Freedom 250 Win in D.C. Becomes Latest Entry on White House '365 Days of Wins' App

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Kyle Kirkwood won the Freedom 250 Grand Prix in dominant fashion Sunday, taking the first IndyCar race ever held on the streets of the nation’s capital in front of a crowd that topped 150,000 — an achievement so thoroughly American that the White House has already added it to its “365 Days of Wins” app, where it now sits alongside signed executive orders and a handshake with a senator, and, in one reviewer’s words, “a very good cheese.”

Kirkwood, driving the No. 27 car for Andretti Global, led for the majority of the race and finished more than a full second clear of the field, giving the Freedom 250 what USA Today called “an American winner” and the White House what its app calls “Day 217: Watched a car win a race.” President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump attended, and the president personally waved the green flag that sent the cars tearing down Pennsylvania Avenue at speeds approaching 180 mph, between the Capitol and the White House, in a stretch of roadway that NBC News noted had not been used this way since, in the words of one historian, “the last time a horse tried.”

The ceremonial apparatus was, as usual, complete. CBS News reported that the event opened with “The Star-Spangled Banner” performed by tenor Christopher Macchio, a favorite singer of the president, followed by a military flyover featuring a B-2 stealth bomber and the Qatar-gifted Air Force One, escorted by four fighter jets. The race itself was, of course, not a spontaneous local event. It was mandated by executive order, signed earlier this year, which declared that “the cars and drivers inspire awe and respect in all who watch this quintessentially American sport” and that the event would “showcase the majesty of our great city as drivers navigate a track around our iconic national monuments in celebration of America’s 250th birthday.”

The organizing effort behind the race has its own heroic chapter. Roger Penske, the IndyCar series owner and longtime friend of the president, has said he attempted to bring a race to Washington for twenty years. On Sunday, the president — referring to Penske in the third person, as is his way — said, “When he came to see Trump, it got done in about 15 minutes, and it’s turned out to be much bigger than we ever even thought possible.”

The one blemish in an otherwise perfect scorecard was the finishing order, which placed championship leader Alex Palou — the pole sitter and the favorite — 20th, his second-worst result of the season, cutting his points lead over Kirkwood from 133 to 91 with three races remaining. It is a reminder, experts say, that on Pennsylvania Avenue, no one, not even the pole winner, outruns the schedule.

At press time, the White House app was reportedly working on a new category, “366th Win,” reserved for accomplishments that were wins before they happened — the moon landing, the invention of the dollar, the continued existence of the National Mall. A developer familiar with the project described it as “a feature request from the president himself,” and the app’s user base, which has grown to include at least one confused senator, could not wait.