By Travis Gillmore

WASHINGTON—More than 100,000 spectators lined the streets to witness history as drivers raced by national monuments on Aug. 23 to cap off a summer filled with unprecedented events to celebrate 250 years of American independence.

The patriotic spectacle began with a bald eagle flying above the racetrack as tenor Christopher Macchio belted out the national anthem and Arturo Chacón Cruz sang “God Bless America.”

Kyle Kirkwood of Jupiter, Florida, dominated the Freedom 250 Grand Prix IndyCar race, winning the competition after leading 128 of the 147 laps.

“You can’t even put it into words,” Kirkwood told Fox Sports after clinching the win. “This is incredible. I’m almost in tears here.”

His performance set an IndyCar record for the most laps led in a race on a street course.

“It felt good to dominate out there. I’m not going to lie,” Kirkwood said, emphasizing the special occasion and venue.

“I don’t know if we’re ever going to get a chance to do it again; I hope we do. This was awesome; what a dream come true.”

He held off a late attempt from Scott McLaughlin, who crashed into the wall attempting to pass the leader and didn’t finish the race.

The victory was the seventh of Kirkwood’s IndyCar career and second of the season, earning the 27-year-old driver 53 points, moving him closer to the lead for the IndyCar series championship title behind Spaniard Alex Palou.

Kyle Kirkwood (27) celebrates with his team after winning the IndyCar Freedom 250 Grand Prix auto race in Washington on Aug. 23, 2026. Alex Brandon/AP Photo

Palou started the race in the pole position after averaging more than 107.5 miles per hour in qualifying, but pit stop mishaps left him behind, and he finished in 20th place.

Denmark’s Christian Lundgaard finished in second place, slightly more than three seconds behind, after a late caution flag kept the racers in close quarters in the final laps.

“I feel that it’s fitting that an American won, right?” Lundgaard told reporters after the race. “We gave it our best shot.”

President Donald Trump took a ride in the president’s armored vehicle known as “The Beast” for a ceremonial lap on the racetrack winding through the nation’s capital before he waved the green flag to officially start the race.

President Donald Trump (2nd R) waves the green flag to start the race with First Lady Melania Trump (R) and Donald Trump Jr. (2nd L) at the NTT INDYCAR Series in Washington on Aug. 23, 2026. Doug Mills/Pool via Getty Images

Trump made a similar lap in the presidential limousine at the Daytona 500 last year.

Jet engines roared overhead in the hours before the race began. Military flyovers representing all Armed Forces branches included displays by Ospreys and other tactical formations in celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Drivers started and finished the historic race in front of the U.S. Capitol, with tight, precision turns testing the 25 racers’ skills before they put the pedal to the metal in wide open stretches on Pennsylvania Avenue, nearing speeds of 200 mph on the street course.

Attendees during second day of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix in Washington on Aug. 23, 2026. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

Attendees during second day of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix in Washington on Aug. 23, 2026. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

More than 200,000 spectators attended the two-day event, and the grandstands filled up early on the morning of Aug. 23, hours before the festivities began. Tickets were free and distributed through a lottery system.

Trump established the race in January when he signed an executive order titled “Celebrating American Greatness with American Motor Racing.”

The order directed Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to create a route and obtain the necessary permits. Both Cabinet members joined the president for the race on Aug. 23.

Celebrating 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence was a priority for the administration, with planning beginning before Trump took office for a second time.

UFC cage fights staged on the South Lawn of the White House on June 14 kicked off a series of historic events held in Washington to honor the nation.

The event, hosted by CEO Dana White, landed on Flag Day and the president’s 80th birthday. Trump described it at the time as the greatest event we’ve “ever held at the White House.”

Just days later, he opened the Great American State Fair on the National Mall.

“Ten days from now, our country will celebrate one of the most monumental milestones in human history,” Trump said ahead of July 4.

“There has never been anything like the United States of America, and together we are making it bigger, better, and far more exceptional than ever before.”

A Ferris wheel offered visitors unique perspectives of the city, and exhibitors displayed American innovations and state-themed booths to explore.

The capital was abuzz with excitement on the Fourth of July as military flyovers captured attention with their impressive maneuvers.

Trump spoke to a massive crowd before the biggest fireworks display in the history of the world, with more than 850,000 pyrotechnics, lit up the night sky for approximately 40 minutes.

“We’re celebrating freedom’s triumph over tyranny, liberty’s conquest over oppression, and the enduring victory of the American spirit, from July 4, 1776, to July 4, 2026,” the president said.

Organized by a bipartisan collaboration, the celebrations were meant to honor the many who gave their time and their lives to defend the country, and to inspire the next generations to keep the American dream strong.

“For two and a half centuries, our American republic has stood as the crowning achievement of human history,” Trump said.

“This country is the home of freedom, this is the land of liberty, and this is a flag that’s the banner of the most extraordinary, most exceptional, most incredible nation ever to exist on the face of the Earth. And we’re doing better now than we’ve ever done before.”

Other special events in the capital this year included themed exhibitions at Smithsonian museums and the National Archives.

The National Gallery of Art offers “Dear America: Artists Explore the American Experience” through September and “American Icon: The US Flag in Art” until Dec. 6.

America’s state flowers are on display at the U.S. Botanic Garden until Oct. 12, alongside Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi’s “Fountain of Light and Water” from 1876, created to celebrate the nation’s 100th anniversary.