WASHINGTON — The IndyCar race planned for this summer as part of America’s 250th anniversary won’t go through the Capitol grounds, but will instead follow a 1.66-mile, seven-turn street circuit course around the National Mall, event organizers announced Monday.

It comes after President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January establishing the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C.

Some involved with the race had initially hoped it would zip even closer to the Capitol, but organizers described facing headwinds.

“Because we’re racing on Capitol Hill, you’re violating a lot of situations for the branding, speed, decibel levels, all things you can’t do on Capitol Hill and require a congressional bill,” said Bud Denker, president of Penske Corp. and chair of the event.

Federal law prohibits advertising on Capitol grounds, and Indy race cars are covered with names of brands and sponsors of the driver. Denker said he pivoted when it became clear they didn’t have enough support in Congress to make an exception.

The course will start on Pennsylvania Avenue, passing sights like the National Archives and National Gallery of Art and loop around toward the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Drivers will do over 100 laps, according to Denker, which he estimates will take between 53 to 55 seconds each.

The Freedom250 Grand Prix will take place Aug. 22-23 as the first auto race ever held in the nation’s capital around the downtown museums and monuments. The event will be free to the public, and any proceeds will be donated to local D.C. charities, Denker said.

At an event on Monday where the route was revealed, officials drew parallels to horse races at the former National Race Course.

“Presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson used to host spirited horse races to mark notable celebrations in the early days of this country. What we are going to do with this race is bring that storied tradition into the 21st century,” Chief of Protocol Monica Crowley said.

Among the government officials present Monday were Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr and Sens. Jim Banks, R-Ind., and Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio. Moreno is a car enthusiast who bought his first car dealership from Penske Corp.’s founder and chairman, Roger Penske.

Denker said he made the rounds on the Hill before pumping the brakes, describing 81 meetings between August and January, including with the House and Senate sergeants-at-arms and the architect of the Capitol. He said an 80-page study detailing noise and decibel levels and potential damage along the course, among other things, was not enough to ease concern about how a race like this one could open the door for other exceptions to the rule.

Now, he said, it’s full speed ahead around the Mall.

“It was the fact that some folks just weren’t comfortable in changing that and setting precedent, and from that I said, ‘We’ve done enough here. I’m now moving it somewhere else,’” Denker said.

©2026 CQ-Roll Call, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Visit cqrollcall.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.