On Friday, Malukas was announced as Meyer Shank Racing-bound Felix Rosenqvist's replacement at Arrow McLaren, completing the team's three-car 2024 lineup alongside Pato O’Ward and Alexander Rossi.
Malukas, a Chicago-born American-Lithuanian, has spent the past two seasons at Dale Coyne Racing with HMD, earning a pair of podiums that includes a career-best runner-up last year at the 1.25-mile oval formerly known as Gateway.
The 21-year-old has one more start with Coyne this weekend at Laguna Seca before work with his new team begins. Recently-retired IndyCar veteran Kanaan, who serves an advisory role that includes mentorship for the drivers at Arrow McLaren, is eager to get him embedded within the organisation.
“I think he brings a lot of youngness to the team,” Kanaan told Autosport. “He's pretty strong in the ovals, I think we were strong as a team on the ovals.
“He's young, he's hungry and that's what we need.
“I always had tough team-mates and they only raised my game every time, if you look at my career and the name of team-mates I had.
“That's what we are trying to do here, so that was something that weighed a lot of our decision to bring him up.”
Kanaan, who finished 16th in his final IndyCar Series start at this year’s Indianapolis 500 with Arrow McLaren, believes Malukas has a high ceiling that will only be fulfilled by going against team-mates that will challenge him to grow.
Source: Autosport