Trump announced Friday that Washington’s streets will host an IndyCar race this summer as part of celebrations marking America’s 250th birthday, with the president describing the prospect of cars roaring past the White House. In signing an executive order, Trump put the event on the calendar for Aug. 23 and said he urged organizers to choose what he called the best route even if it was harder to get approved.
At the White House ceremony, Trump signed the order alongside Roger Penske, an owner tied to Indianapolis Motor Speedway and to racing series including IndyCar and NASCAR. Trump also said he loved the racing and joked that he does not have a lot of time to watch, but that he enjoys it.
Penske used the occasion to frame the event as an opportunity to bring motorsports to the Washington area. He said it would be “no better way for us to bring automotive and speed into the D.C. area, and to be able to have the opportunity to compete here with our IndyCars.”
The executive order establishes a process for mapping the course through the capital streets. A news release from IndyCar said the route would include the National Mall, and the order gives the Departments of Transportation and the Interior two weeks to designate a route through Washington “that is suitable for conducting an INDYCAR street race and that will showcase the majesty of our capital city in celebration of the 250th anniversary of America’s independence.” The order also directs city and other officials to work closely with race organizers.
Trump’s remarks placed the race within a broader pattern of his second-term public schedule, which included travel built around attending major sporting events and other games. He discussed that he is not planning to attend the upcoming Super Bowl, set for Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, California, saying it was too far to travel—contrasting that with the IndyCar event arriving in Washington.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who attended the signing ceremony in the Oval Office, said the race would be free for the public. Duffy also said, “To think, 190 miles an hour down Pennsylvania Avenue. This is going to be wild.”
Trump said he told organizers to pick the “absolute best site,” even if it required more logistical work to win approvals. In the ceremony, Duffy asked when the last road race in the capital occurred, and he was told it was in 1801 during President Thomas Jefferson’s administration and involved horses—prompting Trump to respond, “That’s something.”
The announcement also came as organizers said they had long lobbied members of Congress to authorize a road race in Washington but had been unsuccessful. With the executive order, they moved from advocacy to a federal-coordination timeline that now runs through route designation by the Departments of Transportation and the Interior and subsequent planning with city officials.