Route revealed IndyCar drivers will race through DC to celebrate America’s 250th birthday
By August Phillips, CNN
(CNN) — Drivers will race through the streets of the nation’s capital at speeds of over 180 mph in August as part of a wide-ranging slate of events to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States.
The Freedom 250 Grand Prix, part of the NTT IndyCar Series, was announced by President Donald Trump in an executive order in January and will be held Aug. 22 and 23. The first-of-its-kind race in Washington “will showcase the majesty of our great city as drivers navigate a track around our iconic national monuments,” the executive order reads.
The race route, revealed at a news conference Monday, travels around the National Mall, beginning on Third Street in front of the US Capitol. The cars will race up Pennsylvania Avenue before crossing the Mall on Seventh Street and passing the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum.
The track is 1.66 miles long and includes seven turns. Bud Denker, president of Penske Corporation, which owns IndyCar and is sponsoring the event, predicted drivers would complete laps in under a minute.
The event will be free to watch for spectators in Washington. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum predicted the race could attract over a million visitors over the course of multiple days.
Eric Shanks, CEO of Fox Sports, which will broadcast the race, presented AI-generated images and videos of the course at the news conference, which showed DC streets populated by race cars with the Capitol and other landmarks in the background.
“This is going to be the most distinctly American sporting event that we’ve ever had,” Shanks said. “As our nation marks America 250, this race serves as a tribute to 2.5 centuries of American grit, ingenuity, and the relentless drive to move forward.”
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, who navigated intense scrutiny last summer amid Trump’s surge of federal officers and the National Guard into DC, also attended the news conference and touted the economic benefits the event would bring to the city. Bowser and the Trump Cabinet members in attendance said they worked closely in planning the IndyCar race.
“This course itself is crossing federal streets, federal intersections, back to DC metro and back again,” Burgum said. “I mean, this is an example for the whole country about how federal, local, large metros and the private sector can all work together.”
Josef Newgarden, champion of the Indianapolis 500 in 2023 and 2024, will be among the drivers in the event and expressed excitement on Monday to race in DC.
“You’re not going to find something more legendary, innovative and inspiring as an IndyCar on these streets,” he said. “So, I’m going to personally be trying to win this race.”
The Freedom 250 Grand Prix is one of several events planned to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States this year. A “UFC Freedom Fights 250” event will be held on the South Lawn of the White House on June 14, Trump’s 80th birthday. A state fair and national prayer on the National Mall are also planned for the summer, said Monica Crowley, US chief protocol officer.
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