for 1992, Boesel teamed up with Dick Simon Racing for the Indy 500 and beyond as he filled in for Hiro Matsushita, who suffered a leg injury during practice on pole day that year. He would stay with the team for another two years.
The next one is hard to categorize as “beginning of the season”, but it did happen at the beginning of the year. In January of 1997 Davy Jones would incur devastating injuries during practice at Walt Disney World Speedway for the IRL’s Disney 200. He would be replaced by rookie Jeff Ward, a former motocross star turned race car driver. Ward only raced one time for the Galles Racing team. as a sub. He would be replaced by Kenny Brack. But he would go on to finish third in that years Indianapolis 500. Ward would bounce around various teams within the IRL before his final start, at Indianapolis in 2005, but he did come away with one win. That came with Chip Ganassi Racing at Texas Motor Speedway in 2002.
In another twist of fate, Raul Boesel would get a call from Team Green in 1999. This time it was the season opening race at Miami-Homestead Speedway for the CART Championship Series. Team Green driver Paul Tracy was serving a one race suspension for his actions from the previous season. According to records. Tracy incurred three different infractions in Surfers Paradise, Australia in 1998. Tracy was found guilty of blocking, unjustifiable risk and unsportsmanlike conduct after having contact with Michael Andretti. While Boesel did qualify 20th in the race, he would not even make it to the first lap after tangling with Naoki Hattori and Al Unser Jr. at the start of the race. Boesel would make two more starts that year in the CART series with Dan Gurney’s All American Racers.
The 2006 season opened in a sad state of affairs that caused missing drivers and substitues. Danica Patrick and Buddy Rice would miss the opening race for the IRL season in Miami. That was due to the tragic events involving teammate Paul Dana in morning warmups. Ed Carpenter, also involved in the Paul Dana tragedy would miss the first two races that year. Replacing Carpenter in St. Pete was Super Sub Roberto Moreno. Jeff Simmons would inhereit the Paul Dana ride in round three that year.
In 2009 a one-off driver substitute would turn into a full time ride, two Indycar Championships and an Indianpolis 500 win. At the end of the 2008 Indycar season Will Power was out of a ride. Power did earn a win in the final Champ Car race at the Long Beach Grand Prix that year. However, it wasn’t good enough to secure a spot on the 2009 grid. Prior to the start of the season Helio Castroneves saw himself embroiled in a legal battle with the IRS. Team Penske would need a driver for at least St. Pete that year. With no other options Power signed on to replace Castroneves with no guarantees. Power would finish sixth in his debut with Penske. Castroneves returned to action at the next race in Long Beach. Penske awarded Power five more races that year including the Indianapolis 500.
Speaking of Will Power, he was also the last driver that would need replaced for the season opener. In 2016 Power suffered from concussion like symptoms following a crash in practice. While Power did qualify on the pole he was in no condition to race. Oriol Servia was happy to take over for the injured Power. Servia would end up 18th in the race. Sadly, nothing really transpired out of that ride for Servia. He would only race in a few more Indycar races. He now serves as the driver of the pace car for the Indycar Series.
So the question remains, at this point, is who is replacing David Malukas for the season opener on March 10th? Will it be Callum Illot? If it is Illot will he be able to parlay that into a good quality ride in the Indycar Series? Some say he should already have a ride. If it’s not Illot who is on Arrow McLaren’s short list? It’s a mystery as big as who is driving for Dale Coyne in 2024. But that is a whole other conversation altogether.