President Trump Takes on Dignitary Roles for Washington D.C. Street Race

The first-ever NTT IndyCar Series race on the streets of Washington D.C. will feature the sitting president in multiple roles.

President Donald Trump will serve as the honorary starter for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix on Aug. 23 (11:30 a.m. ET on Fox).

He will also take on the street course as part of the pre-race “Lap of Honor.” He will do so in “The Beast,” the heavily-armored presidential limousine. His motorcade will follow as he travels around the 1.7-mile street course.

This is not the first time that President Trump has taken The Beast onto a race track. He previously did so before the 2020 and 2025 Daytona 500s that kicked off the NASCAR Cup Series seasons.

The Beast (presidential limo) is parked on the track during the IndyCar drivers’ track walk. Pato O’Ward went and knocked on the glass. pic.twitter.com/zyrbILjAdh

— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) August 21, 2026

The Freedom 250 Grand Prix is Sunday’s IndyCar race on a purpose-built, 1.7-mile street course featuring some of the country’s most notable landmarks.

This course will take the top drivers in the series down Pennsylvania Avenue as they complete 147 laps. They will race around the U.S. Capitol, the National Archives, and the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.

These drivers will race at more than 170 mph as they pass the Federal Aviation Administration’s headquarters, the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial, and the National Museum of the American Indian.

The scene is set 📸 pic.twitter.com/i39qHHb4pm

— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) August 21, 2026

The start-finish line, where President Trump waves the green flag, is a mere 1,300 feet from the steps of the U.S. Capitol. This is the spot where Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy will wave the checkered flag to end the race.

The Freedom 250 Grand Prix will mark a historic first for both the United States and the NTT IndyCar Series. It will be an event unlike any other, which will have an effect on the Polymarket traders.

These traders do not know who will win the Washington D.C. street race, which will likely be a one-time event. In fact, the current favorite is a driver who will not even be in the race.

According to the Polymarket traders, Ed Carpenter is the favorite at 97%. Helio Castroneves, another driver not on the entry list, is second at 95%.

Pato O’Ward leads the drivers who will actually compete in the street race. He currently sits at 94%, according to the traders. He has the same odds as Rinus Veekay.

Sir Scott Dixon and Marcus Armstrong are third at 93% while Josef Newgarden is fourth at 92%. Current championship leader Alex Palou is much further down the list at 50%.

The IndyCar drivers have competed in multiple streets races this season. Palou won the season-opener on the streets of St. Petersburg while Marcus Ericsson won on the streets of Markham last weekend.

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