Kyle Kirkwood dominates IndyCar Freedom 250 as Alex Palou falters in Washington

Kyle Kirkwood won the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, a 147-lap IndyCar race held on a 1.7-mile temporary street circuit in Washington DC. He started second in the #27 Andretti Global Honda and led 128 laps to secure his second win of the 2026 IndyCar Series season, finishing 3.0906 seconds ahead of Christian Lundgaard.

The race was part of the celebrations for the United States' 250th birthday and was the first time professional road racing had been hosted in the capital. The event featured a ceremonial lap by US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump in the presidential limousine, The Beast. Trump also waved the green flag to start the race.

The 1.7-mile track featured seven turns and took the drivers past iconic landmarks such as the Washington Monument, museums on the National Mall, and the US Capitol building. According to Yahoo Sports, the race was expected to draw roughly 200,000 spectators, with free tickets available and passes to private trackside clubs selling for $5,000.

Brief written by urgent.news from Motorsport.com, Yahoo Sports, BBC Sport, Jerusalem Post, BBC News — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.