Indycar takes to the streets around Washington, DC. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
First things first. I am a car enthusiast, a motor racing fan and an active race competitor, having competed in the Nurburgring 24-hours in Germany and countless other domestic races in ****** an over the last 25 years. I've also been to watch numerous F1 races, the 24-Hours of Le Mans, the Indy 500, World Rally Championship events in the middle of nowhere, and even street F1 races from Monaco to Melbourne. So yes, I love cars and racing. But what President Trump did last weekend by staging his Freedom 250 IndyCar Grand Prix race in Washington DC was, well, let's just call it excessive, disruptive, inappropriate and tone-deaf.
Over the weekend, the distinct, ear-splitting whine of 2.2-liter twin-turbocharged V6 engines echoed off the marble facades of federal buildings as IndyCar made its highly controversial debut on the streets of the nation's capital.
The event, billed as the "Washington Grand Prix," saw open-wheel Indy race cars speeding at over 150 mph down Pennsylvania Avenue, transforming the historic corridor between the U.S. Capitol and the White House into a 1.7-mile long temporary, high-octane racetrack. The narrow, angular cars blasted past the US Capitol, made sharp turns around the National Archives, and pass the Smithsonian Air and ****** e Museum for a total of 147 laps, a number which equals a race distance of 250-miles. Yes, you guessed it. That 250 number had to relate to the nation's 250th anniversary celebration.
Penske Corporation CEO Roger Penske (R) and IndyCar series champion Alex Palou (L) presents U.S. President Donald Trump (C) with a race helmet during a Freedom 250 Grand Prix showcase in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
#washington #grand #races #images
First things first. I am a car enthusiast, a motor racing fan and an active race competitor, having competed in the Nurburgring 24-hours in Germany and countless other domestic races in ****** an over the last 25 years. I've also been to watch numerous F1 races, the 24-Hours of Le Mans, the Indy 500, World Rally Championship events in the middle of nowhere, and even street F1 races from Monaco to Melbourne. So yes, I love cars and racing. But what President Trump did last weekend by staging his Freedom 250 IndyCar Grand Prix race in Washington DC was, well, let's just call it excessive, disruptive, inappropriate and tone-deaf.
Over the weekend, the distinct, ear-splitting whine of 2.2-liter twin-turbocharged V6 engines echoed off the marble facades of federal buildings as IndyCar made its highly controversial debut on the streets of the nation's capital.
The event, billed as the "Washington Grand Prix," saw open-wheel Indy race cars speeding at over 150 mph down Pennsylvania Avenue, transforming the historic corridor between the U.S. Capitol and the White House into a 1.7-mile long temporary, high-octane racetrack. The narrow, angular cars blasted past the US Capitol, made sharp turns around the National Archives, and pass the Smithsonian Air and ****** e Museum for a total of 147 laps, a number which equals a race distance of 250-miles. Yes, you guessed it. That 250 number had to relate to the nation's 250th anniversary celebration.
Penske Corporation CEO Roger Penske (R) and IndyCar series champion Alex Palou (L) presents U.S. President Donald Trump (C) with a race helmet during a Freedom 250 Grand Prix showcase in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
#washington #grand #races #images
2 months ago
