Freedom 250 Grand Prix

2026 Freedom 250 Grand Prix

Race details
15th round of the 2026 IndyCar season Next race  →
Date	August 23, 2026
Official name	Freedom 250 Grand Prix
Location	Washington, D.C.
Course	Temporary street circuit mi / km
Driver
Driver
Podium
First
Second
Third

The Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. will be the fifteenth round of the 2026 IndyCar Series. The race will be held on August 23, 2026, in Washington, D.C. on a temporary street course.

Report

Background

The National Mall, the area where the race will be held. The Lincoln Memorial and its reflecting pool, the Washington Monument behind it, and the United States Capitol in the background

The original 2026 IndyCar Series schedule was released on September 16, ^[1] without a race in Washington, D.C. Rumors began that President Donald Trump wanted to host a race to celebrate America's 250th Birthday. The race was officially announced on January 30, 2026, with President Trump signing an executive order authorizing the race. ^{[2] [3]} The order instructed the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Transportation to design the course layout within 14 days and to "ensure that all permits, approvals, and other authorizations ... are issued and granted as expeditiously as possible." The executive order also instructed the two Secretaries, in coordination with Washington, D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser, to "ensure that any roads, trails, or bridges to be used as part of the race course are properly maintained and capable of being used in such a manner." ^[4] The race will be held around the National Mall. ^{[5] [6]}

Partnership and promotion

In February 2026, IndyCar announced a partnership with Monumental Sports & Entertainment to support the promotion and commercial development of the race. ^[7] Under the agreement, Monumental was appointed as the event’s official agency for marketing, sponsorship sales, and corporate hospitality. Its role includes securing commercial partners and coordinating hospitality activities associated with the race weekend. IndyCar stated that the collaboration was intended to draw on Monumental’s experience in hosting large-scale sporting and entertainment events in the Washington metropolitan area. ^[8]

Entry list

Further information: 2026 IndyCar Series § Confirmed entries

Key	Meaning
R	Rookie

No.	Driver	Team	Engine
2	Josef Newgarden	Team Penske	Chevrolet
3	Scott McLaughlin	Team Penske	Chevrolet
4	Caio Collet  R	A.J. Foyt Racing	Chevrolet
5	Pato O'Ward	Arrow McLaren	Chevrolet
6	Nolan Siegel	Arrow McLaren	Chevrolet
7	Christian Lundgaard	Arrow McLaren	Chevrolet
8	Kyffin Simpson	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
9	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
10	Álex Palou	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
12	David Malukas	Team Penske	Chevrolet
14	Santino Ferrucci	A. J. Foyt Racing	Chevrolet
15	Graham Rahal	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda
18	Romain Grosjean	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda
19	Dennis Hauger  R	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda
20	Alexander Rossi	ECR	Chevrolet
21	Christian Rasmussen	ECR	Chevrolet
26	Will Power	Andretti Global	Honda
27	Kyle Kirkwood	Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian	Honda
28	Marcus Ericsson	Andretti Global	Honda
45	Louis Foster	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda
47	Mick Schumacher  R	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda
60	Felix Rosenqvist	Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian	Honda
66	Marcus Armstrong	Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian	Honda
76	Rinus VeeKay	Juncos Hollinger Racing	Chevrolet
77	Sting Ray Robb	Juncos Hollinger Racing	Chevrolet

Practice

Practice 1

Top Practice Speeds

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Lap Time
1
2
3
[ Practice 1 results]

Practice 2

Top Practice Speeds

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Lap Time
1
2
3
[ Practice 2 results]

Qualifying

Qualifying classification

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Time	Final grid
							1						1
					2							2
3						3
4						4
5						5
6						6
7						7
8						8
9						9
10						10
11						11
12						12
13						13
14						14
15						15
16						16
17						17
18						18
19						19
20						20
21						21
22						22
23						23
24						24
25						25
Source:

Notes

• Bold text indicates fastest time.

Warmup

Top Practice Speeds

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Lap Time
1
2
3
Source:

Race

Race classification

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Laps	Time/Retired	Pit Stops	Grid	Laps Led	Pts.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Fastest lap:
[ Official race results]

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos. Driver Points 1 2 3 4 5 [ Official point standings]

Engine manufacturer standings Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 2 [ Official point standings]

• Note: Only the top five positions are included.

References

1. "INDYCAR Announces 17-Race 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Schedule". IndyCar. September 16, 2025. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
2. Kapur, Sahil (30 January 2026). "Trump orders up IndyCar race on the streets of Washington for 'America250 Grand Prix'". NBC News. Retrieved 30 January 2026.
3. DeGroot, Nick (30 January 2026). "Donald Trump signs executive order confirming IndyCar race in Washington D.C." Motorsport. Retrieved 30 January 2026.
4. "Celebrating American Greatness with American Motor Racing". The White House. 2026-01-30. Retrieved 2026-01-30.
5. "Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. Coming in August". IndyCar. January 30, 2026. Retrieved 2026-01-30.
6. "IndyCar announces Freedom 250 GP of Washington, D.C. as 18th race". RACER. 30 January 2026. Retrieved 30 January 2026.
7. "IndyCar and Monumental Sports & Entertainment announce partnership to fuel Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C." (Press release). PR Newswire. February 3, 2026. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
8. Barnes, Joey (February 5, 2026). "IndyCar partners with Monumental Sports & Entertainment for Washington, D.C. street race". Motorsport. Retrieved 3 February 2026.

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