Instant Recall: Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C.

If indeed the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. was a one-time event, it provided memories to last the NTT INDYCAR SERIES a lifetime.

From a beautiful day to a presidential presence to seven – yeah, seven! -- flyovers to streets allowing race cars to roar, the package couldn’t have been better, and that goes both for those on site and those watching on television.

Yes, Kyle Kirkwood drove away from the field with arguably the season’s most dominant drive, but don’t discount the mistakes of Alex Palou and Scott McLaughlin, among others, had on the perceived disparity. Kirkwood was prepared for a fight that didn’t much come.

Still, Sunday was one for the ages.

“This morning when I woke up,” Kirkwood said as he began unpacking the emotions. “You know there's an instinct that you have when you wake up and your heart is already racing. I only get that one other place, and that's the Indy 500. Just that sensation, it gives it its own energy. That's what this place had.

“This was a very special day. We were very prepared for it. Outside of the Indy 500, I don't think there's another race that you'd want to win.”

Event mastermind Bud Denker considered it a win on all levels.

“This was not a race, it was an event,” the president of Penske Corporation said in noting a two-day crowd in excess of 215,000. “There's a difference, isn't there? A big difference between a race and an event.

“The flyovers that the team prepared, the pageantry of seven flyovers. I had the opportunity to be in the lead vehicle of the motorcade. I was in the lead vehicle motorcade because we were timing when the president's ‘Beast’ needed to be on the frontstretch at the right place. We hit it within five seconds (of) Air Force One flying over. That's how perfect of a day it was today.”

Denker (photo, above, left) continued with a smile as wide as the city itself.

“How about the eagle coming off the building and landing in front of Mr. Trump?” he said. “It just gave you goose bumps. Frankly, brought a lot of tears to my eyes.”

A day earlier as race cars hit the track for the first time, Denker literally shed a tear. One of the hundreds of cameras on site caught a glimpse of it.

“It's been a year since I've been here to try to do this,” he said in an effort to explain his emotions. “I've learned in this city, a lot of people can say no, but not a lot of people can say yes. When the big guy says yes, shit happens. You can take that for a quote.

“The big guy got behind this, Mr. Trump. When he and Secretary Duffy said we're going to make this happen, we did it together. Remember, that was on January 30. We had seven months to do what we did out here in the most complex environment in the year. (There were) 1,350 pages of permits. Imagine that. (The race in Detroit has) like 200.”

Denker joked that the 1,350 pages along with the roller he used to measure the streets should go in the Smithsonian.

“It’s wore out, man,” he said.

The 147 laps that took close to three hours to complete capped the event. For as much as Kirkwood’s domination will be remembered, the mistakes of Palou and his Chip Ganassi Racing team won’t soon be forgotten given how rare they are. While still in control for a record-tying fourth consecutive series championship, Palou lost 41 points on his lead by finishing 20th, three laps off the pace.

McLaughlin’s bid for the lead on a late restart was more forgivable. He drives for Roger Penske, the other “big guy” in staging this event, and as a recently new citizen of this country, the New Zealander wanted the victory as much as he’s even wanted anything. Sure, he missed the Turn 1 apex trying to overtake Kirkwood and slammed the outside tire barrier, but he went down trying.

That determination was a microcosm of the event, and Denker said INDYCAR won thousands of new fans because of it. On Saturday, he said more than $969,000 of merchandise was sold, a much higher total than most events.

Denker said every key Washington figure he saw Sunday, including First Lady Melania Trump, commented about the event returning next year. Denker reiterated that there are no guarantees given the significant financial and physical effort it took to stage this one, and it was as perfect as Kirkwood’s drive.

“I've been saying this isn't about me, this isn't about Penske, this isn't about our sport,” he said. “I've been saying that over and over again. This is about our country. That's still true.

“But, boy, this has got to do something for our sport.”