Washington Opens 2-Day Freedom 250 Race for 300,000 Fans as Trump Plans Sunday Lap
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 22
Washington Opens 2-Day Freedom 250 Race for 300,000 Fans as Trump Plans Sunday Lap
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 22
Summary
Thousands of spectators streamed into downtown Washington on Saturday for the opening day of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, a two-day IndyCar street race expected to draw nearly 300,000 people.
Trump’s January executive order cleared local hurdles for the event, which caps the capital’s summer celebrations for the nation’s 250th birthday and features a 1.66-mile course around the Mall, Capitol and Smithsonian museums.
Sunday’s main race will run 147 laps for 250 miles, with Trump set to ride in “The Beast” for a ceremonial lap and wave the green flag, while drivers used Saturday practice to learn the tight seven-turn circuit.
The more than $35 million race has brought major disruption: broad traffic and parking restrictions, a planned three-hour pause at Reagan National Airport, ticket-only museum access and heavy federal security despite Washington being denied top special-event status.