Victory on the Streets of Washington
Kyle Kirkwood raced to his second IndyCar victory of the season Sunday, dominating the Freedom 250 on a new street circuit in downtown Washington, D.C. Kirkwood, driving the No. 27 Honda, crossed the finish line in front of the U.S. Capitol 3.09 seconds ahead of Christian Lundgaard, after leading for 128 of a possible 147 laps.
The race was set up as part of the country's 250th birthday celebration. President Donald Trump gave drivers the green flag at the start, and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser served as grand marshal. Organizers could hardly have asked for better weather, with plenty of sun but not so much heat that fans would stay away. The area was awash in red, white and blue. Even the Canadian flags on that country's embassy — located along the track's Pennsylvania Avenue straightaway — featured two of those three colors.
"This likely is the most satisfying win that I've had, just the magnitude of it. This one and my first are pretty similar," said Kirkwood, who now has seven career IndyCar victories. "When you think about the magnitude, what this means, having this race here in D.C., being the Freedom 250, as an American, it might top the first win for me."
Race chair Bud Denker called the event "an event" rather than a race, reflecting the festive atmosphere surrounding the inaugural event.
Teammates Fill the Podium
Will Power and Marcus Ericsson, Kirkwood's teammates with Andretti Global, finished third and fourth, giving the team three of the top four positions.
Palou's Troubles Mount
Pole winner Alex Palou, who had a chance to clinch the series title, finished 20th in his second-worst showing of the year. Several cars went onto pit road early, and that's when the day started to fall apart for Palou. He appeared to hit a tire in someone else's area while exiting, and he was assessed a drive-through penalty. On a subsequent pit stop, one of Palou's tires was loose when he started driving, causing another delay and leaving him off the lead lap. Palou later spun coming through a turn. His lead in the standings dropped from 133 points over second-place Kirkwood to 91 with three races to go.
Early Wrecks and Late Restarts
The field quickly went under caution after the green flag because of debris on the track. The first big wreck came when David Malukas went into the wall and Sting Ray Robb could do little to avoid crashing into him coming around a turn. Both American drivers were out of the race, leaving two of the race's eight American drivers eliminated.
Kirkwood had a commanding lead before Palou's spin caused a caution. On a restart with 19 laps remaining, Scott McLaughlin tried to pass Kirkwood and went into a tire barrier. Then Kirkwood pulled off a strong restart with 13 laps to go, and Lundgaard didn't mount much of a threat as the 250-mile race wound down.
Penalty and Controversy
Marcus Armstrong was penalized for avoidable contact when he sent Christian Rasmussen into a spin. Rinus VeeKay went into the wall during that incident but appeared unaware of Armstrong's culpability when he went on TV for an interview.
"If Rasmussen's around, you know you're going to crash. Either he does or you do..." VeeKay said.
A First for D.C. and a Potential Five-Year Deal
The 1.7-mile circuit in Washington, D.C., was used for the first time for the Freedom 250. Kirkwood, nicknamed the "King of the Streets" for his success on street tracks, added another chapter to that reputation.
Denker reported attendance over 215,000 people over the last two days and over $969,000 in merchandise sold on Saturday. He also said President Trump pushed for a five-year race deal, suggesting the event could become a fixture on the IndyCar calendar.