INDYCAR Drivers, Executives Take In Washington Ahead Of Freedom 250

U.S. CAPITOL AND WHITE HOUSE (Washington) — Scott McLaughlin had never been to Washington, D.C., so he expressed a somewhat simple emotion anticipating his first visit. “I’m excited to go there,” he told me a week ago. On his first visit Thursday, like many first-time visitors, he went to the White House. But he was in the White House. In the Rose Garden. The Team Penske driver — a native of New Zealand who became a U.S. citizen last year — was among the drivers who presented a racing helmet to First Lady Melania Trump during an event Thursday afternoon. McLaughlin, Scott Dixon, Graham Rahal and Alexander Rossi made the visit to the White House, while Rahal, Santino Ferrucci, Alex Palou and Pato O’Ward visited the U.S. Capitol grounds and the Cannon House Office Building, the city’s oldest congressional office building. “I know I’m not from this country, but this country has given me so much. Just the opportunity to be here as a car driver, be a winner and a champion and to create a family here in the U.S.,” four-time (and likely soon-to-be five-time) INDYCAR champion Palou, who is from Spain, said during a news conference. “So this has been incredible.” If the government is going to let you race on their grounds, you’ve got to make the stops before getting to the track for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix this weekend. INDYCAR drivers will practice and qualify on Saturday and then race Sunday. In what most likely will be a one-and-done event, the course includes iconic Washington streets like Pennsylvania Avenue, Constitution Avenue and Independence Avenue. “We will have this weekend an amazing, iconic 250-mile Freedom Grand Prix,” Penske Entertainment Corp. Chairman Roger Penske said in speaking at the White House. “And it will cap off 250 years, an anniversary of our country.” For the most part, the event will bring with it a typical street-course vibe. Some locals don’t love streets being closed. There’s debate about whether it’s bringing in enough tourism dollars to justify the needed local spend. All the while, people are stopping at the course admiring the setup and asking if they can go on the track just to take a photo. For what it’s worth, it seemed that security was accommodating. But then there are also things that just make the mind explode. The start-finish line is across from the U.S. Capitol. The western part of the course has a great view of the Washington Monument. The local metro transportation authority put an INDYCAR show car on a subway rail and shuttled it throughout the system Thursday to remind people the best way to get to the race. Drivers are hopeful they can put on a good show. The pre-race spectacle includes six flyovers, one for each branch of the military. That is scheduled to begin after the FOX pre-race coverage begins at 11:30 a.m. ET. The race is 147 laps around a 1.7-mile (seven-turn) course. President Trump is expected to wave the green flag shortly after 1 p.m. for what could be a three-hour marathon. An executive order from President Donald Trump allowed the race to happen by fast-tracking approvals, permits and any road alterations. “It’s not one [political] side of the other,” A.J. Foyt Racing driver Santino Ferrucci told me and other reporters Thursday standing in view of the U.S. Capitol. “It’s the nation coming together.” As part of the White House event, INDYCAR and FOX Sports announced they are jointly donating $2 million to Melania Trump’s “Fostering the Future” initiative to fund scholarships for those who grew up in foster care. FOX Sports owns 33 percent of INDYCAR. “Together, we aren’t just creating pathways for these incredible students, we are also making history this weekend,” FOX Sports CEO Eric Shanks said during prepared remarks at the White House. “FOX Sports presents a landmark event this weekend with the Freedom 250 INDYCAR Grand Prix, right here in Washington, D.C., racing through the nation’s capital to celebrate our 250th birthday. “This is going to be a celebration of our great country unlike any other.” Drivers don’t get on track until Saturday but most likely will be on the course Friday afternoon during the track walk. That will be the first time many will get to see how the course is laid out versus the models. “Other than the [Indianapolis] 500, this is the event that I feel like you want to win, especially with it potentially just being a one-off,” Ferrucci said. “You really want to be able to go home with that trophy because that’s history.” Rahal will have a stop to make first. He is going to visit Arlington National Cemetery, where his grandfather is buried. It will be a solemn moment for Rahal but one that reminds him of what it took for there to be a 250th birthday, a Freedom 250. And he admitted he will take in as much scenery as he can. “When you get to come to Washington, you’ve got to take the time to soak in all the history that’s here,” Rahal told me Thursday. “It’s a spectacular place for sure.”