Trump Waves the Green Flag as IndyCars Race Past the Smithsonian on a Course He Created by Executive Order

Trump waved the green flag on Sunday, Aug. 23, to start the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, the first IndyCar race run through downtown Washington. Kyle Kirkwood won the 147-lap race, which ran past the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum and the federal courthouse at speeds around 180 mph. Trump took a 'lap of honor' in the presidential limousine and arranged seven waves of military flyovers, including a B-2 bomber. After Congress declined to approve a loop around the Capitol -- federal law bars commercial advertising on Capitol grounds -- Trump issued a January executive order authorizing a modified route and expedited permits.

The event routed a commercial motorsports spectacle through the civic core of the capital on presidential authority after the legislative branch withheld it. Corporate sponsors included Boeing, Starlink, Delta, Amazon and Shell, several with significant business before the federal government.

Penske Corp. is covering most of the cost, its president Bud Denker said, saying it exceeded the roughly $21 million Detroit Grand Prix. Security costs draw on the $90 million Congress provided this year for D.C.'s Emergency Planning and Security Fund. The federal courthouse canceled Friday hearings and National Airport paused flights for the flyovers.