WASHINGTON, D.C. — Alex Palou will start from the pole Sunday just as he has done 18 other times in his career.
But the Freedom 250 Grand Prix will feature a unique start, with President Donald Trump most likely waving the green flag from inside a bulletproof suite on Pennsylvania Avenue just past Turn 1.
So will Palou take a look at who waves the green flag as he leads the field to green?
“It will be interesting,” he said in his news conference after winning the pole for the inaugural (and likely only) race on the streets of the National Mall. “It’s the first time that we’re going to start after Turn 1, right?
NTT P1 Award winner Alex Palou (far right) celebrates his pole position for the Freedom 250. (Getty Images)
“So it will be fun. I think we just have an incredible opportunity this weekend to show our product to people that’s never been around INDYCAR or have never seen it. Just seeing the stands, how packed they are already on Saturday — it’s incredible. I cannot wait.”
After months of anticipation, INDYCAR drivers actually got to turn laps on iconic streets with the U.S. Capitol and the Washington Monument in the background.
And they found out on Saturday what people here already knew: the roads have some bumps.
But, man, it was — as INDYCAR series points leader Palou put it — “very, very cool.”
“It was pretty awesome,” Team Penske driver Scott McLaughlin told me after the first practice session, where drivers got 52 minutes on the track. “It’s quite a technical track for how short it is.
“I had a lot of fun.”
Scott McLaughlin prepares for Sunday’s Freedom 250 in D.C. (Getty Images)
INDYCAR drivers were set to get another practice early Saturday afternoon and then qualify in the early evening for the 147-lap, 250-mile race Sunday on the 1.7-mile street course that includes Pennsylvania, Constitution and Independence Avenues in the nation’s capital.
“I didn’t know if it was going to be fun or not to drive,” Palou said in a post-practice virtual news conference. “It’s a blast, super fun. It’s very bumpy. Huge bumps heading into Turn 2 and Turn 6.
“Massive bumps that are going to spice things up.”
Bumps are nothing new for street courses in INDYCAR, with many drivers comparing the conditions to the course at Detroit.
However, the bumps were a little more exaggerated than teams anticipated and they will spend the next day trying to figure out the best way to approach it.
“[We’re] going to try to see if we can get a better balance in the corners, not focus so much on the bumps,” Palou said. “They’re not going to disappear.
“I think if you move a little bit on lanes, might be a little bit better, but it’s not going to completely go away from that.”
Teams can adjust the shocks to help the car handle the bumps better.
“The track is cool,” said British driver Louis Foster. “The scenery is awesome. It is very, very bumpy. I have a sore back right now from just the first session, but we get to tune into some things, raise the ride height [of the car].”
Marcus Ericsson is the most recent INDYCAR winner after taking the checkered flag last week at the Toronto suburb of Markham. He knows something about racing on iconic streets. A former Formula 1 driver, Ericsson was able to cherish the new experience he had Saturday.
Marcus Ericsson doesn’t mind the bumpy Freedom 250 course. (Getty Images)
“It was really fun,” Ericsson said. “It is a challenging track with all the bumps. It’s quite rough in places, as you would expect in a street course. … It is fun to be here.”
The Andretti Global driver said the competitors will adapt to the course.
“You’ve got to get used to them and understand them and use them in the best possible way,” Ericsson said. “You think about car placement, try and place the car maybe in places where they aren’t as severe.
“It’s just one of those challenges with street-course racing, so I don’t mind it.”
One other factor drivers will battle is the humidity.
Early Saturday morning, rain forced the start of the first session to be run in damp conditions. The track dried quickly, but it remained humid.
The race on Sunday is likely to last at least 140 minutes and that is if there are no cautions.
“I’m ready for the street fight, man,” said Arrow McLaren driver Pato O’Ward during a virtual news conference after the first practice. “I train really hard when I’m home and I train really hard in the offseason.
“I feel like these situations are what I try and prepare myself to be able to withstand.”
For the most part, INDYCAR was relatively fortunate with the weather, as temperatures weren’t sweltering and the rain stayed away.
Palou qualified on the pole and Kyle Kirkwood, the driver second in the standings, will start second.
“Everywhere around the entire track was rows of people, which was incredible to see,” Kirkwood said about the atmosphere.
“It’s big for INDYCAR, for the sport, for the U.S., for us drivers, teams, our sponsors. It’s all win-win.”
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