D. C. Race Preview

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IndyCar is set for its second new street course race in as many weeks. this time on the streets of Washington, D.C. It’s a venue that has created controversy for many reasons, which I will not rehash here. I am going to stick strictly to the race itself.

My coverage will be different for this two-day show. I am not attending as a media member, but only as a fan. Look for lighter coverage than usual. I can hear the rejoicing already.

I expressed my feelings about this event when it was first announced, and some of my feelings haven’t changed. A link to that post is at the end of this post.

Sunday’s race is the final street race of the season, a late addit5ionb to the schedule. Everything appears to be in place and ready to go, a contrast to last week’s issues.

The seven-turn track consists almost entirely of 90-degree corners, which doesn’t usually make for great racing. It would be hard to top the show we witnessed last week at Markham.

At 250 miles, D.C. is the longest street race in IndyCar history. My thought is that itis much too long, especially on a circuit that doesn’t look very fast. The race could be more about who is left at the end.

With Alex Palou having all but clinched the championship, there are still some things to watch for. – the battle for second place, Rookie of the Year, and the final Leader’s Circle spot are all still very much in play.

Kyle Kirkwood still holds second place by four points over David Malukas despite crashing at Markham. The two have swapped positions for several races this summer. I think Kirkwood has a good chance to extend his advantage in the standings. Their battle has allowed Palou to extend his lead, which is now 133 points.

Only 38 points separate the three rookies on the 2026 grid. Dennis Hauger leads Caio Collet by 31 points and Mick Schumacher by 38 points. Collet has not had many breaks lately, and Schumacher has shown steady improvement. I look for Schumacher to get ahead of Collet in the next couple of weeks, but I don’t see Hauger losing the Rookie of the Year title.

Christian Rasmussen currently has the final Leader’s circle spot by six points over Collet. To say that the racing gods have not been kind to either of them over the past few weeks is an understatement. Both have had DNFs. Rasnussen’s bonus points from Phoenix are the difference right now.

For Sunday’s race, Andretti Global should have an even stronger showing than they had at Markham. No engine penalties will affect Kirkwood’s or Will Power’s starting spot, and Marcus Ericssaon will again be very quick. Depending on the amount of mayhem, I think this trio will dominate the race.

My pick for the win is Will Power. The 2018 Indianapolis 500 winner has been close to the top step of the podium often during the second half of the season, and Sunday will be his day.

My previous post:

Freedom 250: A Slippery Slope

Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. Fast Facts  

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  From IndyCar:

Race weekend: Saturday, Aug. 22-Sunday, Aug. 23
Track: Streets of Washington, D.C., a 1.7-mile, seven-turn temporary street course (counterclockwise) in Washington, D.C.
Media Links: NTT INDYCAR SERIES Entry List (PDF) | Trackside Media Guide (Interactive PDF) | Weekend Event Schedule (PDF)
Race distance: 147 laps / 250 miles
Push-to-pass parameters: 150 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 15 seconds per activation.
Hybrid energy deployment parameters: Unlimited activation with a maximum deployment of 265 kilojoules (kj) per lap
Firestone tire allotment: Six sets primary, five sets alternate to be used during the event weekend. Teams fielding a rookie driver may use one additional set of primary tires. Teams must use one set of primary and two sets of alternate tires for at least two laps in the race. 
X: @Freedom250GP, @INDYCAR, #INDYCAR
Instagram: @Freedom250GP, @IndyCar, #INDYCAR Facebook: @Freedom250GP, @IndyCar, #INDYCAR
TikTok: @IndyCar, #INDYCAR
YouTube: @INDYCAR
Event website: www.freedom250gp.com   
INDYCAR website: www.indycar.com
2025 race winner: Inaugural event
Qualifying record: Inaugural event

FOX Sports telecasts: 
Practice 1, 9 a.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live); 
Practice 2, 1 p.m. ET Saturday, FS2 (live); 
Qualifying, 5 p.m. ET Saturday, FS2 (live);
Warmup Show/Final Practice, 9 a.m. ET Sunday, FS1;
Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. Pre-Race Show, 11:30 a.m. ET, FOX; Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C., 1 p.m. ET, Sunday, FOX (live). Will Buxton is the play-by-play announcer for FOX’s coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Georgia Henneberry, Kevin Lee and Jack Harvey are the pit reporters, with Jamie Little providing special reports. Chris Myers hosts FOX’s special, expanded pre-race coverage, alongside Helio Castroneves and Danica Patrick. Tom Rinaldi will offer special features and interviews. All sessions air on FOX One.
INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the anchor alongside driver analyst Davey Hamilton. Jake Query is the turn announcer. Jonathan Grace and Alex Wollf are the pit reporters. The Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. race (12:30 p.m. ET Sunday) can be heard live on network affiliates nationwide. The NTT INDYCAR SERIES race, NTT P1 Award Qualifying (5 p.m. ET Saturday) and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES practices also air live on SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation 218, indycar.com/leaderboard and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA.
At-track schedule (All Times Local/Eastern Time):
Saturday, Aug. 22 9:05-10:30 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 1 (split group format), FS1
1:05-2:30 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 2 (split group format), FS2 5-6:30 p.m. – NTT P1 Award qualifying (two rounds of knockout qualifying followed by Firestone Fast Six single-car pole showdown), FS2

Sunday, Aug. 23 9:15-9:45 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Warmup, FS1 11:30 a.m. – FOX Pre-Race Show on air
1:06 p.m. – “Drivers, start your engines”
1:13 p.m. – Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. (147 laps/250 miles), FOX (Live)

NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship facts: Alex Palou leads the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship with four races to go for the fifth time in his INDYCAR SERIES career. Palou also led the championship with four races to go races to go in his championship-winning seasons in 2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025. Palou has led the point standings after 10 of the 14 races this season. There are nine drivers still mathematically eligible for the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship: Alex Palou, Kyle Kirkwood, David Malukas, Christian Lundgaard, Pato O’Ward, Josef Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin, Felix Rosenqvist and Marcus Ericsson. Any driver who trails the points leader by 162 points or more following the race will be eliminated from contention.
Since 2008, when INDYCAR SERIES racing unified under the NTT INDYCAR SERIES banner, the eventual series champion has won the 15th race of the season three times. The most recent occurrence was 2005 when Dan Wheldon won at Chicagoland Speedway. Other drivers to win the 15th race of their championship season were Sam Hornish Jr. (2002) and Juan Pablo Montoya (1999). Key championship point statistic: 
Since 2008, the largest deficit overcome by the eventual champion was 59 points by Dario Franchitti in 2010. Scott Dixon overcame Juan Pablo Montoya’s 54-point lead in 2015. The top two drivers in the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship standings – Alex Palou and Kyle Kirkwood — are separated by 133 points.
Point differential: The 133 points that separate Alex Palou and Kyle Kirkwood is the largest point margin since 2008. Before this season, the average lead with four races to go since 2008 was 35.7 points.  
                                                                       
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Notes: The Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. will be the first NTT INDYCAR SERIES event on the streets of Washington, D.C., although the series did race in nearby Baltimore from 2011-2013. The 250-mile race distance makes it the second-longest street or temporary circuit race in INDYCAR SERIES history. The Streets of Washington, D.C. is the sixth road or street circuit to debut on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES calendar since 2021. Chip Ganassi Racing drivers won three debut races. Marcus Ericsson won the inaugural Big Machine Music City Grand Prix on the streets of Nashville in 2021. Alex Palou won the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear when it debuted its new course in downtown Detroit in 2023 and at the Thermal Club in 2025. Andretti Global drivers have won the last two debut events. Kyle Kirkwood won on the streets of Arlington in March, and Marcus Ericsson won on the streets of Markham last weekend. The Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. is the last of six temporary street races on the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule. Alex Palou won at St. Petersburg on March 1, Long Beach on April 19 and Detroit on May 31. Kyle Kirkwood won on the streets of Arlington on March 15, and Marcus Ericsson won on the streets of Markham on Aug. 16.
Milestones: Scott Dixon will attempt to make his 372nd consecutive start, extending his record streak…Graham Rahal will attempt to make his 271st consecutive start, the third-longest streak in INDYCAR SERIES history…Josef Newgarden will attempt to make his 248th consecutive start, tying Marco Andretti for the fourth-longest streak in INDYCAR SERIES history…Dixon can also extend his record to 434 career starts with a start Sunday…Scott McLaughlin is scheduled to make his 100th INDYCAR SERIES start.   

Ericsson Rises Above Canadian Chaos

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Some quick thoughts on a spectacular, wild, chaotic race at Markham:

Heartbreak, drama. pit strategy gambles, and a drive for the ages were all on display at the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy today. The race had all the elements of a great race, with timely and untimely cautions, changing pit strategies, passing, collisions, and a charge for the le4ad in the closing laps.

Heartbreak– Louis Foster’ lap 32 crash while dominating the race is the day’s biggest heartbreak. After his first pitstop, I said that that the race was his to lose. Unfortunately, he proved me correct. What a tough break for Foster and the RLL team.

Drama- Marcus Ericsson waited and waited to pit. Romain Grosjean pitted a bit early and tried to hang on. Grosjean nearly succeeded, but Ericsson had the fastest car on track, His seven second margin at the end was astounding.

Like during yesterday’s qualifying, contenders and potential contenders fell out of the race. Power and Kirkwood ran through the field from the back with relative ease and became players mid race.

Pit Strategy– What was the correct strategy? It varied at every point of the afternoon. It turns out two stops were sufficient thanks to the seven caution periods. The top four finishers made stopped twice.

Today’s win was arguably Ericsson’s finest drive in IndyCar. I believe it is the first time he won a race in which no red flags stopped the action. His ability to drive past anyone at will, his move to get by Alex Palou late in the race, and t5he way he ran away from Grosjean after taking the lead was a racing master class.

“We were the fastest car all day, I thought,” he said. “Obviously, there were a lot of (cautions), so we had to stay out (longer on the final sequence). I wanted to show the pace and open a gap, so we gambled on staying out. I had the pace and we were lapping so quick (after coming out of the pits on Lap 69) seventh. It was a lot of work to get through the leaders.”

Will Power also had a lot of speed, and he fought through many adventures on an Odyssean run to the podium.

Andretti cars were the class of the field. At one point the Power, Ericsson and Kirkwood were running second, third, and fourth. Kirkwood’s crash spoiled what could have been a team podium sweep.

Romain Grosjean earned his sixth career second place. Like today, he was in contention for the win.

Markham is the third race of 2026 where Palou did not lead a lap. The points leader appeared to be catching leader Grosjean late in the race, but he bobbled in a turn. Ericsson and Power both got past him.

Rinus VeeKay fought a car with a broken front wing to a seventh-place finish. VeeKay has been a regular member of the Fast Six, and he has backed up his starting spot with consistent Top 10s.

Graham Rahal earned his fourth Top 10 of the season. RLL has shown great improvement in qualifying tin 2026, and I look for a big jump from them next year.

The Hairpin– Turn 5 saw a lot of wild action. I think some modification might take place in 2027, but I hope not too much. Making the corner faster might help, but I really liked the madness that ensued.

All is Forgiven– After Friday’s track build fiasco, the new Mar4kham track produced two days of great IndyCar action, including one of the best street races I have ever seen. I wish we could run there again next weekend.

Results

More Grid Penalties

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From IndyCar Officiating:

 INDYCAR Officiating Announces
Streets of Markham Grid Penalties 
 INDIANAPOLIS (Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026) – INDYCAR Officiating has announced six-position starting grid penalties for the entries of No. 5 Arrow McLaren and Nos. 26 and 27 Andretti Global for unapproved engine changes following yesterday’s qualifying on the Streets of Markham.
The entries were in violation of:
Rule 16.1.2.3.2. A fifth (5th) Engine is eligible to earn Engine Manufacturer points and will be considered an Approved Engine Change-Out if a Full Season Entrant has completed the Full Season Entrant Engine Mileage with its first four (4) Engines. Otherwise, a fifth (5th) or more Engine does not earn Engine Manufacturer points and will be considered an Unapproved Engine Change-Out.
According to Rule 16.1.6.1.2., the penalty is a six-position starting grid penalty on road and street course events and nine positions at oval events and will be served at the series’ next event, which is the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham, today, on the Streets of Markham. 

Foster Wins Markham Pole in Wild Qualifying Session

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Photo from Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Some quick thoughts on today’s qualifying:

Louis Foster was quick all day, yet few thought he had a shot at the pole. He had the most mature drive I have seen from in his short career. Foster seemed to really enjoy the track. He dominated the Fast Six like we haven’t seen in a while. Once mhe got to first place, no one could catch him.

Foster’s pole was the first of 2026 for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

I never thought that when I saw the drivers in a Fast Six round that I would say, “Wow, Rinus VeeKay is the only one who usually makes it to this round.”

Can some big team please put him in a car?

It has been 700 days, since the Nashville finale, that Alex Palou has started a race outside the Top 10. I sure didn’t think today was going to be the day.

Markham made up for yesterday’s issues with a great day of on track action.

While Marcus Ericsson will start second, teammate Will Power had a horrible day. He crashed in practice, then crashed during qualifying. His second incident cost Kyle Kirkwood a shot at reaching the second round.

Like Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, turn 10 at Markham could be IndyCar’s Wall of Champions. Not only did Power crash there, but Josef Newgarden also clipped the tires.

Because of the altered format IndyCar returned to its normal Fast Six shootout instead if the single car format they used at other street courses this season. I like the shootout with all cars on track better. I hope they scrap the single car runs. Now that I have seen both, I find the six cars on track plan much more exciting and dramatic.

Tomorrow’s race should be a fun one with what seems like an inverted starting lineup.

Thanks for following along today.

Results

Markham Practice 2 Results; Qualifying Groups

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Louis Foster had the fastest lap of the day to lead Pr5actice 2. The session was interrupted by a hard crash in turn 10 by Will Power. who ran into the tire barrier and damaged the right front corner of the car. Crew members from all three Andretti entries pitched to prepare the car for qualifying.

Qualifying will be joined in progress on FS2 at 7 pm Eastern. Those who have Fox One app can watch the beginning of the session at 6:30.

Results

Qualifying Groups