The kickoff to one of the most historic race weeks in INDYCAR SERIES history didn’t take place in America’s capital city – site of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C., this Saturday and Sunday – but in the media capital of the world, New York City.

Two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Josef Newgarden of Team Penske and 2026 championship contender Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global are visiting America’s most populous city Monday, Aug. 17 and Tuesday, Aug. 18 to build even more excitement for the historic first motor race on the streets of Washington and around the National Mall.

“I think it’s a big moment as an American to be able to drive around D.C.” Kirkwood said. “I never would have thought growing up as a racing driver that I would be able to say I raced around the streets of D.C. legally.

“It’s going to be a fun event. It’s an event that America is putting on and is something that is going to be very, very special.”

Kyle Kirkwood Josef Newgarden

Newgarden and Kirkwood participated Monday afternoon with FOX INDYCAR lead announcer Will Buxton in a lighting ceremony at the world-famous Empire State Building before appearing live that afternoon on FS1’s “First Things First” daily sports show (photo, above) to talk about the race.

On Tuesday, the “FOX and Friends” morning show on FOX News will interview two-time Indy 500 winner Newgarden and Kirkwood in Times Square before both drivers ring the Opening Bell for the NASDAQ stock exchange.

Newgarden then will appear on “The Winning Formula,” a sports business original content series from NASDAQ, before an interview for “Game Time with Boomer Esiason,” hosted by the legendary NFL quarterback in the Jackie Robinson Museum in Manhattan.

“It’s kind of a team effort,” Newgarden said. “We’ve got Will, Kyle, and we’re representing a lot of the series. This is a big weekend. I don’t know if we’ll ever drive Indy cars around the nation’s capital again, so the fact we’re doing it is a spectacle. We have another spectacle in the Indy 500, and I think is the next one that will rival it.

“Excited to see how it goes. I hope we get a lot of eyeballs and people tuning in that maybe know nothing about the sport and capture them, keep them and make them INDYCAR fans for life.”

The free, two-day motorsports event will celebrate America’s 250th anniversary with world-class racing set against the backdrop of some of America’s most historic landmarks, including the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol.

FOX will broadcast the unique street race starting with an extended pre-race show at 11:30 a.m. ET Sunday, followed by the race broadcast at 1 p.m. FOX One and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls also will broadcast live.

Nearly 80,000 people requested over 288,000 general admission tickets during the request period.