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Kyle Kirkwood was gassed.
He’d just led IndyCar’s Freedom 250 Grand Prix for 128 of the 147 laps, a dominating effort en route to winning the inaugural event weaving through the streets of Washington, D.C.
He’d just unleashed a roar upon getting out of his car, celebrating his second win of the season before getting honored with a podium ceremony that featured the bald eagle.
This was the spectacle of the Freedom 250 race — which consisted of 147 laps and 250 miles to commemorate the United States’ milestone birthday, serving as the second-longest street race in IndyCar history, according to the racing league.
And that, Kirkwood admitted on the broadcast, “was a hard race.”
“You can’t even put it into words.” Kirkwood said on the broadcast. “This is incredible. I’m almost in tears here. This is a big moment for us. Big moment for America here, the 250. Big moment for Andretti. Big moment for Sam’s Club and Honda.”
He defeated Christian Lundgaard by 3.1 seconds, while Will Power finished in third at 4.2 seconds behind Kirkwood.
Alex Palou, the championship points leader who had pole position, crashed with 24 laps to go, capping a brutal day that also featured a penalty, and finished in 20th place.
After a late restart, Scott McLaughlin tried to pass Kirkwood — whose lead at one point late in the race reached over 10 seconds — but ended up crashing out.
Kirkwood’s victory marked the end of a day that began with President Donald Trump — who signed the order bringing the race to D.C. — taking a lap in his armored limo “the Beast” and waving the green flag to start the race.
“It felt good to dominate out there, I’m not gonna lie,” Kirkwood said. “That was a really good moment. … What a dream come true.”
English (US)