I still remember exactly where I was in late January when I got a message from an editor that President Trump was preparing to sign an executive order to bring an IndyCar race to Washington, DC.
I replied that there was no way it would happen during the 2026 season, which was only about a month away from starting at the time. The track needed to be designed, built and made safe before cars could get on it, not to mention all of the fan areas and other logistics.
But seven months later, I was on a plane to the nation’s capital to see the Freedom 250 Grand Prix for myself, and, man, was I ever wrong.
Not only did it work, but it was the once-in-a-lifetime spectacle it promised to be.
And, if there’s any way, it needs to happen again.
For starters, there’s really never been a backdrop like it. It was pretty awe-inspiring to see the Capitol and the Washington Monument towering over the circuit and to see every rooftop and terrace lined with people trying to get a view of the track.
The turnout on both days was incredible, and that, of course, is largely due to the fact that tickets were free. It was an unbeatable deal, even if the merch was not the cheapest I’ve ever seen.
I bought an event poster that I thought would be like $10, and it was $60 because it was printed on canvas.
That said, the food was fairly affordable, with the priciest thing I saw being a crab cake sandwich for $25. It’s not a deal, but you won’t have to skip a mortgage payment for a burger like you might at an F1 race.
One critique would be that they needed more screens around the track. Especially when you consider the nature of a street circuit, you really can’t have too many screens. I believe I counted four in the one fan area on the National Mall, and none if you were watching from the outside part of the track.
That’s a bit of a problem, because as anyone who has been to a street race can tell you, it can sometimes be hard to see a lot of the track.
There also wasn’t a ton to do in the way of fan activations as you see at a lot of other races, but you could access the museums within the track, including the National Air and Space Museum.
I spent a good chunk of time in the fan area on the National Mall walking around and talking to fans, and it almost had a county fair vibe to it, which I mean in the best way possible.
Everyone I encountered seemed happy to be there, and I never saw politics come up once. In fact, most of the people OutKick’s Jon Root and I talked to were happy that politics were taking a backseat to good old-fashioned American pride and racing, a sentiment shared by fans we spoke to from as far away as the UK and Norway.
If the monuments, landmarks, flyovers, and racing couldn’t make you proud to live in the United States, I’m not sure anything could.
TRUMP TAKES HONORARY LAP AROUND INDYCAR TRACK IN WASHINGTON AHEAD OF FREEDOM 250 GRAND PRIX
Some fans we spoke to admitted that they didn’t have the first clue about IndyCar, and I think that may be one of the greatest victories of this event for the series.
Nothing will get someone hooked on motorsports faster than attending a race. It’s hard to explain to nonfans why those of us who love the sport spend most Sundays watching cars go in circles.
You can explain strategies, technology and how important a battle for P8 in the standings is, but it just won’t click.
But if you take someone to a race and they can see the cars, hear the cars and even smell, in this case, the Firestone rubber getting left behind on Pennsylvania Avenue, well, that’s going to make them a fan faster than any broadcast ever could.
That was the experience thousands of people got on Sunday. They may not have taken the Metro out of DC talking about whether or not Scott McLaughlin should’ve gone for the race-winning move into Turn 1 on a restart with 20 laps left (I think he should’ve slipstreamed down Pennsylvania Ave. and tried into Turn 2), but they will, without a doubt, tune into races in the future.
The track itself turned out to be great, something I was not expecting. When it was unveiled, I remember being pretty underwhelmed by its seven corners, all but one of which was 90 degrees or close to it.
However, the early maps didn’t make it clear that Turn 6 was one heck of a chicane, and the bumpy street circuit proved to be a challenge for drivers.
And, on top of that, overtaking was possible.
Plus, despite Kyle Kirkwood dominating the weekend, I thought the race was really entertaining. We got a good strategic battle with the frontrunners using the early caution to pull off a three-stopper, and the late cautions giving us some important restarts.
That extra race distance was a good call, and I’m sure everyone there went home feeling like they got their money’s worth… even if their ticket was free.
The free tickets to the Freedom 250 Grand Prix were one of the coolest parts of the event, but if it’s going to become a sustainable addition to the IndyCar calendar, that might need to change.
The city showed that it was capable of making it all work from a logistical perspective, but ticket revenue sure would help keep the lights on.
They did charge for premium ticket options, which helped pay for part of the event, with Penske Corporation paying for the rest. That means no taxpayer dollars were involved (sorry, Adam Schiff!).
Everything else was general admission, including the grandstands, which were first-come, first-served.
I think the solution would be to add a grandstand or two and charge standard IndyCar ticket prices to sit in those seats, but then maybe hold another free ticket lottery that lets people get in and watch from trackside.
While there may be a few details that would need a second look if the powers that be decide to run it back with Freedom 250 Grand Prix 2.0, I was really impressed by how smoothly everything went.
If IndyCar never hits the streets of Washington again, it will be really neat to tell people that you were there to see it happen.
But the event has the makings of a signature IndyCar race on a big scale, and that’s something the series needs. That’s what gets eyeballs on the sport and converts people into fans, as was on display this weekend.
Imagine a schedule with marquee races like the Grand Prix of Arlington, the Grand Prix of Long Beach, the Indianapolis 500 and a race around Washington, D.C.?
That would be something to behold and, given the reception, perhaps someday soon we’ll get to see it.
