A slice of the nation’s capital will be transformed into a race track over the weekend for President Donald Trump’s final event commemorating the U.S.’s 250th birthday.
An IndyCar race consisting of 25 drivers will take place around the National Mall in the heart of Washington, D.C., on Saturday and Sunday.
IndyCar is the top level of single-seater auto racing in the U.S., best known for the “Indy 500,” an annual 500 mile race in Indianapolis.
“This will be like no other race ever. This will get the highest ever ratings of any such race,” Trump said in July, when the top IndyCar drivers participating in the race visited the White House.
Trump himself is scheduled to take a ride around the 1.7 mile race track in his presidential limousine, known as “The Beast” before the competition begins, White House officials told multiple outlets.
The event is being hosted by Freedom 250, the organization Trump established through an Executive Order in January to coordinate the Administration’s semiquincentennial events. The race follows other high profile events this summer in celebration of the milestone anniversary, including a UFC fight on the White House grounds, an athletics tournament dubbed the Patriot Games, and the world’s largest fireworks show.
Here’s what to know about the 250 Grand Prix .
When is the race?
Practice races will take place on Saturday, beginning at 9 a.m. local time and continuing throughout the day.
The real race will then begin at 1:10 p.m. on Sunday.
What is the route?
Drivers will race for 147 laps, covering a distance of roughly 250 miles.
The 1.66 mile, 7-turn track begins on 3rd Street near the Capitol building at the east end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., before jutting down Pennsylvania Avenue, the course’s longest straight at 0.4 miles. It then makes turns on 9th Street, 7th Street, and Independence Avenue, passing sites including the Lincoln Reflecting Pool and the Smithsonian Museum before circling back onto 3rd street to finish off.
Who’s paying?
Penske Corp., the owner of IndyCar, is picking up most of the tab for the race, according to Bud Denker, Penske Corp. president and chair of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix.
An exact price tag for the event is unknown, but Denker said in July that the race is “much more” than IndyCar’s Detroit street race, which has a budget of $20 million.
A $90 million budget allocated by Congress for special events in Washington will cover security costs, according to Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice Lindsey Appiah, who spoke at a public briefing in July.
The federal funding is a part of the Emergency Planning and Security Fund, which is designed to support presidential events, including those related to the U.S.’s 250th birthday.
How can you watch?
Organizers expect roughly 140,000 spectators to attend the race in person throughout the weekend.
Free tickets were given to 100,000 people through a lottery. The only other way to watch the event up close is to purchase an all-inclusive food and beverage weekend pass to the Champions Club, an exclusive viewing venue built for the race overlooking 7th Street and the National Mall, for nearly $5,500.
Venues for the race open to the public at 8 a.m. on both days.
For viewers watching the race remotely, FOX will be streaming the events.
You can also access FOX’s coverage through certain streaming platform bundles such as YouTube TV, Hulu +, Fubo, or Sling TV.
Flight disruptions
The Federal Aviation Administration last week said it expects to pause flights at Reagan National Airport for three hours for the race from 10:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. on Sunday.
“The FAA has been planning and coordinating with stakeholders to help ensure the safe and efficient movement of air traffic during Freedom 250 events,” the agency said in a statement. “As part of that effort, the agency will implement traffic management initiatives at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.”
Flights were also halted for several hours on July 4 due to Trump’s fireworks show.
Concerns for D.C. artifacts
Due to the vibrations caused by the race cars, some preservationists and museum representatives are worried for the safety of artifacts stored in the many museums along the race route.
Mary Okin, the assistant director of the Living New Deal, a non-profit dedicated to preserving the legacy of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, wrote a letter last month to the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) expressing her concern that the vibrations could damage the frescoes of the Wilbur J. Cohen Building, which the GSA manages.
“In the foreseeable event of a race vehicle losing control, or a crash that sends debris, such as tire marbles flying, or sparks a fire, what protective features will be in place ahead of the race to ensure that vibration, flying car parts, and other high speed or collision impacts do not damage this national treasure?” Okin additionally cautioned in her letter, referencing the Wilbur J. Cohen building.
The National Gallery of Art previously conducted a study to gauge the potential threat of the vibrations, but did not reveal its findings.
“In preparation for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, the National Gallery conducted an extensive vibration study and based on the results we have implemented a set of measures to ensure the safety of our staff, visitors, collection, and facilities during the race,” gallery spokesman Chris Abanavas said in a statement to The Washington Post. “While we are not releasing the specifics, I can share that any such measures are only being taken out of a great abundance of caution.”
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