WASHINGTON, DC – Over the next two days, part of the nation’s capital will be transformed into a seven-corner professional track for the city’s first IndyCar race.
The Freedom 250 Grand Prix, sponsored by President Donald Trump, is one of several special events being held to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary.
Recommended stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
But the race, which has been touted as a way to “celebrate American greatness,” will not come without intense criticism.
Questions have been raised about the potential for disruption to life in the nation’s capital and about Trump’s relationship with the event’s sponsor, the transportation company Penske.
Here’s what you need to know about this weekend’s car tournament.
Why is this happening?
President Trump signed an executive order in January creating the race as a way to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary and motorsports history.
“This is going to be a race like no other,” President Trump said in July. “This will be one of the most unforgettable racing events the world has ever seen.”
Trump, who describes himself as a racing fan, has attended several high-profile motorsports events since returning to office in 2025.
Trump participated in NASCAR’s Daytona 500 race last year after serving as grand marshal during his first term. A few months later, in April 2025, he hosted NASCAR and IndyCar drivers at the White House.
Has a similar event been held?
The Grand Prix is one of several sporting events held to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary.
Earlier this month, as part of the celebration, high school athletes were invited to attend the first Patriot Game, which will be broadcast on ESPN sports channel. And in June, President Trump hosted an Ultimate Fighting Championship event dubbed “UFC Freedom 250” on the White House lawn.
But members of the Trump administration liken the campaign to an earlier moment in American history as a way to emphasize its historic nature.
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said it was the first time such a competition had been held in Washington, D.C. since Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, celebrated his 25th birthday with a horse race in 1801.
Is IndyCar racing part of the Freedom 250?
It’s not official. Although Grand Prix carries a similar brand name to President Trump’s Freedom 250 Initiative, they are separate organizations.
President Trump’s Freedom 250 task force is a public-private partnership that has put together events such as the Patriot Games and the Great American State Fair, held on the National Mall in June.
But critics argued that the task force undermined America 250, another bipartisan organization created by Congress to organize anniversary celebrations. There was also a backlash against the perception that Freedom 250 would be a tool for President Trump’s political agenda.
Meanwhile, the Grand Prix is ”run by IndyCar in conjunction with the America 250 Task Force,” according to the District of Columbia government’s website. IndyCar is a subsidiary of Penske.
What kind of response did the race receive?
This campaign is perhaps the most ambitious of all the events President Trump has hosted to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary. Conservation experts have also voiced concerns.
The temporary race track will run 2.7 kilometers (1.7 miles), including the National Mall. Therefore, part of the race will be held near some buildings where valuable historical works and documents are kept.
Right next to the highway is the National Gallery of Art, which displays paintings spanning the history of Western civilization, and the National Archives, which houses the originals of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.
The National Gallery has boarded up some of the building’s windows and installed fencing around some of its outdoor works as race cars are expected to pass by at speeds of nearly 321 km/h (200 mph).
Preservationist groups also warned that historic New Deal-era murals in the nearby Cohen Federal Building could be damaged “by vibration effects.”
A Freedom 250 Grand Prix spokesperson told The Associated Press that IndyCar has “great respect for the history and structures” surrounding the circuit.
But the race’s impact is also being felt by Washington residents and visitors.
In the days leading up to the race, commuters faced hours-long traffic jams as some of the city’s popular thoroughfares were closed as organizers prepared for the event.
The Federal Aviation Administration also announced that flights at nearby Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport will be suspended for three hours on Sunday to allow for high-flying flights related to the event.
Who is paying for this?
With an estimated price tag of $35 million, the 147-lap race will be one of the most expensive on the IndyCar calendar.
Bud Denker, president of Penske Corporation and race chairman, told the AP that while the company would pay for the “vast majority” of the event, the city would cover “very limited” portions of costs, such as resurfacing roads and closing manhole covers.
A spokesperson for D.C.’s transportation agency, German Vigil, told Al Jazeera that the city would be “reimbursed” by the Grand Prix for these repairs.
The Freedom 250 Grand Prix website says the event is supported by a “group of key partners,” including Harbinger, a production company with ties to at least one Trump-sponsored event in the past.
CNN previously reported that the company was hired to solicit corporate sponsors for the 2025 White House Easter Egg Roll.
The race’s website lists Harbinger as the Grand Prix’s “official event partner” who will “coordinate the logistics and fan experience.” A Harbinger spokesperson told Al Jazeera that the company only handles “production”.
Several of the race’s sponsors have government contracts, including aerospace company Boeing and telecommunications company Verizon.
One company, construction manufacturer Wilscot, is in talks with the second Trump administration to lease mobile structures to house detainees scheduled for deportation, according to the publication Semaphore.
Another aircraft company, Gulfstream, received nearly $200 million in a controversial deal struck by the Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security to buy luxury jets for executive travel.
Will Scott and Gulfstream did not respond to Al Jazeera’s requests for comment.
How much does it cost to participate?
According to reports, 100,000 general admission tickets have already been distributed free of charge, but premium viewing of the races will come at a hefty price.
Tickets to the Champions Club, which offers racetrack views, cost $5,000 per person, while luxury suites cost more than $250,000.
Will Trump attend?
According to media reports, President Trump himself is likely to attend the event.
The New York Post reported that the president could take a motorcade around the track on Sunday, marking the start of the final day of racing.
But Trump’s involvement has raised concerns, including among IndyCar drivers, that the event could become politicized. McLaren Racing’s Pato O’Ward, the only full-time IndyCar racer from Mexico, said it would be “ironic” if he won, given the president’s aggressive politics towards immigrants and Mexico itself.
