IndyCar Races Past the Capitol This Weekend After Trump Executive Order Cleared the Streets

IndyCar is racing through the streets of Washington D.C. this weekend, something that has never happened in American motorsports history. The Freedom 250 Grand Prix runs Sunday on a 1.7-mile course that passes the U.S. Capitol, the National Archives, the Justice Department and the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, according to the New York Times.

The race exists because President Trump signed an executive order clearing the way for it, the New York Times reported. IndyCar paid for the event itself. Normally, racing series fight city hall for months to shut down streets. Here, the federal government cleared the red tape.

Team owner Chip Ganassi didn't hide his excitement. "With the backdrop of the Capitol, the aura of Washington, D.C., having a sporting event in the District there, something that's never been done, having the backing of the president and the secretary of transportation, I think it's going to be a great event," Ganassi said in a video released by his team, according to the New York Times.

Trump has staged another major sporting spectacle in the capital this year tied to the nation's 250th birthday celebration. The first was a UFC fight card on the White House South Lawn in June, according to the Associated Press.

Drivers Call It the Best Backdrop They've Seen

Kyle Kirkwood didn't mince words about the setting. "We get to race at a lot of cool cities, but this one is by far the best that we've ever had, and I can say that very truthfully," Kirkwood said Friday, according to the Associated Press. "Going by the Capitol building, the views here, all the architecture of all the buildings around here, all the museums, it's stuff that you dream of. It's a serious honor and privilege."

Kirkwood also pointed to something IndyCar rarely gets: attention. "What's been the coolest part of this week? Honestly, the media covering us," he said. "We don't get these opportunities very often outside of the Indy 500."

Dutch driver Rinus VeeKay, who recently got his green card, said the week has been a crash course in American history. "We didn't get too much U.S. history in school, but learning so much about it here, seeing all the monuments and museums and just how every building kind of has a special purpose here around the city, is very cool," VeeKay said, according to the Associated Press. "Getting to see the White House, this is stuff you see in movies."

The Course and the Politics Behind It

The race starts on 3rd Street, roughly 1,300 feet from the Capitol steps, with the start/finish line aligned to the Capitol and the National Mall, the New York Times reported. Drivers hit Pennsylvania Avenue, the historic route connecting the Capitol and White House used for presidential inaugurations since Thomas Jefferson rode it on horseback in 1805. This time cars will hit speeds above 170 mph on that straightaway, with roughly 700 horsepower under the hood, according to the New York Times.

The course does not run past the White House itself, though the Pennsylvania Avenue straightaway heads toward it before the track cuts through a series of 90-degree turns near the National Archives and Justice Department, according to the Associated Press.

IndyCar owner Roger Penske received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Trump in 2019 and personally led the push to bring this race to Washington, the Associated Press reported. The Associated Press noted that IndyCar, unlike NASCAR, doesn't carry the same cultural association with the "manosphere" or MAGA world Trump has courted elsewhere, but Penske's relationship with Trump is a matter of public record.

What Washington Hasn't Seen Before

The capital has almost no history hosting top-tier motorsports. The closest precedent was a 2002 American Le Mans Series event held in the RFK Stadium parking lot on the city's east side, far from the monuments, according to the Associated Press.

This weekend's race puts IndyCar smack in the middle of the tourist core instead, which means heavy road closures for anyone not behind a wheel with a racing license. IndyCar practice, qualifying, and an IROC race are scheduled for Saturday ahead of Sunday's 147-lap main event, according to the Independent.

Whether Washington becomes a recurring stop on IndyCar's calendar is an open question. No source indicates whether this is a one-time deal tied to the 250th anniversary celebration or the start of an annual fixture, and IndyCar has not announced a 2027 return to the capital.