President Donald Trump will mark the conclusion of the country’s 250th anniversary summer celebrations with a historic car race through Washington, an unprecedented event highlighting how the capital and federal government have transformed during his second term. Scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, the IndyCar Freedom 250 Grand Prix will speed along historic Pennsylvania Avenue, loop around the National Archives, and thread through several of the nation's premier cultural institutions. Along the circuit lie clear markers of Trump’s "America First" agenda reshaping the district, including widespread federal agency firings, spending reductions, and alterations at national landmarks and museums.
Here’s a guide to the weekend’s race route – and Trump’s Washington. The racetrack skirts U.S. Capitol grounds because holding the event any closer would have required approval from Congress, which is historically gridlocked.
The view from 3rd Street will instead see the Capitol in the background. Trump held nearly unprecedented sway over Republican lawmakers during his first year in office, forcing a signature tax and immigration package past conservative skeptics and leading Senate Republicans to weaken the filibuster and speed nominees through confirmation votes. But the souring economy and Iran war quagmire have slowed the pace of legislation.
Trump has made the post-inauguration journey twice down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House. Racecars will travel up to 185 miles per hour down the Pennsylvania Avenue straightaway, said Bud Denker, chair of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix and president of Penske Corp. To prepare the road for racing, IndyCar officials will weld down manhole covers and seal some of them with a silicone cap.
They'll also remove certain barriers from traffic lanes and set up chain-link fence around the perimeter to catch debris from the racing surface. The National Archives houses the original versions of the U.S.’s founding documents, including the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights, among other exhibits. Trump has clashed with the parent agency of the archives, the National Archives and Records Administration.
After his first term, Trump refused to turn over certain classified records to the agency and took them to his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. Trump was indicted on 37 felony counts related to the incident after the FBI searched his club. The charges were later dropped.
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