Kyle Kirkwood wins first Freedom 250 race through Washington

Kyle Kirkwood won the Freedom 250 Grand Prix on Sunday as Washington, DC, hosted professional road racing for the first time. The BBC, citing Reuters reporting from the event, said the victory was Kirkwood’s seventh career IndyCar win and came at the culmination of summer events marking the 250th anniversary of the United States.

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The race featured 25 drivers on a 1.7-mile street circuit through the capital. Competitors completed 147 laps and covered 250 miles, a distance chosen to reflect the anniversary. The report said cars reached speeds of up to 190mph on a layout containing seven important turns, far beyond the city’s normal maximum road speed of 55mph.

The course took the field past some of Washington’s best-known landmarks. Drivers raced alongside the Washington Monument and museums on the National Mall, with the US Capitol visible beyond the finish line. IndyCar uses open-wheel, single-seat cars, with engines supplied by Chevrolet or Honda.

Before the start, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump completed a ceremonial lap in the presidential limousine. The president then waved the green flag to begin the race. As the limousine reached the finish line, the new Air Force One aircraft carried out a flyover above the capital, according to the BBC report.

Organisers expected about 140,000 people to attend, with many general-admission tickets distributed free through a public lottery. Premium packages were also sold for $5,000 per pair. Staging the race required extensive road closures, resurfacing work and secured manholes, while Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was subject to a three-hour airspace closure for the military flyover.

The National Gallery of Art conducted vibration tests before the event to assess whether its collection could withstand the sound and movement generated by the cars. American driver Josef Newgarden told the BBC that racing in the capital was especially significant because of the anniversary and described the setting as surreal. The Freedom 250 followed other anniversary events held earlier in the summer, including a July 4 fireworks show and a UFC event on the White House lawn.