Washington: A cheer goes up from the crowd at Penn Quarter Sports Tavern in downtown Washington, DC. President Donald Trump has appeared on the TV screen, waving from the grandstand with the First Lady.
The inaugural IndyCar Freedom 250 Grand Prix might be principally a sporting event, but it is also political.
“I’m here to support America,” says Jeanette Boras, 68, who has travelled from California with her son. They also came for Trump’s inauguration and recent July 4 celebrations.
“In my personal opinion, Trump is doing an amazing job. He’s bringing people together. I’m just here to support him – to make America great again.”
Crowds packed the streets around Washington’s National Mall on Sunday (US time) for the first IndyCar race to ever take place in the nation’s capital.
For 147 laps, they zoomed around the grand Smithsonian museums and hulking government buildings that surround the mall, watched by the lucky 100,000 who scored their free trackside tickets in a lottery.
Crowds faced tight security; the Secret Service ordered people to empty their water bottles before entry. Inside, queues of up to 100 people snaked over the grass waiting for lunch from the “Freedom Grill” – where water was available for $US4.50 a bottle. A beer costs $US14 (and a half-hour wait).
Spectators were treated to no fewer than seven military flyovers, including the luxury Boeing 747 that was gifted to Trump by Qatar for use as Air Force One.
Ahead of the race, the president’s motorcade – including the reinforced limousine known as the Beast – took a leisurely lap of honour around the 2.7-kilometre-long course, receiving loud cheers.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum delivered the traditional line: “Gentlemen, start your engines.” Trump waved the green flag to commence racing.
It was the capstone event to a summer of celebrations for America’s 250th birthday, including a UFC fight at the White House, the Great American State Fair and a record-breaking fireworks display on July 4.
The events were organised by Freedom250, an outfit established by the Trump administration to essentially take over from America250, a bipartisan organisation set up by Congress, and provide more patriotic, Trump-aligned programming.
First lady Melania Trump – a racing fan whose father took her to Formula 1 events when she was growing up in Europe – helped tie the event to her foster youth initiative, Fostering the Future.
“It’s an incredible day,” she told broadcast partner Fox. “I loved every minute of it.”
House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson called the event “pure Americana” and said Washington should host the event again next year. Burgum told Fox it was a strong possibility.
“Hotels, restaurants, the people of Washington DC, the greater capital region all love this idea,” Burgum said. “Everybody I’ve met has said, ‘Please, please do this again next year’.”
Even so, some Washington residents grumbled about their city being turned into a racetrack. In the heavily Democratic capital, anything linked to Trump is generally viewed with deep scepticism.
And politics is inescapable, even at the Grand Prix. Outside Archives subway station, four older white women held a long banner that said: “MAGA: When was America ever great before for anyone but us white folk?”
One of the women, 68-year-old Erika Berg, objected to the idea that the US was marking 250 years of freedom.
“That’s white supremacy because 4 million African Americans were not freed until 1865,” she said. “So, anyone who echoes that tagline, anyone who is ignorant of that history, is a bona fide white supremacist.”
Berg said her protest had received a mixed reception. Young white men tended to yell and swear at them, she said, while some people of colour would come up and “whisper” a thank-you.
“It’s truth-telling,” she said. “I feel like that’s what we’re doing here today – we are honouring the ancestors whose land was stolen, whose labour was stolen, whose bodies were stolen.”
But not everyone thought the IndyCar race was the best forum for politics. Back at the Penn Quarter Sports Tavern, Marlon Cienfuegos – wearing his Washington Grand Prix T-shirt and Speedway Slammer cap – just wanted to admire the flyovers and the cars.
“It’s once in a lifetime,” said the 35-year-old from nearby Maryland. “It’s the only 250th birthday we’re gonna have, so you gotta make the most of it.”
Cienfuegos said some people were always going to complain.
“Where there’s white, there’s black … Instead, they should maybe walk out and talk to people they don’t know, people that are here for the first time. Make some friends. Lighten up a little bit. It’s a good time.”
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Michael Koziol is the North America correspondent for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former Sydney editor, Sun-Herald deputy editor and a federal political reporter in Canberra.Connect via X or email.
Sarah McPhee is the Overnight Homepage Editor for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.From our partners
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