On Sunday, Donald Trump was in the spotlight as he participated in the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, an IndyCar event that owes its existence to his vision.
First Lady Melania was at his side as they joined the celebrations in Washington, DC, which featured a series of ceremonial sports events marking America’s 250th birthday.
The NTT IndyCar Series brought its high-speed action to the capital’s streets, transforming the Freedom 250 Grand Prix into a one-of-a-kind event looping around Pennsylvania Avenue and weaving through Washington’s iconic national landmarks.
Racers navigated a 1.7-mile circuit that passed by some of Washington’s most celebrated sites, including the National Mall, the Washington Monument, and the US Capitol Building.
President Trump, the mastermind behind the Freedom 250 Grand Prix through an executive order as part of the country’s anniversary festivities, was slated to personally hit the track.
Arriving at the start line in a limousine, Trump greeted the lineup of drivers, their wives and girlfriends, IndyCar staff members and Roger Penske, who waited on the pit road.
Donald Trump took center stage as he attended the Freedom 250 Grand Prix on Sunday
The President was joined by First Lady Melania as they arrived at the historic race track
The NTT IndyCar Series took to the streets of DC for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix
The President’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., and his wife Bettina were also seen arriving for the 147-lap event, headlining the host of MAGA stars in attendance.
Trump was then granted the honor of performing a ceremonial lap in his armored limousine known as ‘The Beast’ and wave the green flag to launch Sunday’s race.
‘The track is wonderful,’ Trump gushed to Fox Sports in a pre-race interview. We’re going around the Capitol. This turned out to be a better track, and so now we see the Capitol. You see it right behind you. I want everyone to be safe, and I want the people to have a good time.’
He had a prime seat to watch the spectacle as open-wheel cars race in the shadow of iconic landmarks at speeds up to 185 mph.
The pre-race celebrations were opened with a flyover by the US Army Chinooks, Black Hawks and Apache helicopters.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President of the FIA said: ‘The Freedom 250 INDYCAR race pairs 250 years of American achievement with a sport that embodies speed, ingenuity and the freedom of the open road.
‘This is a landmark event, and it is an honour for the FIA to be a part of it. Congratulations to President Trump, the U.S. Government, INDYCAR, our Member Club ACCUS, and all involved on making this vision a reality.’
The Trump administration previously hosted a showcase event outside the White House in July to promote the race, which featured drivers Alex Palou, Felix Rosenqvist and David Malukas, alongside a live pit stop demonstration in front of the West Wing.
Trump was granted the honor of performing a ceremonial lap in his armored limousine
Trump gestures to Roger Penske, chairperson of the Penske Corporation and owner of IndyCar
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Trump was accompanied by an entourage of security vehicles as he performed his lap
Back in January, Trump held an event in the Oval Office alongside Roger Penske, a racing great who chairs the Penske Corporation, and signed an executive order to get the race in place.
‘Roger Penske told me they’ve been trying to do it for 20 years,’ Trump told Fox Sports. ‘I think he said he was down 211 times to try and get it done. And when he came to see Trump, it got done in about 15 minutes.
‘It’s turned out to be much bigger than we ever even thought possible. They actually closed the bridges because so many people wanted to come – I think 350,000 – and they close the bridges. So it’s turned out to be I think bigger and better.’
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who was in the Oval alongside his Fox News host wife Rachel Campos-Duffy, said the president had tasked him to ‘think outside the box’ and do something ‘historic and cool.’
Duffy didn’t realize that Penske’s company was already trying to get Washington, DC to host a race, which is now being dubbed the Freedom 250 Grand Prix.
The President’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., was seen arriving for the historic event
The pre-race celebrations were opened with a flyover by the US Army Chinooks, Black Hawks and Apache helicopters
US Army’s ‘Pershing Own’ Band performs on the track ahead of the race
‘But to think, 190 miles per hour down Pennsylvania Avenue, this is going to be wild,’ Duffy said.
The Transportation Secretary noted how the last race hosted in the streets of Washington was in 1801, when President Thomas Jefferson hosted a horse race.
‘And they’re going to put up something that’s really amazing,’ Trump gushed. ‘It’s really having to do with our great 250th birthday. We’re having so many wonderful things.’
It’s not the first time Trump has put himself front and center at sporting events to celebrate the United States’ semiquincentennial.
The UFC took over the South Lawn on June 14 for an astonishing event that saw Trump perform his own walkout from the Oval Office before taking his seat cageside.
He also attended the final day of the Patriot Games, the high school athletic competition that he created as part of the United States’ 250th anniversary celebrations, in Geneva, Ohio.
The event brought together 120 teen athletes from ages 14 to 17 with one male and one female athlete representing each US state, plus participants from territories and tribal nations with $250,000 in scholarship money on the line.
Trump in his second term has increasingly seemed to focus on relishing the presidency’s ceremonial aspects.
That’s included a healthy dose of visits to sporting events – including an appearance last month at the World Cup final, where he presented the trophy to winner Spain and lingered onstage with the team as its members jumped in a hail of confetti.