photo by LaTur
From the Freedom 250 Grand Prix:
“Delivering capacity crowds, record broadcast viewership and worldwide attention, the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. exceeded expectations and established itself as one of the most successful events in modern INDYCAR history during an unforgettable Aug. 22-23 race weekend.
As a cornerstone event of America’s 250th anniversary celebration, the Freedom 250 Grand Prix transformed the nation’s capital into a global motorsports showcase, delivering impressive attendance, the largest INDYCAR broadcast audience outside of the Indianapolis 500 in more than 30 years and record international media coverage. The event welcomed more than 215,000 spectators to the National Mall, making it one of the largest-attended INDYCAR race weekends in recent history.
Fans packed the National Mall, Pennsylvania Avenue and the event’s STARS and STRIPES ticketed viewing areas throughout the weekend, creating a spectacular atmosphere around one of the most recognizable and iconic settings in sports.
Formally established by an Executive Order signed on Jan. 30 by President Donald J. Trump, and in cooperation with Chief of Protocol of the United States, Ambassador Monica Crowley, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, the Freedom 250 Grand Prix brought motorsports to the heart of downtown D.C. Featuring North America’s premier open-wheel auto racing series, the Grand Prix provided a uniquely American sporting event to celebrate the country’s semiquincentennial.
Featuring extended pre-race coverage on FOX that documented the patriotic pageantry of the unique celebration in the nation’s capital, the historic weekend also delivered extraordinary viewership results. People across the country tuned in to witness the 250-mile race through the streets of Washington, D.C. Sunday’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES Freedom 250 Grand Prix attracted an average audience of 3.282 million viewers, making it the most-watched non-Indianapolis 500 INDYCAR race since the 1995 season.
With seven breathtaking flyovers, including with Air Force One, offering a dazzling aerial display and bands representing all seven branches of the military performing on track while U.S. troops were recognized before the start of the race, viewers witnessed plenty of excitement beyond the racing on track. Fans also saw President Trump meet the current Indy 500 winners in the INDYCAR field and take a lap of the seven-turn, 1.7-mile street circuit before he waved the green flag to start the race from a trackside suite along Pennsylvania Avenue.
The FOX race broadcast peaked at 3.482 million viewers and more than nine million people tuned into at least a minute of the race on Sunday afternoon. The Freedom 250 Grand Prix also helped the sport reach new audiences as FOX estimated that nearly 44% of the viewers that tuned in had not watched a series race in 2026. Sunday’s impressive viewership results helped FOX continue its remarkable momentum in 2026 as the season-long average of the network’s INDYCAR broadcasts have now increased by more than 32% over last season.
The event’s reach extended far beyond the nation’s capital. With NTT INDYCAR SERIES broadcasts distributed in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide, the Freedom 250 Grand Prix positioned Washington, D.C. on the global motorsports stage while showcasing some of America’s most recognizable landmarks to audiences around the world.
“We knew from the beginning that the Freedom 250 Grand Prix would be an historic event, but the results exceeded even our most ambitious expectations,” said Bud Denker, Chairman of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix. “To welcome more than 215,000 fans to the National Mall, produce viewership numbers that we haven’t seen in decades and showcase our nation’s capital to millions of people around the world is truly remarkable. By bringing motorsports, patriotism, history and community together in an unprecedented way to celebrate 250 years of American independence and innovation, the Freedom 250 Grand Prix delivered like no other event we have ever seen. We were so honored to host such a special celebration for our country and we are grateful to our fans, partners, elected officials, volunteers, the competitors and the countless organizations that helped make this unforgettable weekend possible.”
The Freedom 250 Grand Prix also generated tremendous exposure and international media coverage for Washington D.C., the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and the partners that support INDYCAR as well as the event itself. Coverage of the Grand Prix was chronicled across many major media platforms including FOX News, ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, CNN, Reuters, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, the BBC, Forbes, the New York Times, the Washington Post and numerous international outlets, introducing many new audiences to INDYCAR racing.
According to INDYCAR’s earned media monitoring, the event generated well over $1 billion in advertising value equivalency (AVE) during race week alone, a record for all NTT INDYCAR SERIES races, including the Indy 500. Since the Freedom 250 Grand Prix was announced in late January, the event’s total AVE has surpassed $2 billion, also a benchmark for North America’s premier open wheel racing series.
The positive momentum of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix was amplified on digital platforms as well. Race day in Washington D.C. ranked as the second-highest engagement day of the year across the INDYCAR social channels behind only the Indianapolis 500. And weekend website traffic on INDYCAR.com – the official site of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES – was the highest for any non-Indy 500 event this season.
On the track, the competition was fast and fierce for all the fans watching in person or through the record FOX broadcast coverage. The International Race of Champions (IROC) Presented by Chevrolet made a celebrated return on the Washington, D.C. street circuit on Saturday with four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon sweeping both 10-lap exhibition races to claim the Freedom 250 Grand Prix IROC title. The revived series featured eight legendary drivers from NASCAR, INDYCAR and sports car racing competing in equally-prepared Pontiac Firebirds, providing fans with a nostalgic race that complemented the cars and stars of INDYCAR at the Freedom 250 Grand Prix.
On Sunday, Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood captured a historic victory in the entertaining 147-lap NTT INDYCAR SERIES race. Kirkwood led a race-high 128 laps and the young American racer etched his name into the record books as the first winner of an INDYCAR race on the historic streets of Washington, D.C. The race featured 155 on-track passes and intense competition throughout the field as drivers navigated the demanding 1.7-mile temporary street circuit framed by the Washington Monument, U.S. Capitol, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, National Gallery of Art and the National Archives.”