Bobby Travis · NASCAR/IndyCar Correspondent
On the nation's capital's new street circuit, Kyle Kirkwood seized the lead from Álex Palou in an early battle and never relinquished it through the checkered flag.
Kyle Kirkwood won the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C., the 15th round of the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series on the new 2.7-kilometer street course. U.S. President Donald J. Trump waved the green flag to start the race himself, then Kirkwood took over in the Andretti Global car following an early duel with pole-sitter Álex Palou and controlled the race to the finish. Christian Lundgaard (Arrow McLaren) finished second, with Kirkwood's Andretti Global teammate Will Power rounding out the podium.
Palou's Mistakes Open the Door
Álex Palou had been the clear fastest in the Firestone Fast Six, clocking 56.8993 seconds, and started the race ahead of Kirkwood. That advantage didn't last long on track. Following Trump's green flag, the two immediately battled for the lead, and Palou made three critical errors during the exchange. Those mistakes handed Kirkwood the opening he needed, and from that point forward he controlled the lead without mercy.
For Palou, who entered as the championship leader, the result represents a significant setback. Finishing 20th, three laps down, he didn't just miss the victory but looks poised to lose considerable ground in the standings. Kirkwood, by contrast, ran a flawless race from wire to wire and refused to be rattled by the numerous cautions that punctuated the afternoon.
Chaos at Turn 7 and Through the Restarts
The day's first serious incident came at Turn 7 of the new street course. David Malukas crashed hard into the outside wall, and Sting Ray Robb couldn't avoid him, slamming into the stricken car. Both drivers were eliminated, Malukas down 112 laps and Robb with the same deficit. For Team Penske it was a particularly rough day, as Scott McLaughlin would later suffer his own accident elsewhere in the race.
During one of the subsequent restarts, Rinus VeeKay got caught up in a multi-car pileup. The Dutch driver was knocked out and according to reports criticized his teammate Christian Rasmussen afterward for his role in the incident. Rasmussen himself stayed in the race and limped home to 14th place one lap down, while VeeKay's day ended early at position 23.
Ferrucci's Lost Day and More Retirements
Santino Ferrucci arrived at the track already burdened by a six-position grid penalty for an unapproved engine change—his fifth of the season—forcing him to start from 25th position. On lap 22, an electrical or steering issue sent him into an extended pit stop that cost him over seven laps. Ferrucci did return to action in search of points, but his race ended prematurely after 132 of 147 laps, classified 21st.
Scott McLaughlin's weekend ended just as badly. The Penske driver was knocked out with 19 laps remaining and joins Malukas, Robb, and VeeKay on a lengthy list of DNFs that made the Freedom 250 one of the more chaotic races of the season. For Kirkwood and Andretti Global, it was a day when consistency and a clean, mistake-free race paid dividends, while Palou's misstep figures to shuffle the championship battle considerably as the season unfolds.
