How Kirkwood might force a late title fight as IndyCar goes to Washington

IndyCar staged an event called the Freedom 250 Grand Prix on the streets of Washington DC in the shadow of the U.S. capital, and viewed from afar – apart from an elevated level of pomp and circumstance befitting the Indianapolis 500 and appearances from a few dignitaries - it was ultimately pretty much just another IndyCar street race.

Those action and attrition-filled affairs are often won by Kyle Kirkwood, and so it proved again Sunday in the longest street race in IndyCar history – 250 miles to represent the 250th anniversary of American independence. Kirkwood completely dominated, taking the lead from polesitter Alex Palou on the opening lap and leading 128 of the 147 laps before easing off to win by a little over three seconds from Christian Lundgaard.

The Washington race was also a demonstration of Andretti Global’s dominance on street courses, as Will Power and Marcus Ericsson completed a 1-3-4 result for the team. Andretti drivers swept IndyCar’s three new street tracks this year, with Kirkwood winning at Arlington and Washington while Ericsson notched the victory at Markham. Five out of Kirkwood’s seven career wins have been on temporary circuits.

In his first year with Andretti after a long career at Team Penske, Power has gelled well in the Andretti organisation, creating a chemistry with Ericsson and Kirkwood reminiscent of the camaraderie shared between Dario Franchitti, Dan Wheldon, and Bryan Herta more than 20 years ago when the team was known as Andretti Green Racing.

Putting those elements together, Kirkwood has emerged as a more complete driver in 2026 and as Palou’s most legitimate rival for the IndyCar championship. It’s a progression noted by Andretti Global team principal Ron Ruzewski, who like Power moved to the Andretti camp after a lengthy tenure with Team Penske.

“I read a quote earlier that said that the ones who make it look easy put in the most work on their own,” Ruzewski reflected. “That’s exactly what Kyle did this week. I think as a whole, our team has been really clicking. Today 1-3-4. Last week we had double podium. I think we’re really starting to see the momentum and the team is really gelling. The three drivers are working together, really pushing each other. It’s something I’m used to and it’s something I’m really happy to see that we’re going forward with.”

President Donald Trump meets with Roger Penske and drivers on IndyCar grid

Photo by: SAUL LOEB of AFP via Getty

Kirkwood arrived in Washington in a focused frame of mind, determined to make up for crashing out of the previous weekend’s IndyCar race in Markham where his team-mate Ericsson had the legs on the field in the latter stages on the way to winning.

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“I kind of flipped a switch where I was like, ‘These mistakes I made last weekend feel terrible,’” he said. “I hadn’t had one of those in a very long time. Sometimes those are actually good for me because all this week I feel like I’ve worked harder than I ever have in preparation for this event. That paid off and it was a great feeling to rebound after last weekend.”

The 27-year-old Floridian started on the outside of the front row but expressed amazement at his near 0.6s deficit to Palou after single-lap shootout qualifying. But to the surprise of almost everyone, Palou had an off day on race day.

"I’m just going to go out there and try and win every single race and see where it goes from there. It’s starting to pan out. I can’t control what Palou does. We just had a very fortunate day in the points championship" Kyle Kirkwood

After being jumped by Kirkwood once passing was allowed on the first lap following a ceremonial start with the green flag waved by U.S. President Donald Trump, Palou struck a tyre laid out for Mick Schumacher during his first pitstop. A drive-through penalty for the mistake dropped him deep in the field, then the Ganassi team flubbed Palou’s next pitstop, dropping him a lap behind leader Kirkwood. Pushing hard to catch up, he brushed a wall; a rear toe link eventually failed and pitched the #10 car into a wall-banging spin. The Spaniard finished the race after repairs in 20th place.

“It was one of those races where I wanted to win, so it hurts that I didn’t,” Palou stated. “Like we had everything happening to us today. But I prefer this than having it spread out in different races – I prefer to have it concentrated in one. So yeah, one of those days.”

A win in Washington by Palou would have essentially stomped on the necks of his championship rivals. Instead, Kirkwood cut 43 points from his championship lead, knocking it down to 91 points, with three races remaining. Arrow McLaren’s Lundgaard still harbours an outside shot at 110 points back, while Penske’s David Malukas may have put the kibosh on his own title hopes by crashing early in the Washington race to fall 143 points adrift.

Palou stormed to pole, but his race unravelled rapidly

Photo by: Chris duMond / Lumen via Getty Images

“I’m just going to go out there and try and win every single race and see where it goes from there,” Kirkwood said. “It’s starting to pan out. I can’t control what Palou does. We just had a very fortunate day in the points championship.”

The recent growing strength of the Andretti effort could work to Kirkwood’s benefit. Ganassi’s other entries had their best day in some time at Washington, with Kyffin Simpson taking fifth place and Scott Dixon seventh in what has generally been a season of woe.

“We just have to go out there at this point and try to put numbers up on the board,” remarked Ruzewski. “The best thing we can do is put all three of our cars in front of Palou. That’s really what we’re trying to do - not just have Kyle win races, but have Marcus and Will on the podium or in front of Palou. That’s the only way we have a chance.

“We’re going to try to get all three on the podium every week.”