Age: 11 Birthdate: Sept. 27, 2001 Hometown: Chicago, Ill. Team: MRP Motorsport; Three Oaks, Mich. Chassis: Birel Engine(s): Comer K-80; Yamaha KT-100; Komet Piston Valve; Rotax TaG Engine Builder: Doug Fleming Head Tuner: Jason Birdsell Accomplishments: Six-time WKA Man Cup feature winner, top-three in 2012 Man Cup points, 4th in TaG Cadet @ 2012 SKUSA SuperNats; Route 66 and Great Lakes Sprint Series winner;  Driving Strengths: Strategizing passing opportunities during last laps Motto: “Don’t quit until you see the checkered flag.” Best Race Track: New Castle (Ind.) Motorsports Park Favorite Class: Komet (KPV) Sportsman Subject: Math (David is a honor student in Math and Science) Hobbies: Math, Science, Reading, Art, Chorus, Band, Saxophone, Piano, Dancing Food: Steak Website: Facebook Sports: Football, Soccer, Wresting, Jujitsu Sports Team: Chicago Bears Racing Series: Formula One, NASCAR Sprint Cup Racecar Driver: Kyle Busch, Sebastian Vettel Music: Hip Hop

Race fans, remember the name…

David Malukas

Coverage of local go-kart racing in a Chicago-area newspaper prompted Lithuania-born Henry Malukas to make an hour and a half drive to South Bend, Indiana’s Michiana Raceway Park, a state-of-the-art karting facility located about 75 miles east of the Windy City.

Henry, an accomplished kart racer in his own right, was interested in involving his then 7-year-old son, David, in the sport of karting. After a visit to MRP and the purchase of a new Birel chassis, engines and the necessary safety equipment, the proud father had his young son ready for his first foray onto the technical MRP circuit, popularly referred to as “South Bend” throughout karting circles.

David recalls being slightly nervous his first day behind the wheel, but remembers quickly getting the hang of wheeling his Birel mount around the hilly, challenging South Bend road course.

Fast forward three years. David Malukas has raced in many of the country’s marquee karting events at tracks across the United States and is now regarded as one of the top up-and-comers in his age group on the national karting scene.

After two full seasons in the World Karting Association (WKA) Manufacturers Cup Series – one of, if not the most competitive karting series in the country – David has recorded numerous top-five finishes in classes that regularly start over 35 karts.

While competing against some of the best young racing talents in North America, Malukas has solidified himself as key player in the Cadet, Yamaha and Komet (KPV) Sportsman divisions. He’s in contention to win nearly every race he starts. He’s successfully raced a variety of Birel chassis and engine packages. And any success he’s accomplished has been while racing against drivers one to three years to his senior, many with more experience than he.

At 10 years old with only a handful of years’ experience, we’re still in the opening chapters of Malukas’s already-impressive driving career.

The 2012 season will fill the upcoming pages. The friendly blonde-haired youngster, who hails from the Chicago suburb of Berwyn and has strong Lithuanian roots as both his parents are from the eastern Europe country, has an eye on national championships.

The Malukas family plans to run David in his third full season in the WKA Manufacturers Cup Series in 2012. Depending on the amount of time spent away from school, where David is a standout student who excels in Math, Science, Reading and a variety of Arts, the red MKP No. 79 will also be seen at Route 66 Sprint Series events, the Florida Winter Tour and WKA Great Lakes Sprint Series.

We urge you to bookmark DavidMalukas.com and become a regular visitor of his new website. This website will be updated frequently throughout the 2013 season, including press releases with quotes from David on the News page, new Photographs from national events and race results on the Schedule page.