Race Report: Freedom 250 Grand Prix

WASHINGTON, D.C. August 23, 2026--Let Freedom Roar! The Freedom 250 Grand Prix certainly lived up to the hype and may have exceeded it.  INDYCAR fans and participants from drivers to race teams and officials reveled in the historic moments this once-in-a-lifetime weekend celebrating America's 250th in the heart of our Nation's capital provided. Seven military flyovers, an eagle flying during the National Anthem, marching parades and race fans getting to see it all for free proved to be a resounding success. The 7-turn, 1.7-mile circuit around the National Mall was lined with jumbotron TV screens so fans could watch the action.

President Trump waved the green flag from inside the fortified temporary suite at Turn 1 on Pennsylvania Ave. just down from pitlane. He and his wife Melania toured the circuit in the President's 20,000 lb. limousine, nicknamed "The Beast," as part of the pre-race festivities. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy waved the double checkered flags as American driver Kyle Kirkwood claimed the historic victory.

AJ Foyt Racing's rookie Caio Collet posted his career-best finish when he placed ninth in the No. 4 Combitrans Amazonia Chevrolet after starting 11th. A strong strategy, clean pit stops and heads-up driving by the young Brazilian combined to deliver a top-10 performance on a track that was picturesque but bumpy and at times unpredictable. Six cautions slowed the race, four of them for contact with the barriers.

Collet thanks his race engineer Mike Armbrester after the race.

"So yeah, a really positive day," Collet said after completing the third longest Indy car race on a temporary circuit. "I think the weekend overall was really positive. The team did a really, really good job giving me a competitive car all weekend long. And today we had the first clean race of the year from start to finish. I kept myself out of trouble. I attacked when I need needed to, and also just defended and let some people go when I had to, I think it was a clean race from start to finish. The team did a really good job on the pit strategy as well. We were inside the top 10, fighting for a top 10 finish, and in the end, we came away home with P9. So extremely happy with the result. Hopefully, we can keep the momentum going through the last three races of the year.  A big thanks to AJ Foyt Racing, and Combitrans Chevrolet for all the help, and hopefully we can keep the momentum going."

Collet roars past the National Archives which houses this country's most important documents including the Declaration of Independence.

And then there was the flip side.

Santino Ferrucci was quite excited for this race but when the cars got on track yesterday, the team struggled to get the car dialed in for qualifying. Since Ferrucci had to take a six-spot grid penalty due to an engine change, he started last in the 25-car field.

The race was slowed on the first lap because of debris on the track. The second caution for debris on lap 18 marked the beginning of trouble for Ferrucci. He pitted for fuel and tires but when the race restarted, he came into the pits because the car wouldn't shift. The crew replaced the steering wheel (which has the paddle shift levers) but that didn't fix it. It was determined that the electronic shift actuator (ESA) had failed, and the crew replaced that unit and Ferrucci was back in the race.

Unfortunately, he lost seven laps during the repair which involved removing the rear wing assembly. The short course and the race being run under green flag conditions contributed to the loss of laps which were run in under a minute. Now the goal was to accumulate as many points possible by continuing to run until he could no longer gain positions. He gained four positions and finished 21st.

Ferrucci thanks crew member Hunter Ahrendt, nicknamed "Scribbles" because he is a tattoo artist.

"Just the bad luck continues to rain down on us," Ferrucci said afterwards. "We had an electronical gearbox issue. Unfortunately, I think it hurt something in the gearbox, and you have to run the rest of the race out to try and pick up positions when people wreck. It's just a nightmare to not be in the way, and the car not wanting to downshift or upshift correctly. So it was just all-in-all a horrible weekend. So on to the oval."

However, before the weekend, Ferrucci was busy interviewing with Bret Baier on "The Special Report with Bret Baier" to raise awareness of Homes For Our Troops mission. He also signed autographs at The People's House, a museum dedicated to preserving the history of the White House. The team entered into a partnership with the White House Historical Association for this race.

Santino Ferrucci, Larry Foyt, General Dick Cody and Bret Baier pose for a photo after their interview for Special Report with Bret Baier. Baier is the Chief Political Anchor for FOX News and he attended the race. General Cody is chairman of Homes For Our Troops (HFOT). Santino's helmet is currently being auctioned at https://www.ebay.com/e/charity/homes-for-our-troops and will benefit the HFOT mission.

Kyle Kirkwood dominated the race leading a total of 128 laps of the 147-lap event on the 1.7-mile circuit around the monuments and national treasures. Christian Lundgaard and  Will Power completed the podium. Rounding out the top-five were Marcus Ericsson and Kyffin Simpson.

The teams head to The Milwaukee Mile next weekend for a double header with the first 250-lapper being broadcast by FOX on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET and the second 250-mile race broadcast on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET.