IndyCar Cars Will Hit 200 MPH on Pennsylvania Avenue

The speed limit on Pennsylvania Avenue is 25 mph. On August 22 and 23, IndyCars will run there at close to eight times that.

The Freedom 250 Grand Prix, organized by President Donald Trump as part of the country's 250th anniversary celebrations, will cover 250 miles over 147 laps on a 1.66-mile circuit with seven turns. Turn 1 is framed by the west façade of the U.S. Capitol, and the pit lane sits on Pennsylvania Avenue between Turns 1 and 2.

"If we did that during the regular day, I think people would be put in jail, perhaps for the rest of their lives," Trump joked while hosting an IndyCar pit crew at the White House.

Series owner Roger Penske, who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Trump in 2019, led the push to bring the race to the District of Columbia. He gave the president a racing helmet, urging him to wear it "when you're riding around in The Beast, leading the field to the green flag."

Bud Denker, president of Penske Corporation and the race's chair, said Penske is paying for the "vast majority" of costs, with the city handling limited repaving. About a third of the track needs improvement, at a cost he put at under $3 million — less than the up to $9 million being spent in Markham, Ontario, for an IndyCar race the week before.

More than 220 manhole covers along the circuit had to be welded down so the cars' torque does not pull them loose; about 50 need silicone because they sit too deep. Organizers are also building 1,800 barrier walls weighing 10,000 pounds each and installing metal detectors staffed by the Secret Service.

Denker said 288,000 free tickets were requested through a lottery, well above the 130,000 spectators planned for each day. Mayor Muriel Bowser called the event the "first, to be followed by second and third." Denker was more cautious: "It is the first ever. It might be the only."

Historian Michael D. Hattem said Trump's semiquincentennial events have paid little attention to "the specific history of the founding of the country." White House spokesman Davis Ingle said Trump "is focused on saving our country — not garnering recognition."