Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. Fast Facts
By: NTT INDYCAR SERIES (Photo Courtesy INDYCAR)
Race weekend: Saturday, Aug. 22-Sunday, Aug. 23
Track: Streets of Washington, D.C., a 1.7-mile, seven-turn temporary street course (counterclockwise) in Washington, D.C.
Race distance: 147 laps / 250 miles
Push-to-pass parameters: 150 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 15 seconds per activation.
Hybrid energy deployment parameters: Unlimited activation with a maximum deployment of 265 kilojoules (kj) per lap
Firestone tire allotment: Six sets primary, five sets alternate to be used during the event weekend. Teams fielding a rookie driver may use one additional set of primary tires. Teams must use one set of primary and two sets of alternate tires for at least two laps in the race.
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Event website: www.freedom250gp.com
INDYCAR website: www.indycar.com
2025 race winner: Inaugural event
Qualifying record: Inaugural event
FOX Sports telecasts: Practice 1, 9 a.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live); Practice 2, 1 p.m. ET Saturday, FS2 (live); Qualifying, 5 p.m. ET Saturday, FS2 (live); Warmup Show/Final Practice, 9 a.m. ET Sunday, FS1; Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. Pre-Race Show, 11:30 a.m. ET, FOX; Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C., 1 p.m. ET, Sunday, FOX (live). Will Buxton is the play-by-play announcer for FOX’s coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Georgia Henneberry, Kevin Lee and Jack Harvey are the pit reporters, with Jamie Little providing special reports. Chris Myers hosts FOX’s special, expanded pre-race coverage, alongside Helio Castroneves and Danica Patrick. Tom Rinaldi will offer special features and interviews. All sessions air on FOX One.
INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the anchor alongside driver analyst Davey Hamilton. Jake Query is the turn announcer. Jonathan Grace and Alex Wollf are the pit reporters. The Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. race (12:30 p.m. ET Sunday) can be heard live on network affiliates nationwide. The NTT INDYCAR SERIES race, NTT P1 Award Qualifying (5 p.m. ET Saturday) and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES practices also air live on SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation 218, indycar.com/leaderboard and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA.
At-track schedule (All Times Local/Eastern Time):
Saturday, Aug. 22
9:05-10:30 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 1 (split group format), FS1
1:05-2:30 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 2 (split group format), FS2
5-6:30 p.m. – NTT P1 Award qualifying (two rounds of knockout qualifying followed by Firestone Fast Six single-car pole showdown), FS2
Sunday, Aug. 23
9:15-9:45 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Warmup, FS1
11:30 a.m. – FOX Pre-Race Show on air
1:06 p.m. – “Drivers, start your engines”
1:13 p.m. – Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. (147 laps/250 miles), FOX (Live)
NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship facts:
- Alex Palou leads the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship with four races to go for the fifth time in his INDYCAR SERIES career. Palou also led the championship with four races to go races to go in his championship-winning seasons in 2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025. Palou has led the point standings after 10 of the 14 races this season.
- There are nine drivers still mathematically eligible for the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship: Alex Palou, Kyle Kirkwood, David Malukas, Christian Lundgaard, Pato O’Ward, Josef Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin, Felix Rosenqvist and Marcus Ericsson. Any driver who trails the points leader by 162 points or more following the race will be eliminated from contention.
- Since 2008, when INDYCAR SERIES racing unified under the NTT INDYCAR SERIES banner, the eventual series champion has won the 15th race of the season three times. The most recent occurrence was 2005 when Dan Wheldon won at Chicagoland Speedway. Other drivers to win the 15th race of their championship season were Sam Hornish Jr. (2002) and Juan Pablo Montoya (1999).
Key championship point statistic: Since 2008, the largest deficit overcome by the eventual champion was 59 points by Dario Franchitti in 2010. Scott Dixon overcame Juan Pablo Montoya’s 54-point lead in 2015. The top two drivers in the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship standings – Alex Palou and Kyle Kirkwood — are separated by 133 points.
Point differential: The 133 points that separate Alex Palou and Kyle Kirkwood is the largest point margin since 2008. Before this season, the average lead with four races to go since 2008 was 35.7 points.
NTT INDYCAR SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP WITH FOUR RACES TO GO
| YEAR | LEADER | SECOND | LEAD | CHAMPION |
| 2008 | Scott Dixon | Helio Castroneves | 65 | Scott Dixon |
| 2009 | Scott Dixon | Ryan Briscoe | 3 | Dario Franchitti (-20) |
| 2010 | Will Power | Dario Franchitti | 59 | Dario Franchitti |
| 2011 | Dario Franchitti | Will Power | 47 | Dario Franchitti |
| 2012 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Helio Castroneves | 23 | Ryan Hunter-Reay |
| 2013 | Helio Castroneves | Scott Dixon | 39 | Scott Dixon |
| 2014 | Helio Castroneves | Will Power | 13 | Will Power |
| 2015 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Scott Dixon | 54 | Scott Dixon |
| 2016 | Simon Pagenaud | Will Power | 58 | Simon Pagenaud |
| 2017 | Josef Newgarden | Helio Castroneves | 7 | Josef Newgarden |
| 2018 | Scott Dixon | Alexander Rossi | 46 | Scott Dixon |
| 2019 | Josef Newgarden | Alexander Rossi | 16 | Josef Newgarden |
| 2020 | Scott Dixon | Josef Newgarden | 76 | Scott Dixon |
| 2021 | Alex Palou | Pato O’Ward | 21 | Alex Palou |
| 2022 | Will Power | Marcus Ericsson | 9 | Will Power |
| 2023 | Alex Palou | Josef Newgarden | 84 | Alex Palou |
| 2024 | Alex Palou | Colton Herta | 59 | Alex Palou |
| 2025 | Alex Palou | Pato O’Ward | 99 | Alex Palou |
| 2026 | Alex Palou | Kyle Kirkwood | 133 | ??? |
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Notes:
- The Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. will be the first NTT INDYCAR SERIES event on the streets of Washington, D.C., although the series did race in nearby Baltimore from 2011-2013. The 250-mile race distance makes it the second-longest street or temporary circuit race in INDYCAR SERIES history.
- The Streets of Washington, D.C. is the sixth road or street circuit to debut on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES calendar since 2021. Chip Ganassi Racing drivers won three debut races. Marcus Ericsson won the inaugural Big Machine Music City Grand Prix on the streets of Nashville in 2021. Alex Palou won the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear when it debuted its new course in downtown Detroit in 2023 and at the Thermal Club in 2025. Andretti Global drivers have won the last two debut events. Kyle Kirkwood won on the streets of Arlington in March, and Marcus Ericsson won on the streets of Markham last weekend.
- The Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. is the last of six temporary street races on the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule. Alex Palou won at St. Petersburg on March 1, Long Beach on April 19 and Detroit on May 31. Kyle Kirkwood won on the streets of Arlington on March 15, and Marcus Ericsson won on the streets of Markham on Aug. 16.
- Milestones: Scott Dixon will attempt to make his 372nd consecutive start, extending his record streak…Graham Rahal will attempt to make his 271st consecutive start, the third-longest streak in INDYCAR SERIES history…Josef Newgarden will attempt to make his 248th consecutive start, tying Marco Andretti for the fourth-longest streak in INDYCAR SERIES history…Dixon can also extend his record to 434 career starts with a start Sunday…Scott McLaughlin is scheduled to make his 100th INDYCAR SERIES start.
