Paddock Buzz: Freedom 250 Grand Prix Electrifies D.C. With Pageantry

The Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. delivered on every front Sunday. The buzz was real – and palpable.

“This was not a race, this was an event,” said Bud Denker, president of Penske Corporation and chairman of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C.

Denker said over 215,000 spectators packed the 1.7-mile, seven-turn street circuit this weekend as the race was the capstone event of the celebration of America’s 250th birthday. It was the first-ever motor race around the National Mall and numerous historic buildings and monuments in America’s capital city.

There were military bands marching on the circuit, and seven flyovers of U.S. military aircraft to thrill the throng gathered on a sunny day.

The fact the race took place in the seat of American power ensured there were plenty of dignitaries on hand, led by President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump (photo, above, with Roger Penske).

Before the race, Trump and the First Lady met each of the active Indianapolis 500 winners on the grid: Alex Palou, Felix Rosenqvist, Will Power, Scott Dixon, Josef Newgarden, Alexander Rossi and Marcus Ericsson. That ceremony came after the presidential motorcade took a lap of the circuit, with Donald and Melania Trump riding in the famed, heavily armored executive limousine known as “The Beast” (photo, top).

District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser (photo, above) gave the command to call drivers to their cars, and then U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum gave the command to start engines to the 25-driver field.

NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, commander of the Artemis II mission around the moon in April, led the field to green flag – waved by President Trump from his suite – as a passenger in the Fastest Seat in Sports two-seat INDYCAR SERIES car.

After 147 laps and 250 miles of action, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy waved the checkered flag as Kyle Kirkwood sped past for his seventh career NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda.

The experience was surreal for Dixon, a six-time series champion and 2008 Indy 500 winner.

“I think this could be bigger than the (Indianapolis) ‘500,’” Dixon said. “To meet the president, no matter what your political views are, that’s insane. I’m a little Kiwi guy from New Zealand. We have a prime minister. I’ve met him and he’s a good friend, but nothing on a world level like this.”

Dixon, who finished seventh in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, said the entire experience felt like something out of a movie.

“The Secret Service, all the snipers on the top, the flyovers, everything like that,” he said. “It never felt more American to me than this race. But it was epic.”

Power, the 2018 Indianapolis 500 winner and two-time series champion, also thought the experience was incredible. The Australian, who also has U.S. citizenship, finished third in the No. 26 TWG AI Honda for Andretti Global.

“For me, being from a small town in Australia, to end up standing and talking to an American president is surreal,” Power said. “Something I never would have dreamed of. It was incredible to stand there, talk to the president and the First Lady, then jump in a race car and race in Washington, D.C.”

President Trump was equally pleased with the event, which came together in less than a year under the leadership of Denker and his team.

“You have a lot of people that want to come, so it’s turned out to be I think bigger and better,” Trump said. “And the weather is beautiful. This is as nice a day as I’ve seen in Washington in a long time.”

The president also showed he knew his INDYCAR history.

“Didn’t he win it 20 times, the Indy 500?” Trump said of Roger Penske. “Nobody wins anything 20 times. Roger’s been a friend of mine for a long time, and there’s nobody like him.”

Seven Flyovers Set Patriotic Tone

Sunday’s race day began with enough pomp and circumstance to rival any patriotic event.

Most races feature a single flyover following the national anthem. Sunday’s race featured seven.

The United States Army kicked things off at 10:38 a.m. ET with eight helicopters – two CH-47 Chinook, four UH-60 Black Hawk and two AH-64 Apache aircraft. The U.S. Marine Corps followed with four AH-1Z Viper helicopters and four V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft.

The U.S. Navy then sent four SH-60/MH-60 Seahawk helicopters and four F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets over the circuit. The U.S. Coast Guard followed with a C-130J Super Hercules military transport plane, an HC-144 Ocean Sentry plane and C-27J Spartan military transport plane.

Then the U.S. Air Force took its turn with a tri-bomber formation featuring four F-35 Lightning II fighter jets. Then the Boeing VC-25B, the presidential aircraft known as Air Force One, flew over escorted by four F-35 Lightning II fighter jets.

That was followed by a special formation after the command to fire the engines featuring a B-2 bomber, six F-35 fighter jets and two F-22 fighter jets.

The spectacle was not lost on the drivers.

“There have been a lot of things that have reminded me of the Indy 500 at this event,” Arrow McLaren’s Nolan Siegel said. “I mean that in the best way possible. It’s so cool to see. Just standing on the grid and seeing every possible balcony lined with people, doing the parade lap on the pickup trucks and seeing the number of fans here and how excited they are is so cool.

“There are a lot of races that are packed, and it’s rare that you feel an energy like this.”

Simpson, Siegel, Collet Break Through

While Kirkwood, Christian Lundgaard, Power and Ericsson claimed the top four spots, there were plenty of interesting storylines behind them.

Kyffin Simpson drove from 23rd to fifth in the No. 8 Sunoco Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, earning his fifth NTT INDYCAR SERIES top-five finish.

Siegel climbed from 18th to sixth in the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, overcoming a six-position grid penalty for an unapproved engine change overnight.

The result was a career best for Siegel, whose previous best was seventh in 2024 at World Wide Technology Raceway with Dale Coyne Racing.

Siegel has four top-12 finishes in his last five races after recording three in his first 10 starts of the season. Siegel seeks a new home for 2027 after Arrow McLaren announced a driver lineup next year of Pato O’Ward, Dixon and Rosenqvist.

“It’s definitely an important time for me, and it feels good to kind of be proving myself here,” Siegel said. “It’s been a string of good runs, and we’ll try and finish the season strong in the next three.”

Rookie Caio Collet also enjoyed a career-best result, finishing ninth in the No. 4 Combitrans Amazonia Chevrolet for A.J. Foyt Enterprises. His previous best was 11th at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

“It’s not easy,” Collet said. “I have a bit of a cramp on my left leg from so much braking. But the team did a phenomenal job. I think it was our first clean race of the whole season from start to finish. They did a really good job with good stops and on track.

“I kept myself out of trouble. Overall, I’m really, really happy with my first top 10 and hopefully we can keep the momentum into the next three races.”

Odds and Ends

• Grinding of the track surface at the exit of Turn 1 and entrance of Turn 6 occurred overnight following two practice session and three rounds of qualifying Saturday.

• Ericsson has six top-eight finishes in the last eight races this season. He had four in the previous 25 races dating to the 2024 season finale.

• Power recorded his third consecutive third-place finish, also his fourth in the last six races.

• Lundgaard is the only driver to complete all 1,962 laps this season after his runner-up finish Sunday. He and teammate Pato O’Ward were the only two drivers to complete every lap entering this weekend, but O’Ward finished 16th, one lap down. O’Ward had a top five finish in all five prior street races this season.