The NTT IndyCar Series is preparing for one of the most distinctive stops on its schedule, with work continuing on the temporary street circuit for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix in Washington, D.C.
The 1.7-mile course is set to run through the heart of the nation’s capital, passing some of America’s most recognizable landmarks, including the National Mall, the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol Building.
The high-profile street race was added to the IndyCar calendar in January after President Donald Trump signed an executive order instructing federal agencies to work with D.C. officials on staging the event as part of celebrations marking America’s 250th anniversary.
According to the New York Post, Trump is expected to participate in a ceremonial pre-race lap of honor in the presidential motorcade before the main event gets underway on August 23.
A White House spokesman told OutKick: ‘Trump is ensuring America gets the spectacular birthday it deserves as we celebrate our 250th anniversary.
‘The President will leave his imprint on this historic race in a way that only he can.’
Preparations are intensifying ahead of this weekend’s Freedom 250 Grand Prix
Donald Trump is reportedly expected to lead a ceremonial lap of honor before the race begins
The street race was added to the IndyCar calendar after Trump signed an executive order directing federal departments to coordinate with D.C. officials to establish the event
The administration previously hosted a showcase event outside the White House in July to promote the race, which featured drivers Alex Palou, Felix Rosenqvist and David Malukas, alongside a live pit stop demonstration in front of the West Wing.
Organizers recently extended the race length to a full 250 miles, with practice and qualifying scheduled for Saturday before the main race airs live on FOX on Sunday.
The event comes just two months after Trump hosted another sporting event to celebrate the semiquincentennial, hosting a UFC event at the White House.
The UFC took over the South Lawn on June 14 for an astonishing event that saw Trump perform his own walkout from the Oval Office before taking his seat cageside.
Meanwhile, back in January, Trump held an event in the Oval Office alongside Roger Penske, a racing great who chairs the Penske Corporation, and signed an executive order to get the race in place.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who was in the Oval alongside his Fox News host wife Rachel Campos-Duffy, said the president had tasked him to ‘think outside the box’ and do something ‘historic and cool.’
Duffy didn’t realize that Penske’s company was already trying to get Washington, DC to host a race, which is now being dubbed the Freedom 250 Grand Prix.
‘But to think, 190 miles per hour down Pennsylvania Avenue, this is going to be wild,’ Duffy said.
The administration previously hosted a showcase event outside the White House in July to promote the race, which featured drivers Alex Palou, Felix Rosenqvist, and David Malukas
Organizers recently extended the race length to a full 250 miles, with practice and qualifying scheduled for Saturday before the main race airs live on FOX on Sunday
The US Capitol Building pictured in the backdrop to the construction of the race circuit
The Transportation Secretary noted how the last race hosted in the streets of Washington was in 1801, when President Thomas Jefferson hosted a horse race.
‘And they’re going to put up something that’s really amazing,’ Trump gushed. ‘It’s really having to do with our great 250th birthday. We’re having so many wonderful things.’
Shortly after the announcement, the White House put out an AI-generated video of what the race could look like.
It included eagles flying alongside Marine One as Trump arrived at the racetrack – set up outside the US Capitol Building – with the president then waving the green flag.
The video showed several military flyovers, including of a B-2 bomber.
The AI-generated Duffy was waving the checkered flag to end the grand prix.
