Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington Honda Message Points

Washington D.C.
Sunday, August 23, 2026 1 PM ET
Pre-race beginning at 11:30 AM ET
Live on Fox

What to Watch for on the streets of Washington DC

• Inaugurating a new grand prix: The Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington is the third maiden event in the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. The one-of-a-kind street race will see the teams and drivers of IndyCar racing around the nation’s capital, around some of America’s most iconic museums and monuments to celebrate 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Honda-powered teams and drivers have won the prior two inaugural events in 2026—Kyle Kirkwood in Arlington and Marcus Ericsson in Markham—as well as all previous inaugural street course races in IndyCar stretching back to the return of multi-manufacturer competition in 2012. Scott Dixon won in Houston in 2013 (as well as the return of Detroit Belle Isle in 2012 following a hiatus), Marcus Ericsson won both Markham and the 2021 Nashville Grand Prix, Alex Palou took the first win on the downtown Detroit street circuit, and Kyle Kirkwood earlier this year in Arlington.
• Capitol-izing in DC: With Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou amassing a 133-point advantage in the drivers’ title fight, his competitors will have to capitalize in Washington to stop the Honda-powered Spaniard from leaving DC with his fifth NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship. Second to Palou is Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood. Both drivers have scored victories this year, with Palou collecting wins at St. Pete, Barber, Long Beach, Detroit, Nashville and Portland, and Kirkwood taking the victory at the inaugural Java House Grand Prix of Arlington. Kirkwood and Palou’s other rivals will have to put on a good performance in front of the capitol building in DC to keep their championship hopes alive. 
• Word on the street: Honda teams and drivers have won five of five street circuit races so far this season—with four of them being podium sweeps. Alex Palou took the win at the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and followed it up by leading home all-Honda podiums at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach and the Detroit Grand Prix. Meanwhile, a pair of Andretti Global drivers each led their own Honda podium sweeps with Kyle Kirkwood winning at Arlington and Marcus Ericsson at the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham just last Sunday. Street course races make up five of Honda’s nine victories this season, and each of the five Honda-powered teams have both led laps and notched at least one podium finish across the five events. The strong results on street circuits have given Honda a 169-point advantage in the manufacturers’ championship.
• Acura Ambassador: Acura will be making its fourth appearance on an NTT INDYCAR SERIES car this weekend, with Andretti Global’s Marcus Ericsson repping the Acura livery aboard his #28 Honda. The entry celebrates not only 250 years of America, but 40 years of Acura since the brand’s inception in 1986. Acura debuted in America on March 27, 1986, as the first Japanese luxury car brand. The partnership with Ericsson and Andretti Global comes as Acura seeks to engage a growing audience of passionate motorsports fans US through the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.

2026 Honda IndyCar Lineup

C—Series Champion I—Indianapolis 500 winner W—Race Winner R—Series Rookie

Where to Watch the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington

• Television coverage of Sunday’s Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington will air at 1 PM ET on Fox. Complete, flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available on the INDYCAR Radio Network, and SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation (Channel 160).
• The second practice and qualifying will air on FS2, while practice one and the morning warm up will air on FS1. Additionally, there will be a full pre-race show on Fox beginning at 11:30 AM ET. 

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