{
  "id": 3417917,
  "title": "Freedom 250 is most-watched IndyCar race, besides Indy 500, since 2008",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/freedom-250-is-most-watched-indycar-race-besides-indy-500-since-2008",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-26T03:46:30.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/freedom-250-most-watched-indycar-034630618.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The IndyCar Freedom 250 race attracted a record-breaking 3.282 million viewers, according to FOX Sports. The one-off event, which took place in front of the U.S. Capitol along Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., marked the most-watched non-Indy 500 IndyCar race since 2008, when open-wheel racing in the United States merged Indy Racing League and Champ Car. Despite being the first and only edition of the race, the viewership numbers surpassed the previous record held by the Indy 500, which drew 6.635 million viewers this year, a 6% decrease from 2025. The Freedom 250 proved to be a 279% increase from the average Sunday viewership of a non-Indy 500 IndyCar race during the 2025 season. FOX utilized 90 cameras for the broadcast, including a camera atop the Washington Monument. The race, won by Kyle Kirkwood, coincided with the 250th birthday of the United States. The network also broke records this summer for the World Cup, with Spain defeating Argentina for its second men's title, achieving an average audience of 38,937,000 viewers.",
  "summary": "FOX utilized 90 cameras to capture the IndyCar Freedom 250, which raced around the streets of Washington, D.C.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Motorsport.com",
        "title": "Winners and losers from the IndyCar race in Washington, D.C.",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/25/winners-and-losers-from-the-indycar-race-in-washington-d-c",
        "published": "2026-08-25T16:30:08.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "Washington D.C. race garners IndyCar’s best non-Indy 500 rating since 2008 merger",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/washington-d-c-race-garners-indycars-best-non-indy-500-rating-since",
        "published": "2026-08-26T01:30:06.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}