IndyCar Freedom 250 draws record TV audience as Kirkwood dominates Washington race

The NTT IndyCar Series Freedom 250 on the streets of Washington, DC captured 3.282 million television viewers, the highest audience for any IndyCar race other than the Indianapolis 500 since the Champ Car-IRL merger in 2008. This viewership represents a 279 % increase over the typical Sunday non-Indy 500 broadcast and raised the season-average audience to 1.875 million, up 32 % from last season. Jupiter, Florida native Kyle Kirkwood dominated the event in the No. 27 Andretti Global Honda, taking the lead from Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing on the opening lap and maintaining it despite late restarts that saw pressure from Scott McLaughlin of Team Penske and Christian Lundgaard of Arrow McLaren.

The race’s success comes as the series moves to a doubleheader at the Milwaukee Mile, followed by a final road-course showdown at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, all slated for broadcast on one outlet. The surge in ratings suggests growing interest in IndyCar’s street-circuit events and could influence future scheduling and sponsorship.