Kyle Kirkwood dominates and wins historic and stellar victory in Washington, D.C.

Kyle Kirkwood made history on Sunday by winning the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C., the first automobile race held around the National Mall and the nation's capital's iconic monuments and buildings.

And after a disastrous day for NTT INDYCAR SERIES leader Alex Palou, can Kirkwood make even more history, catching Palou in the final three races of the season and clinching the championship?

Florida driver Kirkwood drove his No. 27 Sam's Club Honda to victory with a 3.0906-second lead over the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet driven by Christian Lundgaard, finishing with three Andretti Global drivers in the top four. This margin of victory was misleading due to a yellow flag at the end of the race, which regrouped the field for the restart on the temporary seven-turn, 2.7-kilometer (1.7-mile) street circuit, with Kirkwood leading by more than 16 seconds at times during the 402-kilometer (250-mile) race.

“It’s indescribable — this is incredible,” Kirkwood said. "I'm almost in tears. This is a big moment for us, a big moment for the United States with the 250 races."

Said Lundgaard: "I think it's fair that an American won, don't you? We tried our best."

Kirkwood took his second victory of the season in devastating fashion, leading 128 of 147 laps after starting second. He also won the inaugural road race in March in Arlington, Texas, and six of his seven career victories were achieved on temporary circuits.

“It was great to dominate the race, I’m not going to lie,” Kirkwood said. "It was a really incredible moment. What a fantastic place to do it. If you can't win the Indianapolis 500, this is definitely the place to win. I don't know if we'll get another chance to do it – I hope so. It was awesome. A dream come true."

Andretti Global took the next two positions, with Will Power finishing third in the #26 TWG AI Honda car and Marcus Ericsson fourth in the #28 Acura Honda car, in this race that concluded the United States' 250th anniversary celebrations.

Kyffin Simpson rounded out the top five in the No. 8 Sunoco Chip Ganassi Racing Honda car.

Kirkwood was 133 points behind Palou before this historic event, but the gap closed to 91 points with three races remaining after Palou finished 20th in the No. 10 OpenAI Chip Ganassi Racing Honda car.

While Kirkwood dreamed of the checkered flag, Palou lived a nightmare on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Palou, chasing his record-equalling fourth consecutive title and fifth overall, suffered an unusual series of errors, which included hitting a rival's tire during a pit stop and suffering a pit stop penalty, a slow stop due to a loose wheel, and then a crash at Turn 4 on Lap 123 due to a broken tie rod from previous contact with the wall.

"It hurts, man," Palou said. "I really wanted this win. It's a shame we had such a bad day. But it's okay; these things happen."

History is still very much in Palou's favor. Since the reunification of the sport in 2008, the biggest gap a driver has managed to overcome with four races to go to win the title is 59 points, achieved by Dario Franchitti in 2010. Palou can still secure his fifth Astor Challenge Cup title in the August 29 and 30 doubleheader at the Milwaukee Mile.

Kirkwood has left no doubt about his intentions and the power of his car since the green light given by President Donald J. Trump. He dueled with Palou in Turn 1 before taking the lead in Turn 2 on the opening lap of the second longest temporary road race in INDYCAR SERIES history.

From then on, Kirkwood only fell behind during pit stops. No alternative tire or fuel strategy from rivals managed to catch up on that exceptional day.

Kirkwood lost perhaps the only rival who could challenge him early in the race, in front of a huge crowd — the total attendance for the two-day weekend was 215,000 people — when Palou struck the wheel of Mick Schumacher's No. 47 Vanda Honda car, which was parked in the pits, on lap 39, during his first pit stop. This infraction resulted in a pit stop penalty, which Palou took on lap 43, dropping to 21st position.

From that moment on, the yellow flags were the only thing that stopped Kirkwood's run towards history. He was leading by 16 seconds when he made his final pit stop at the end of lap 112.

There were two restarts between laps 128 and 134, regrouping the field and giving hope to Kirkwood's rivals.

Scott McLaughlin dived up the inside of Kirkwood in Turn 1 to take the lead by a fraction of a second on Lap 129 after a restart, but he had too much speed heading into the corner and was eliminated from the race when the right side of his No. 3 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet hit the tire barrier.

Kirkwood left no doubts in the last restart of the race, on lap 134, racing ahead of the other competitors. He crossed the finish line first, waved by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, and then celebrated in front of several government officials in a box above Turn 1, including President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump.

Next up is a doubleheader at the Milwaukee Mile, the final oval event of the season. The Snap-on Makers and Fixers 250 is scheduled for Saturday, August 29th at the historic 1-mile track, and the Snap-on Milwaukee Mile 250 for Sunday, August 30th.

The 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season concludes with the INDYCAR Monterey Grand Prix on Sunday, September 6 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California.