Trump flags off Washington’s first IndyCar race

US President Donald Trump took part in a ceremonial lap in his armoured limousine before waving the green flag to start the first IndyCar race to be held in Washington. The Freedom 250 Grand Prix, which was created by Trump through an executive order to commemorate America's 250th anniversary, featured 25 drivers racing through the streets of Washington, passing iconic landmarks such as the National Mall, the US Capitol, and the National Archives.

The 147-lap event, which was held on a 1.7-mile, 7-turn temporary street circuit, was won by Kyle Kirkwood, who led 128 laps to secure his seventh career IndyCar win, and his second of the 2026 season, according to Motorsport.com. He finished 3.09 seconds ahead of Denmark's Christian Lundgaard, with Australian Will Power third and Sweden's Marcus Ericsson fourth, as reported by Yahoo Sports.

The event drew a large crowd, with officials expecting around 200,000 spectators, and tickets to private trackside clubs sold for $5,000, according to Channel News Asia. After the race, Trump described the event as "bigger than we ever thought possible" and praised the track, saying "I want everyone to be safe and the people to have a good time", as quoted by Yahoo Sports.

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