President Donald Trump takes an honorary lap and wave the green flag Sunday for Washington’s first Freedom 250 Grand Prix, a 250-mile IndyCar race expected to draw about 200,000 spectators along a course passing the National Mall, U.S. Capitol, Pennsylvania Avenue and National Archives.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
President Donald Trump will mark the closing stretch of the summer-long celebration of America’s 250th anniversary Sunday with a first-of-its-kind IndyCar race through Washington, where drivers are expected to reach speeds of up to 185 mph while passing some of the capital’s best-known landmarks.
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The Freedom 250 Grand Prix will cover 250 miles, or 402 kilometers, on a street circuit running through the National Mall area, alongside the U.S. Capitol, down Pennsylvania Avenue and around the National Archives.
Trump is scheduled to play a direct role in the event. His presidential motorcade will make an honorary lap around the circuit before he waves the green flag signaling the start of the race.
“I don’t know if anything will ever top what we’re going to be having,” Trump said in July when IndyCar drivers visited the White House to commemorate the beginning of construction on the Washington course.
The race concludes a summer in which major sporting spectacles have become a central feature of events surrounding the nation’s 250th anniversary and Trump’s second term.
Trump began the summer by hosting a professional mixed martial arts event on the White House South Lawn. A month later, he presented the championship trophy to Spain after the country won the FIFA World Cup.
Earlier in August, Trump attended the “Patriot Games,” an event combining elements of a game show and track-and-field competition for high school athletes that was televised by ESPN.
The events have repeatedly placed Trump before large domestic and international audiences.
The UFC event at the White House was streamed internationally, while the World Cup final provided another global platform. During the championship presentation, Trump remained at midfield as members of the Spanish team raised the trophy, with the international television audience estimated to have exceeded 1 billion viewers.
The series of high-profile events has unfolded while Trump’s approval rating has fallen to its lowest point since he returned to office in January 2025 and while the United States remains involved in a war with Iran.
Sunday’s auto race has also produced logistical and political disputes of its own.
Organizers initially proposed routing the circuit through the grounds of the U.S. Capitol, but that plan required approval from lawmakers and stalled in Congress.
Federal rules prohibiting advertising on Capitol grounds presented another complication. IndyCar vehicles carry numerous corporate sponsorships, while billboards and other commercial signage are positioned around race circuits, creating a conflict with restrictions governing the Capitol complex.
Trump responded by issuing an executive order directing Transportation Department officials to develop an alternative route that could proceed without congressional authorization.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy tied the race to the broader America 250 celebration during the July White House event.
“When you think about America 250, you also think about cars, and when you think about cars, you do think about freedom,” Duffy said.
The final course preserves a prominent location in the heart of Washington without requiring the race itself to pass through Capitol grounds.
The event will bring major transportation disruptions to the region Sunday.
Air traffic at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport will be suspended for three hours around midday to allow military aircraft to conduct flyovers above the racecourse, a decision that has drawn complaints from some local residents.
Washington police will also shut down major downtown streets because of the large number of pedestrians expected in the area and the extensive security measures surrounding both the race and the president’s appearance.
Despite the unusual demands of staging a high-speed race on public streets, organizers said Washington’s roadways will require relatively little resurfacing or repair before or after the event.
Drivers are expected to reach approximately 185 mph along the Pennsylvania Avenue straightaway, making that section one of the fastest portions of the circuit.
The inaugural Washington race has also attracted dozens of corporate sponsors, including Boeing, SpaceX’s Starlink and Delta Air Lines.
Bud Denker, chairman of the Grand Prix and president of Penske Corp., said Thursday that several major companies are sponsoring an IndyCar race for the first time.
Sunday’s event will combine auto racing, military flyovers, presidential ceremony and large-scale public festivities in the center of the capital as the White House brings a summer of sports-centered U.S. 250th anniversary events to a close.
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