President Trump announced Monday that IndyCars will race through the streets of Washington — including down Pennsylvania Avenue and around the National Mall — in a free two-day event next month marking the 250th anniversary of American independence.
Mr. Trump compared the upcoming Freedom 250 Grand Prix on Aug. 22 and Aug. 23 around the nation’s capital to the recent UFC event he hosted at the White House, which he said drew record ratings.
“This will be like no other race ever. I don’t think anything will ever beat, will ever top what we’re going to be having – it just happened with UFC. It got the highest ratings of any fight in history. This will get the highest ratings of any such race,” Mr. Trump said.
“It’s going to be a beautiful, a beautiful thing to watch, and this is the first racing event of its kind in Washington, D.C. history, happening as part of our great celebration of the 250th anniversary of American freedom,” he added.
The 1.7-mile, seven-turn circuit starts between the Capitol and the Washington Monument, then loops through Pennsylvania Avenue, 3rd Street, Constitution Avenue near the Air and Space Museum, and 7th Street past the National Archives before returning to the start.
IndyCars can go up to 230 mph, though this course’s multiple corners and shorter straightaways will limit that.
Lap times are expected to run around 53-55 seconds, which would imply an average speed around 115 mph, though racers can go much faster on even short straightaways.
During his announcement, Mr. Trump was flanked by Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy; professional IndyCar drivers Alex Palou, Felix Rosenquist and David Malukas; Roger Penske and Bud Denker, the chairman and president of Penske Corporation; president of General Motors Mark Reuss; and Eric Shanks, CEO of Fox Sports.
The race will run as a nonprofit, backed by a coalition that includes IndyCar, Fox Sports, Penske, Monumental Sports, and city and federal agencies.
Proceeds go to D.C. area charities, and admission is free. Organizers expect roughly 1 million spectators.
“It’ll be an awesome display of American patriotism and raw horsepower and ingenuity. You’re going to see cars at the level that they’ve never been at before, with cars racing more than 190 miles, and even higher than that, down Pennsylvania Avenue,” Mr. Trump said.
“It wasn’t exactly designed for that, but what Sean Duffy’s done with these incredible, brilliant people is really amazing. It’s going to be a sight for the ages.”
According to Mr. Duffy, the Penske Corporation and Fox Sports initially ran into trouble with congressional Democrats when they first proposed the idea to lawmakers about having a street-circuit race around the Capitol.
“Because when you think about America 250, you also think about cars, and when you think about cars, you do think about freedom,” Mr. Duffy said. “This all goes together, and we had some people who were creating problems for us on the hill. Not your team, Mr. President. The other team was creating problems.”
Mr. Penske contacted Mr. Trump about his idea, which the president lauded and then helped move forward.
“It was one phone call, and the president said, ‘Done. We’re going to celebrate America 250 with an Indy car race for the first time in the U.S. capital,’” Mr. Penske said.
There is a long tradition of top-flight auto races on closed-off city streets, though Washington has never hosted one.
Two of the regular stops on the IndyCar circuit are races through temporary tracks on the streets of Detroit and Long Beach, California.
The Formula 1 circuit also includes the Monaco Grand Prix and the Las Vegas Grand Prix, races through the streets of the French Riviera resort and the gambling mecca’s iconic Strip.
• Liam Griffin contributed to this report.
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