It’s race day in Washington, DC, as the NTT IndyCar Series took over the nation’s capital for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix.

The inaugural event was a spectacle unlike anything racing has ever seen, as the street course took drivers (and viewers) around parts of the iconic National Mall as they passed by some of Washington’s most famous landmarks, including the National Gallery of Art, the National Air and Space Museum and the National Archives.

As grand a race as you’d expect for this track, this day belonged to Kyle Kirkwood. After an early battle with Alex Palou, Kirkwood took the lead and practically never gave it up. Every time he dipped into second or third or fourth because of a pit stop, he’d be back in the lead within minutes, building multiple ten-plus second leads, which were only ever brought back due to many cautions in the last 50 laps. It was no shock to anyone watching when he emerged victorious at the end.

Meanwhile, Alex Palou, who led in IndyCar points coming into this race struggled out of his mind. After battling for first early, Palou fell behind quickly, falling a full lap behind the leaders before crashing late and ending his day with a DNF.

Here are the updates and highlights from this iconic, picturesque race.

Kirkwood explains the feeling of winning in Washington, DC

An American driver winning in Washington, DC feels poetic. Here were Kirkwood’s thoughts on the feeling after winning today.

Kirkwood wins Freedom 250

The first auto race in the nation’s capital goes to Kyle Kirkwood. The No. 27 car was out in front for most of the race and despite some late cautions and attempts to remove his massive lead, Kirkwood remained on top at the end. He earned props from his teammate Will Power, who also earned a spot on the podium for his third-straight podium finish.

Here is the unofficial top-10:

1. Kyle Kirkwood
2. Christian Lundgaard
3. Will Power
4. Marcus Ericsson
5. Kyffin Simpson
6. Nolan Siegel
7. Scott Dixon
8. Josef Newgarden
9. Caio Collet
10. Romain Grosjean

Scott McLaughlin’s risky play out of restart results in crash

Coming out of the restart, Scott McLaughlin tried to use the opportunity to get around Kirkwood, and managed to do so out the gate, but the first turn afterwards was too sharp given the speed McLaughlin needed to get to to make the pass.

McLaughlin slammed the wall, which wound up causing a crash from Rosenqvist as well.

McLaughlin had spent much of the race right behind Kirkwood, but his crash has created yet another caution.

Another caution slows everything down

With 24 laps to go, Kyle Kirkwood’s remarkable ten second lead has vanished after the first caution in nearly 80 laps after Alex Palou’s race went from bad to worse with a crash.

With how well Kirkwood has been driving, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him build up another big lead quickly, but this gives everyone else a great opportunity to make a comeback.

Kirkwood continues dominance

Every time you think someone might have an edge on Kyle Kirkwood, he pulls away even further. It’s hard to pinpoint a single moment throughout this race where he hasn’t been in control. Approaching lap 100, Kirkwood not only extended his lead to over 11 seconds, but also posted the fastest lap of the race, coming in at just over 58 seconds.

The distance between first-place Kirkwood and second-place McLaughlin is nearly the same as the distance between McLaughlin and seventh-place Ericsson. That’s absolute dominance.

Pit forces Kirkwood into second place

Despite holding a more than ten second lead heading into lap 80, one pit change, and a fast one at that, still led Kirkwood to fall into second place and more than 13 seconds behind Will Power. Meanwhile, Alex Palou has fallen more than a full lap behind the leaders. Of all racers still in the running, Palou sits in second-to-last place. But you should never count him out.

Kirkwood returns to first place

The small detour Kirkwood suffered after the pit stop hasn’t slowed him at all. Since the most recent restart, Kirkwood has already found himself at the front of the pack yet again, climbing from third place to take the lead away from Graham Rahal. Not only was he able to secure the lead again, but he’s not more than two seconds ahead of Rahal for the lead as well.

Palou and Kirkwood regain leads, another caution

After the second caution of the race caught racers up to frontrunners Kyle Kirkwood and Alex Palou, the pair of drivers needed about 15 laps to get that 3-4 second lead back. However, another caution was needed on lap 37 as Sting Ray Robb slammed into a wall and came to a dead stop.

Immediately following, Robb was hit by fellow American David Malukas coming around the same corner. In an instant, two Americans fell out of the race. There’s still more than 100 laps to go.

In the chaos of the first major wreck of the race, Kirkwood and Palou fell out of first and second place while going through pit changes, falling to fifth and sixth respectively. Palou even suffered a drive-through penalty, a rare mistake for such a talented driver.

Graham Rahal now has the lead amongst the pack heading into lap 43.

Caution on lap 20

Already the second caution of this race, the drivers spent two laps getting back into pace before getting the green flag. It was a huge plus for everyone not named Kyle Kirkwood or Alex Palou. The two drivers were more than four seconds ahead of the rest of the pack at the time of the caution. They were slowly pulling away with each subsequent lap. However, that lead has now shrunk to under a second due to the caution enabling other drivers to catch up.

Kirkwood leads ten laps in

Much of the pre-race talk was about Alex Palou being potentially the greatest driver of all-time. While he is certainly doing well early on, sitting in second place in the street race, it’s Kyle Kirkwood with more than a second lead on the rest of the field.

There has been very little contact between drivers early on, but the distance between the frontrunners and those behind seems to be growing ever so slightly with each lap.

What time does the IndyCar Freedom 250 start?

The Freedom 250 Grand Prix is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 23, in Washington, D.C.

What TV channel is the IndyCar Freedom 250 on?

The Freedom 250 Grand Prix will be broadcast on FOX at 1 p.m. ET, with a pre-race show at 11:30 a.m. ET on FS1.

Will there be a live stream of the IndyCar Freedom 250?

Yes, the Freedom 250 Grand Prix can be lived streamed on Fox One and on Fubo.

Stream the IndyCar Freedom 250 Grand Prix on Fubo

Air Force One flies over Freedom 250

The pre-race presentation obviously leaned very heavily into the President and the landscape of Washington, D.C. That means it was only a matter of time before Air Force One made its own flyover.

Christopher Macchio performs national anthem

America’s tenor Christopher Macchio had the honor of singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” ahead of the race. His rendition of the national anthem came after another equally beautiful rendition of “God Bless America” from the United States military band.

Trump arrives on pit road

A massive sports fan, the president of the United States was a must-have for the Freedom 250. He arrived on pit road about an hour before the start of the race.

The President also took a lap in his armored vehicle before the race as well.

First flyover at Freedom 250

For the first auto race in the nation’s capital, it only makes sense that they’d get some serious flyovers. This was the first one of the afternoon.

Weather forecast for Freedom 250

It should be a phenomenal day for racing in honor of our nation’s 250th anniversary. According to The Weather Channel, the high for today will be around 83 degrees, with the weather reaching about 81 degrees at the start of the race.

Precipitation is non-existent, with a 0% chance at any point throughout the day. Meanwhile, winds are mild, only reaching 12 miles per hour with gusts of up to 20. It should be a great breeze on what will be a warm race day.

How many laps is the IndyCar Freedom 250?

The Freedom 250 Grand Prix is 147 laps around the 1.7-mile Washington, D.C., street course for a total of 250 miles.

Who leads the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series standings

Four-time series champion Alex Palou leads the standings with four races remaining in the 2026 season. Here are the top five drivers in points:

1. Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing — 542 points
2. Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global — 409 points
3. David Malukas, Team Penske — 405 points
4. Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren — 403 points
5. Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren — 385 points

What is the lineup for the IndyCar Freedom 250?

Here is the starting lineup for the IndyCar Freedom 250 following Saturday’s qualifying:

• Row 1
  • 1, Alex Palou
  • 2, Kyle Kirkwood
• Row 2
  • 3, Scott McLaughlin
  • 4, Christian Rasmussen
• Row 3
  • 5, Marcus Armstrong
  • 6, David Malukas
• Row 4
  • 7, Pato O’Ward
  • 8, Dennis Hauger
• Row 5
  • 9, Christian Lundgaard
  • 10, Felix Rosenqvist
• Row 6
  • 11, Caio Collet
  • 12, Nolan Siegel
• Row 7
  • 13, Will Power
  • 14, Scott Dixon
• Row 8
  • 15, Marcus Ericsson
  • 16, Josef Newgarden
• Row 9
  • 17, Alexander Rossi
  • 18, Louis Foster
• Row 10
  • 19, Rinus VeeKay
  • 20, Mick Schumacher
• Row 11
  • 21, Romain Grosjean
  • 22, Graham Rahal
• Row 12
  • 23, Sting Ray Robb
  • 24, Kyffin Simpson
• Row 13
  • 25, Santino Ferrucci (Received 6-position grid penalty for excessive engine changes, per IndyStar.)