Rounding out the 2019 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Championship Season, HMD Motorsports left the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca with two more podium finishes. After showing steady progression throughout the entirety of the season and gaining podium finishes during the last five event weekends, HMD Motorsports showed that they are now one of the top teams competing in the Indy Lights Championship and should be a threat in all three rungs of the Road to Indy ladder in 2020.
As rookies to the track, both Toby Sowery and David Malukas took the one and only practice session to familiarize themselves with the course. Heading out for the first qualifying session, Sowery quickly worked his way to the top of the time sheets qualifying second for the first race with Malukas only 0.7644 seconds behind him in the sixth position. With a second round of qualifying for the second race taking place the next morning, Malukas and Sowery each qualified one position further back than the day prior claiming seventh and third respectively.
In each of the two races this past weekend, Sowery and Malukas both maintained their qualifying positions, finishing where they had started. Toby Sowery took home a second and third place finish this on Saturday and Sunday, rounding out his season with a total of seven podium finishes and third place in the series championship point standings. Teammate David Malukas rounds out his rookie season with a total of two podium results and sixth in the championship and will look to put his new knowledge to work during the 2020 race season.
“The guys on the team this year have given me a great platform to perform so it’s good to end the season with two podiums. Everyone on the team has stepped up and gone over and above since the rebrand and changes mid-season,” explained Toby Sowery. “My main mechanic Jed has been with me all year long and we’ve had Geoff Fickling with us this last half of the season. Geoff has done a really good job; John Cummiskey and everyone at HMD has done a fantastic job.”
At the season ending awards banquet, Toby Sowery was awarded his third place prizes in the 2019 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Championship while David Malukas picked up $2500 for the Tilton Hard Charger Award.
After a whirlwind of a season, HMD Motorsports achieved great success achieving multiple podiums between the drivers and continually improving every weekend. With the 2020 Road to Indy season quickly approaching and arrangements being made between the team and potential drivers within all three series, the future for HMD Motorsports is looking bright as the team continues to expand and cement it’s place within the Road to Indy.
With the 2019 season officially complete, HMD Motorsports is looking forward to the 2020 season and is searching for drivers to participate in the upcoming Chris Griffis Memorial Test. With cars available for the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship and Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, four to six seats are available for the upcoming test. The annual Chris Griffis Memorial Test will take place October 19-20 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on the road course.
Please be sure to follow HMD Motorsports on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram by searching @HMDMotorsports and also stay tuned for the launch of a new team website. In the meantime, for more information on HMD Motorsports, please contact John Cummiskey at 317.567.6731.
Photo Credit: Road to Indy