With a shiny red, white, and blue IndyCar in front of the stage and the Capitol in the background, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum credited the one person in Washington with the pull—and, perhaps, the hubris—to make a full-blown, open-wheel professional street race around the National Mall, plann ed and executed within a matter of months, a reality.  “The idea got elevated to the White House and President Trump got involved,” Burgum said at a Monday press conference unveiling the planned course for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, an IndyCar event that will be held in DC on August 22-23. “Five days later, we were standing … in the Oval Office with an executive order signed.” One of many events this summer celebrating America’s 250th anniversary, the planned race is expected to see IndyCar drivers going as fast as 185 miles per hour along a seven-turn, 1.66-mile course that includes a stretch of  Pennsylvania Avenue and runs past the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, the National Gallery of Art, and the National Archives. The two-day event will be free to the public, and Burgum said that “there could be a million-plus people that are going to be here over those multiple days of racing.” For comparison’s sake, the two most popular dates surrounding the Indy 500—typically the most-attended auto race worldwide—might hit half-a-million on a good year.  Trump’s January 30 executive order about the race mandated that “all permits, approvals, and other authorizations” be “issued and granted as expeditiously as possible.” Since then, the planning process has moved quickly and largely behind closed doors—leaving the DC Council with no more information than the general public.  “I think they are literally building the car as they drive it,” said Councilmember Charles Allen, whose Ward 6 sits within part of the circuit. “A race like this is noisy and it’s going to screw up traffic. So it’s going to both be annoying for those who live and work here, and it’ll probably be a lot of fun. The race will bring in a lot of people who will spend some money and stay in our hotels.” What can locals expect from the first auto race in DC in 24 years? And what challenges do organizers have to overcome? Here’s what we know so far: Traffic disruption could be significant Speaking to Washingtonian, Freedom 250 Grand Prix Chairman Bud Denker, president of Penske Corporation, downplayed some of the inescapable drawbacks of holding open-wheel races in urban environments, including traffic disruption.  “The mayor’s office has been fully cooperative,” Denker said. “There are some roadways that we’re gonna change a little bit. There’s an island on Maryland Avenue, for instance, that has to be shaved down.” Roadwork needed to make District streets race-ready won’t be the only troublesome issue, traffic-wise. Concrete barriers currently being produced at a plant in Fredericksburg will begin going up between the hours of 7 PM and 5 AMon July 26, according to Denker. Those barriers—at least given how past street races around the country have been constructed—have the potential to block bike lines and walkways. And parts of major arteries like Pennsylvania and Independence Avenues will be shut down for long stretches during the race weekend.  Denker also acknowledged the current route is a fallback plan—orginally, organizers wanted to race around the Capitol grounds, but that idea was nixed by Congress. (Title 40, Section 5104 of the US Code forbids the displaying of advertising, like a racecar festooned with sponsors, on Capitol grounds).  Image courtesy of Freedom 250 Grand Prix. Under the current track plan, the National Archives, National Gallery, Air and Space Museum, and the Hirshhorn Museum will be mere feet from speeding IndyCars, which can produce potentially damaging vibrations. Denker said tests already conducted have shown that won’t be an issue: “A truck or a bus is creating more vibration than our race cars.” Allen said he expects the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority will need to re-route some bus routes to maneuver around race construction. A WMATA spokesperson told Washingtonian that “it’s too soon to tell right now” if anything will have to change. Preparation time is short This weekend’s inaugural IndyCar Series street race in Arlington, Texas, was officially announced a year-and-a-half ago. By contrast, the Freedom 250 GP is being put together in less than seven months. That means organizers will have to move much faster than usual. Can they manage? Racing insiders believe so, largely because of the confidence they have in Roger Penske. Penske, a motorsports and auto industry legend worth an estimated $7.3 billion, owns the NTT IndyCar Series, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and street races in Detroit and Long Beach, California.  “The only saving grace about that is a Roger Penske production,” said Long Beach Grand Prix founder and former racing executive Chris Pook. Dale Dillon, an Indianapolis-based contractor who has designed multiple street circuits, said the lack of details for the Freedom 250 GP is likely due to the fact that District and federal officials “probably haven’t figured out everything just yet.” Still, Dillon said, “Roger’s gang has been through this and they know what they’re doing.” Monumental Sports Entertainment (MSE), the parent company of the Washington Capitals, Wizards and Mystics, is handling the marketing, sponsorship and VIP hospitality—areas where the race will make the bulk of its revenue. Harbinger, a DC-based events production company that oversaw preparations for the 2018 March for Our Lives gun control demonstration, is handling the logistics and fan experience of the event.  At the press conference on Monday, Burgum called DC “the city of red tape,” almost gloating over the fact that the race has moved forward seemingly with little pushback. Mayor Muriel Bowser was on hand for Monday’s presentation and stated she was “excited” for the Freedom 250 GP.  “Organizers call it ‘red tape.’ I call it community engagement,” said Terry Lynch, executive director of the Downtown Cluster of Congregations and one of DC’s most vocal civic activists. “You can have a successful event even if it impacts residents if there’s communication.” How much is this going to cost—and who’s paying?  Merely creating a race circuit—from the concrete barriers to catch fences—can run around $10 million. That’s not factoring in all the other components of a race weekend, including security, ushers, prize money offered up to drivers and paying for non-racing entertainment, like the as-yet-unnamed bands that will play on a stage within the circuit.  The race’s finances will be handled by D.C. Grand Prix Inc., an entity that should have its 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity status approved by the IRS in future weeks. Penske is the tip of the spear in this effort, and while there is an expectation he may personally cover any budgetary shortfalls for the race, there could be federal money used for the Freedom 250 GP. Though the District’s Department of Transportation will lead repaving and other work needed for creating the race course, Denker said local taxpayers won’t be on the hook for its contributions: “I don’t expect [taxpayer money] to come from the city level, but if any [government dollars] come at all, it will be from the federal level.” If the race does finish in the black, organizers said, any profits will go to area charities. Security is expected to be mostly made up of federal law enforcement officers, including US Park Police. The Freedom 250 GP will be classified as SEAR-1 level event by the Department of Homeland Security, meaning the race will have “significant national and/or international importance.” That’s the same level given to the Super Bowl as well as other events that bring in large crowds into the District.  It’s not yet clear whether Freedom 250 organizers will help cover security costs.  The race itself could be worth watching (albeit a bit MAGA-y) The biggest IndyCar race each season is the Indianapolis 500, a historic oval track where drama—whispers: lead changes—is a regular occurrence. Street circuits, on the other hand, don’t tend to feature much on-track passing. With only seven turns and long straightaways, however, the Freedom 250 GP could be one of the quickest of the six street courses on IndyCar’s 2026 schedule.  “It looks fast,” said two-time IndyCar Series and Indy 500 champ Josef Newgarden. “The corners look pretty quick. There’s obviously a couple slower corners, but most of them are open and wide, and I think you’ll maintain relatively good speed. That could help with passing … It’s always hard to predict until you actually run somewhere, but I think it could race very well.” Render courtesy of Freedom 250 Grand Prix. At the very least, the race should play well on television—in some ways, it seems more made-for-the-screen than anything else. Days before he signed the executive order for the race, Trump shared an AI-generated video commissioned by Fox Sports to help slop the race into existence. That video included shots of several local landmarks, Trump giving a thumbs up to the course as an eagle stares at him inside Marine One, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy waving a checkered flag.  The same video was again played at Monday’s press event after longtime Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks took the stage. FCC chairman Brendan Carr sat nearby.  “We want to thank the administration for recognizing that there is no better way to celebrate America 250 than by showcasing American speed and ingenuity on the streets of our capital,” Shanks said. “For everybody that’s gonna be here, no matter which way you look, this is gonna be the most distinctly American sporting event that we’ve ever had.” The last major auto race in DC was a mixed bag Looking back, the 2002 Grand Prix of Washington wasn’t the complete disaster that it often has been portrayed as since. The cars that ran that race in the parking lots surrounding RFK Stadium were from the American Le Mans Series (since merged with Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series), which sat a rung or two below the IndyCar Series on the motorsports hierarchy—and still drew a paying crowd of nearly 100,000 people.  “The ALMS product was fine, but it wasn’t IndyCar,” said Chris Lencheski, founder and chairman of the board of National Grand Prix Holdings. “NBC broadcast the race on Saturday and CBS took over the race on Sunday, and they were very happy with the product. We sold out every luxury suite and we had General Motors as the title sponsor.”  Problem was, local officials were flooded with noise and traffic complaints from neighborhood residents. The Kingman Park Civic Association was the loudest group, and even readied a lawsuit to halt the 2003 race—but that became moot when the DC Sports and Entertainment Commission canceled the 10-year deal for the race, stating organizers “repeatedly failed to meet commitments and obligations.” The commission, now part of the Washington Convention and Sports Authority, was out about $4 million, most of that from repaving and course construction. Similarly, an IndyCar street race in Baltimore only lasted from 2011 to 2013. Its fatal flaw? Not enough money. The event’s original organizers ended up owing the city $1.5 million, and total unpaid debts to vendors and others added up to around $12 million. A revolving door of organizers couldn’t fix things before the plug was pulled. Could this be the start of a new DC sports tradition? That’s unclear. For now, at least, the Freedom 250 GP is expected to be a one-off. “Your mayor has asked me, ‘Would we consider multi-year?’” Denker said. “Our response was, ‘Let’s get through the first year first.’”The post Donald Trump Wants to Celebrate America’s 250th Birthday With an IndyCar Race Around the National Mall. Here’s What We Know So Far. first appeared on Washingtonian. ...read more read less