Washington Hosts 180-mph IndyCar Race for 200,000 Fans as $35 Million Freedom 250 Reshapes Downtown
Updated
Updated · CNN · Aug 20
Washington Hosts 180-mph IndyCar Race for 200,000 Fans as $35 Million Freedom 250 Reshapes Downtown
3 articles · Updated · CNN · Aug 20
Summary
More than 200,000 people are expected on the National Mall this weekend for Washington’s first IndyCar street race, a two-day Freedom 250 event culminating in Sunday’s 147-lap, 250-mile Grand Prix.
The 1.7-mile, seven-turn course sends cars past the Capitol, National Archives and Smithsonian at speeds up to 180 mph, after a late-July buildout installed 10,000-pound barriers and modified 49 manholes.
That setup is still disrupting the city: Reagan National will pause flights for three hours Sunday, and officials say tearing down the circuit and restoring streets will take until roughly the second week of September.
Demand has been strong, with free tickets exhausted after nearly 300,000 requests and hospitality suites priced at $200,000 to $250,000 sold out.
The race, fast-tracked by Trump’s January executive order as part of the 250th-anniversary Freedom 250 program, has drawn criticism from some residents who say Washington is being used as a political playground.