Malukas finished third in his Dale Coyne Racing car – his second podium at the track formerly known as Gateway – after making contact with McLaughlin with 47 laps to go at Turn 4.
Their clash pushed McLaughlin up the track and he would finish a lapped fifth after losing a further spot to Arrow McLaren’s Alexander Rossi.
After the race, McLaughlin confronted Malukas during the podium celebrations to let his feelings be known, but Malukas claimed he was left slightly bewildered by their interaction.
“He came to me at podium and said something about it,” he said. “I don't know if he's, like, oppressed by it. I don't know, I think he got beef from that.”
Explaining his side of the incident, Malukas added: “I followed the car in front on the inside. Obviously for position he squeezed down. I was right on the curb. It's not like I washed up into him. It's more that he cut into me.
“We had a tap. I managed to save it. I guess he did, as well.
“From my standpoint, if you squeeze somebody down on the inside, what else are you going to expect? I can only go on the curb so much.”
But reacting to the question “Any beef with Malukas? Or all good?”, McLaughlin simply replied “Beef”.
— Scott McLaughlin (@smclaughlin93) August 27, 2023
McLaughlin didn’t reference the incident in his post-race comments, and said he was “content” with a top-five finish, having taken a nine-place grid penalty following an engine change, after claiming pole position.
“It wasn't a great day, but we were solid and grabbed some points,” he said. “In hindsight, taking the grid penalty here may have been the wrong choice.
“We based it off how racy the track was last year, and we didn't get that today. The tire marbles were significant and that made it a one-groove racetrack.
“But getting my first oval pole position was a big step for me and this team. We have two good tracks for us left on the year, so our goal is to get a win.”
Talking about his race, Malukas revealed that he had attempted to run a three-stop strategy like winner Scott Dixon but couldn’t hit the fuel targets required and ended up making five stops.
“We tried to do what Dixon did,” he added. “I don't know how he can do it.
“We were falling off like a cliff trying to meet that fuel target. I was lifting at the start/finish line. I am like, 'Guys, that's not possible.' We had to kind of cut it off and go heavy push from there.
“Then at that point I was just dealing with lap cars. Overall, we had a really good car, and it was good for the team. Another podium at Gateway.”
