President Donald Trump will ride his presidential motorcade around the IndyCar Freedom 250 course in Washington, D.C., on Sunday — taking a ceremonial lap before a race that marks 250 years of American independence, and ordinary Americans have already packed the stands to see it.
The race is one of the marquee events commemorating the nation's 250th anniversary, and the White House isn't apologizing for the scale of the celebration. "President Trump is ensuring America gets the spectacular birthday it deserves as we celebrate our 250th anniversary," White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement. "The historic IndyCar race set to take place in our Nation's Capital will be one of the greatest and most iconic races in history. The President will leave his imprint on this historic race in a way that only he can."
Trump's motorcade — including the armored limousine known as "The Beast" — will circle the 1.66-mile circuit before the green flag drops shortly after 1 p.m., according to the New York Post. The temporary street course starts and finishes near the U.S. Capitol, runs along Pennsylvania Avenue toward the White House on the same stretch used for inaugural parades, then curves around the National Archives and cuts across the National Mall past the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum and the Museum of the American Indian. The 147-lap race will cover roughly 250 miles. First Lady Melania Trump is expected to join the president to watch from the stands.
Pre-race festivities, including military flyovers, begin at 11:30 a.m. Public demand overwhelmed supply — organizers received hundreds of thousands of ticket requests for roughly 100,000 free tickets, and general admission is already gone, according to the Washington Examiner.
The race didn't happen without a fight. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy pushed for the D.C. IndyCar race, which initially faced opposition from congressional Democrats over plans to allow corporate advertising on the race cars, Breitbart reported. The Washington Examiner also noted that federal agencies had to dismiss concerns about possible art damage from the race — the usual bureaucratic reflex whenever something loud, fast, and unapologetically American rolls through the capital.
This isn't Trump's first lap at a racetrack. The Beast took a ceremonial spin at the Daytona 500 during his first term and again last year. The Freedom 250 continues a pattern: about two months ago, Trump hosted a UFC event on the White House South Lawn on June 14.
Federal agencies, IndyCar, Penske Entertainment, and the D.C. government all partnered to stage the event. That a celebration of America's founding now requires cutting through partisan complaints about corporate logos and bureaucratic hand-wringing over art damage tells you something about the establishment's relationship with the country it claims to serve.
The question isn't whether 250 years of American independence deserves a party. It's why so many in Washington needed convincing.
