Eastern
Sunday timeline
8:00 AM
Public gates
8:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. ET
9:15 AM
Warmup
1. Newgarden 57.6076 2. Palou 3. Malukas
FS1 / FOX One
11:30 AM
Pre-race show
Cars to grid 12:00 · Intros 12:20 · Anthem 12:55
FOX / FOX One
12:00 PM
Cars to grid
12:20 PM
Driver introductions
12:55 PM
Invocation and national anthem
1:06 PM
Start your engines
Command at 1:06 p.m. ET
1:13 PM
Freedom 250 — 147 laps
Green flag 1:13 p.m. ET · Longest street race in series history
FOX / FOX One
America 250
Why this race is history
- First-ever NTT INDYCAR SERIES race on the National Mall — and the first automobile race ever held there.
- Free two-day event celebrating America’s 250th anniversary. General admission is ticketed (Stars or Stripes zones) via Ticketmaster; the request window closed June 7.
- Longest street-course race in INDYCAR history: 147 laps, extended from 125, to make 250 miles.
- Frontstretch is a 0.4-mile blast down Pennsylvania Avenue between the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol. FOX has a camera on the Monument.
- Spec Dallara DW12, UAK-18 aero kit, aeroscreen, Honda or Chevrolet, Firestone tires, third hybrid season.
- Álex Palou leads by 133 points with four races remaining (this weekend plus Milwaukee doubleheader and Monterey). He clinches if the lead hits 163 after today.
- Josef Newgarden topped Sunday warmup. Palou owns the unofficial track record from Practice 2 (56.6145).
- No designated parking. Metro, rideshare, bikeshare, or walk. Downtown streets around the Mall are a secure / restricted traffic area through the race.
Championship
Clinch watch
Palou 542 · Kirkwood 409
Lead is 133 with four races left. Palou clinches the title today if the gap grows to 163 — he needs to outscore Kirkwood by 30 points this afternoon (a win is 50; second is typically 40).
542 of ~700+ available through Monterey
National Mall
Weather
86° / 63°
Partly sunny, thunderstorm possible
Saturday opened wet (Practice 1 declared wet, then slicks). Sunday is the better day — mid-80s, humidity, an isolated storm still on the table. Pack a compact umbrella you will not open in the stands.
Support
IROC last night
Jeff Gordon sweeps both IROC races
The International Race of Champions returned with identical 1996–2006 Pontiac Firebirds. Gordon, 55, won both 10-lap heats — his first individual race wins since Martinsville 2015, and his first-ever street-course victories.
Race 1
Jeff Gordon · Kurt Busch · Hélio Castroneves
Race 2
Jeff Gordon · Kurt Busch · Tony Kanaan