WASHINGTON — Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is hoping the IndyCar Freedom 250 Grand Prix this weekend “brings America together” in a first-of-its-kind racing event that will showcase some of the sport’s top drivers — and President Trump — lapping historic sites in the nation’s capital.
“The president loves sports,” Duffy told The Post in an exclusive interview on the 1.66-mile track Thursday. “He’s an enthusiast, as you saw with UFC, and now with this.”
“And I think if you look at the political divide in America, this is an event that brings America together,” he added. “Cars and racing is freedom and American.”
DC’s first IndyCar event is the brainchild of Duffy, Roger Penske and Penske Corporation president Bud Denker. The race will see cars speed through seven turns along the National Mall for a total of 147 laps, or 250 miles, before arriving at the finish line.
Drivers are expected to hit speeds of up to 190 miles an hour as they rocket down Pennsylvania Avenue, which Duffy said required most manhole covers to be fastened down.
“They’ve had to take grinders out to take off some of the bumps,” Duffy explained. “They’ve been grinding on the street where they feel like it’s just a little bit too much … to eliminate or alleviate as much as possible. But this is road racing, right? Road racing. You have manhole covers. And so it’s going to be a unique race.”
Organizers had initially hoped to create a route that circled the Capitol itself but the plans were never approved, so the track shifted slightly to the west in order to round the National Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.
The start-finish line falls right by the Capitol’s reflecting pool.
“We’re going to have to have our drivers pay close attention, and we have some really tight turns as we navigate this course,” Duffy said. “But it is the skill of the driver that’s going to win this Sunday.”
The transportation boss said he’d be welcoming the finishers in himself with the checkered flag.
Duffy had taken a turn behind the wheel himself this past summer filming a road trip documentary with his family and said he also hoped the road race in Washington would inspire others to get out on America’s highways.
“It’s a great way to spend time with your family, to learn history and to see the beauty this country has to offer. And so I did it, with my family in hopes that more Americans will do the same,” he said.
As many as 140,000 people are expected to show up for the contest, with Trump taking a turn at the course in his official armored vehicle, known as The Beast, before the main event starts at 1:10 p.m. ET Sunday.
“I think there will be some vehicles behind him as a rear escort with him around the track,” Duffy said. “Everyone who comes will be able to see the president and the beast before they actually see the race start.”
Practice and qualifying races will be held Saturday. Tickets are free for attendees lining the outside perimeter of the course, but some luxury suites are going for as much as $200,000, according to The New York Times.
“As we’ve come closer to the event, the calls I get are people who are now asking for tickets and a lot of the tickets are gone,” Duffy noted. Donations from Penske and other corporate sponsors helped pay for the event’s reported $35 million price tag.
“A lot of people in the city will take a vacation in August. It’s hot. It’s muggy, as we can tell right now. It’s dead here,” he added. “And this city is going to be packed for the next three days. Hotels are going to be full, restaurants are full. It is going to be a great economic driver for Washington, DC.”
Trump signed an executive order in January authorizing the race as part of the nation’s 250th birthday festivities.
Briefly, congressional Democrats had opposed the planned event due to concerns about the advertisements that would be featured on the cars.
