First-Ever Auto Race on the National Mall Set for This Weekend

The Freedom 250 Grand Prix, scheduled Aug. 22–23, 2026, will be the first auto race held on Washington, D.C.'s National Mall. More than two dozen IndyCar drivers will run 147 laps on a 1.7-mile course past the National Gallery of Art, the National Archives, and Smithsonian museums, with speeds reaching 180 mph. The event is free and part of the U.S. 250th anniversary.