By: Spencer Neff

August 23, 2026

2026 Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. Results

Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood finished off the slate of temporary street circuits with victory in Sunday’s inaugural Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. The Jupiter, Florida native led a race-high 128 of 147 laps (including the last 31), both the most on a temporary street circuit in the history of The NTT INDYCAR SERIES.

At the end of the inaugural race on the 1.7-mile, seven-turn circuit, Kirkwood earned his second victory of The NTT INDYCAR SERIES campaign (both on inaugural street course races-Arlington) and seventh of his career (six on temporary circuits).

Following a day that saw multiple uncharacteristic mistakes and miscues from points leader Alex Palou and his Chip Ganassi Racing team, Kirkwood now trails Palou by 91 points with a trio of races to go in the 18-race campaign.

Kirkwood, who finished 3.0906 seconds ahead of Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard, becomes the 67th driver in series history with seven or more victories. In addition to winning all three races on new street circuits in 2026, Andretti Global bookended the podium as Will Power earned his third consecutive podium and fifth of the season in third.

A week after winning the inaugural event at Markham, Marcus Ericsson made it a 1-3-4 day by Andretti Global. Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyffin Simpson improved a race-high 19 spots for his second Top Five of 2026.

Caio Collet of A.J. Foyt Racing earned his best career finish in ninth and closed the gap to Rookie of the Year leader Dennis Hauger of Dale Coyne Racing in the standings to 24 points. All three rookie drivers finished in the Top 15 for the first time 2026 as Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Mick Schumacher earned his best road/street course finish in 11th.

Recap

Contact between Christian Rasmussen and Marcus Armstrong resulted in debris from the latter and would prompt the first caution as the opening lap drew to a close. Kirkwood had jumped by Palou for the early lead of the race.

From Lap 5 to Lap 18, the race continued under green flag conditions until more debris prompted a second caution. Kirkwood continued to hold the lead after the Lap 23 restart.

Shortly before the first green-flag pit stop window began opening, David Malukas suffered a hard crash into the outside wall in Turn 7, with the Team Penske driver collecting Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Sting Ray Robb making contact with the resulting debris soon after.

Both drivers climbed from their cars but their day was over. During the round of pit stops, Palou clipped a tire set out for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Mick Schumacher. The contact would result in the points leader being assessed a drive-through penalty, which he served under the ensuing green flag on Lap 43. Hauger was also given a penalty

The “cautions breed cautions” adage rang true following the restart. Marcus Armstrong of Meyer Shank Racing lunged into Turn 5, spinning the Ed Carpenter Racing No. 21 of Christian Rasmussen, who then collected VeeKay. Armstrong would be assessed a stop-and-hold penalty for avoidable contact while VeeKay saw his day come to a an early stop.

Palou’s day continued on a downturn after issues tightening his left-front tire impeded his next stop on Lap 69.

Kirkwood continued to hold the lead and dominate through his stops on Lap 80 and 111. On Lap 123, Palou clipped the outside wall entering Turn 4 and spun, making front-end contact with the inside wall and prompting the sixth caution of the afternoon.

During the Lap 129 restart, Scott McLaughlin made a daring lunge on the outside of Kirkwood for the lead entering Turn 1. Moments after nudging ahead, McLaughlin made heavy contact with the outside wall, ending his race.

Further back, Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist spun between Turns 1 and 2 but continued on. Kirkwood continued to lead after the Lap 135 restart and drove his way to victory on the streets of the nation’s capital.

After six cautions for 29 laps, the race was slowed to an average speed of 93.255 mph, featuring seven lead changes among five drivers.

Up Next

From the last race on a temporary street circuit to 2026’s lone doubleheader weekend and the final races on an oval this year. Next weekend, The NTT INDYCAR SERIES heads to the historic Milwaukee Mile in West Alis, Wisconsin for a pair of 250-lap races on consecutive days at the 1.015-mile oval.

The lone practice for the Snap-On INDYCAR Weekend at Milwaukee is scheduled for Friday, August 28 at 6:00 p.m. (FS1).

On Saturday, August 29, qualifying for the weekend (two laps: Lap 1 sets Race 1, Lap 2 sets Race 2) will begin at 11:00 a.m. ET (FS2). The first race of the weekend, the Snap-On Makers and Fixers 250, will air at 2:30 p.m. ET (FOX), with the race set for a 2:50 p.m. green flag.

Sunday, August 30 features the Snap-On Milwaukee Mile 250, airing 1:00 p.m. ET (FOX), with a 1:20 p.m. green flag. Stay with IndyCar1909.com and our social media for the latest on The NTT INDYCAR SERIES.

Header Image By Joe Skibinski/INDYCAR