Eric Lee/Getty Images Add Jalopnik on Google: Google Discover Up was down, down was up as IndyCar visited the nation's capital last weekend. An Air Force One flyover and a Beast parade lap preceded a race on a ramshackle street circuit that wouldn't look out of place during the dying days of the Champ Car World Series two decades ago. After a taxing 147-lap contest, Kyle Kirkwood won the Freedom 250 Grand Prix. While the Trump administration and other local dignitaries vocally want the event to become an annual affair, IndyCar was adamant on air that this will never happen again. After the self-aggrandizing pre-race festivities and President Trump refusing to leave his seat to wave the green flag, it was a box-standard IndyCar street race with a decent amount of passing and side-by-side action. The concerns that the lack of long straights would produce a procession were put to bed immediately. The bumpy track surface lengthened the braking zones and made corner exits tricky. While there was passing, it wasn't happening at the front. Kirkwood led 128 laps, again confirming his prowess on street circuits after his previous win around AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The rough-and-tumble racing could seem low-budget when the cars were looping around the National Archives and battling in the shadow of the Capitol Dome. The contrast was jarring for casual viewers and newer racing fans accustomed to the billiard-table-smooth racing surfaces that F1 paved for itself in Miami and Las Vegas. IndyCar put on the Freedom 250 Grand Prix for $35 million, a tenth of what F1 spent. The race couldn't end sooner for Alex Palou and everyone watching Chris Graythen/Getty Images Kirkwood's romp at the front was paired with bursts of unadulterated chaos behind him. Penske's efforts to win their boss's marque event ended spectacularly. David Malukas was the first retirement after crashing out alone on Lap 35. Juncos driver Sting Ray Robb then plowed straight into the wrecked Penske. Scott McLaughlin had the best shot at taking the victory from Kirkwood during a late restart. However, the Penske driver overcooked a divebomb into Turn 1 and threw his car right into the outside wall. When it was all said and done, McLaren's Christian Lundgaard finished in second place, three seconds behind. Kirkwood's Andretti teammates, Will Power and Marcus Ericsson, took third and fourth, respectively. The future five-time champion Alex Palou made the path to his coronation a bit more difficult after an uncharacteristically awful day. The Ganassi driver was forced to serve a drive-through penalty after clipping a tire in Mick Schumacher's pit box while exiting his own box. Then, his pit crew made an atypical error during another stop. As Palou clung to the end of the lead lap, he clipped a wall and bent part of his suspension. His toe-link eventually buckled in, and he crashed. Ganassi repaired the car and sent him back out on track three laps down. Palou finished 20th, his worst result since 2022. As a whole, the 2-hour, 40-minute affair was a slog to watch. There was no reason for this event to be 250 miles long other than the anniversary gimmick. I'm glad this will likely never happen again. While local officials would love for the event to continue, they haven't faced the same financial realities as other street-race hosts. Penske Entertainment fit the $35 million bill for organizing the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, and won't be doing so again. All 100,000 general admission tickets were also given away free of charge on President Trump's order. The event relied solely on hospitality suites and corporate partners as avenues for recouping losses. If the federal government or D.C. were forced to pay, the tune would be much different on both sides.
Liked by Benjamin Nelson, Amélie Labelle
Liked by Benjamin Nelson, Amélie Labelle
Liked by Benjamin Nelson, Amélie Labelle
