IndyCar Race Caps Summer Events for America’s 250th Birthday

WASHINGTON—More than 100,000 spectators lined the streets to witness history as drivers raced by national monuments on Aug. 23 to cap off a summer filled with unprecedented events to celebrate 250 years of American independence. 

The patriotic spectacle began with a bald eagle flying above the racetrack as tenor Christopher Macchio belted out the national anthem.

Kyle Kirkwood of Jupiter, Florida, dominated the Freedom 250 Grand Prix IndyCar race, winning the competition after leading 128 of the 147 laps. 

“You can’t even put it into words,” Kirkwood told Fox Sports after clinching the win. “This is incredible. I’m almost in tears here.”

His performance set an IndyCar record for the most laps led in a race on a street course. 

Kirkwood held off a late attempt from Scott McLaughlin, who crashed into the wall attempting to pass the leader and didn’t finish the race. 

The victory was the seventh of Kirkwood’s IndyCar career and second of the season, earning the 27-year-old driver 53 points, moving him closer to the lead for the IndyCar series championship title behind Spaniard Alex Palou. 

Palou started the race in the pole position after averaging more than 107.5 miles per hour in qualifying, but pitstop mishaps left him behind, and he finished in 20th place.

President Donald Trump took a ride in the president’s armored vehicle known as “The Beast” for a ceremonial lap on the racetrack winding through the nation’s capital before he waved the green flag to officially start the race.

Trump made a similar lap in the presidential limousine at the Daytona 500 last year.

Jet engines roared overhead in the hours before the race began. Military flyovers representing all Armed Forces Branches included displays by Ospreys and other tactical formations in celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Drivers started and finished the historic race in front of the U.S. Capitol building, with tight, precision turns testing the 25 racers’ skills before they put the pedal to the metal in wide open stretches on Pennsylvania Avenue, nearing speeds of 200 mph on the street course.

More than 100,000 spectators attended on Sunday, and the grandstands filled up early in the morning, hours before the festivities began. Tickets were free and distributed through a lottery system.

This is a developing story and will be updated.