| CHEVROLET IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIES Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C.1.7-mile, 7-turn Washington, D.C. street Washington, DC Sunday Race Report August 23, 2026 WASHINGTON (August 23, 2026) – After 250 hard-fought laps on the Streets of Washington, D.C., celebrating the United States 250th birthday, American brand Chevrolet with driver Christian Lundgaard in the No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet ended up on the second step of the podium. The second-place finish is Lundgaard’s sixth podium of the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season and his 12th with Arrow McLaren and Team Chevy. Nolan Siegel in the No. 6 NTT DATA Arrow McLaren Chevrolet started 18th and finished sixth, his best career finish and his fourth top 12 finish in the last five races. Josef Newgarden brought the No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet across the line in eighth place, his tenth top ten finish in the first 15 races of the season. Rookie Caio Collet, driving the No. 4 Combitrans Amazonia Chevrolet, was finally rewarded on a weekend he had pace, finishing in ninth place and closing the gap in the battle for Rookie of the Year. Kyle Kirkwood led 128 of 147 laps on the way to his second win of the season. Freedom 250 – Race Results: |
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| What they’re saying – Freedom 250 Christian Lundgaard, No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet finished 2nd:“Long day, long weekend. I’m very thankful for the No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren crew who’s done an amazing job all weekend, and really all year in general. I’m so happy we were able to execute here on the biggest stage in the United States and get the results and the hardware today. We’ll go again next week and the week after that.” Nolan Siegel, No. 6 NTT Data Arrow McLaren Chevrolet finished 6th:“Long and hot day. P6, our best finish of the season, so I’m very, very proud of everyone on the 6 car. It was a pleasure to drive all weekend and what a place to do it. It was such a cool event. It absolutely set the standard for IndyCar. I’ve just been having a blast all weekend. It feels really good to put a good result on the board and to to do it here in the nation’s capital is so special. It’s an honor to be here and an honor to drive this car, and I’m looking forward to finishing the season strong.”Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet finished 8th:You’ve got to give a lot of credit to everybody. Fox has given us such great coverage. This entire year, you guys have done a great job. Penske Entertainment really did a phenomenal job getting this off the ground. This is not easy to do and it’s the coolest backdrop, I think we’ve had in sports. Really. It really felt like the Indianapolis 500 here today, which is so unique. We don’t have that anywhere else in in the United States. I know we all really enjoyed it and maybe we’ll come back. I would love to have another shot. Today in the Astemo Chevy, you know, I’ve not been in the best shape this year. But, if we come back, that would be amazing. But if not, we’ll treasure this. This moment that we had was really cool. Caio Collet, No. 4 Combitrans Amazonia Chevrolet finished 9th:“So yeah, a really positive day. I think the weekend overall was really positive. The team they did a really, really good job giving me a competitive car all weekend long. And today we had the first clean race of the year from start to finish. I kept myself out of trouble. I attacked when I need needed to, and also just defended and let some people go when I had to, I think it was a clean race from start to finish. The team did a really good job on the pit strategy as well. We were inside the top 10, fighting for a top 10 finish, and in the end we came away home with P9. So extremely happy with the result. Hopefully, we can keep the momentum going through the last three races of the year. A big thanks to AJ Foyt Racing, and Combitrans Chevrolet for all the help, and hopefully we can keep the momentum going.” Alexander Rossi, No. 20 ECR Java House Chevrolet finished 12th:“What an honor it was to compete in this race. Everyone involved in the Freedom 250 did an amazing job and deserve a tremendous amount of credit. We didn’t get the finish we were aiming for today, but I’m proud of the effort ECR put in and I am looking forward to the doubleheader in Milwaukee next weekend.”Christian Rasmussen, No. 21 Splenda Stevia Chevrolet finished 14th:“We got all we could out of it today! We were having a strong run and were very competitive until we got hit and spun. I appreciate the work the Splenda Stevia boys did to get me back in the race and we were able to pass everyone that we could. We are ready to go back to Milwaukee now and defend our win!” Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet finished 16th:“A struggle in the race today. Just a really tough time trying to keep up with the race pace. We had to make additional stops because we had an issue fueling the car for some reason. We’re going to work to figure out what happened, and then go to Milwaukee and try to have a strong weekend there.” Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet finished 21st:“Yeah, just the bad luck continues to rain down on us. We had an electronical gearbox issue. Unfortunately, I think it hurt something in the gearbox, and you know you have to run the rest of the race out to try and pick up positions when people wreck. It’s just a nightmare to not be in the way, and the car not wanting to downshift or upshift correctly. So yeah, so it’s just all-in-all horrible weekend. So on to the oval.” Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet finished 22nd:“I felt my tires were pretty solid on the warm-up lap and I was like, I’m going to have a crack here, and misjudged how loose it was down the inside there. It was one of those chances. Kyle has been quick all weekend, and I just want to get some track position. Basically, just lost it. Locked the rears and away she went. Sucks for my PPG Chevy team, I thought we did a really good job all day. I feel for them. I went for it, and sometimes that what happens.” Rinus VeeKay, No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Chevrolet finished 23rd:“We had a really good race going and we were looking strong. We moved forward pretty quickly and the car was good – the pace was there and the strategy was working well. We got up to the lead briefly and then everything started to go wrong.“The next lap Armstrong hit Rasmussen and he came into me. There was nowhere I could go and that was it. It’s a shame because we’d made a lot of progress and there was a good result there for us. This has been an incredible event and a great job by the team, so it’s a really frustrating way to end the weekend.” David Malukas, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet finished 24th:“Yes, all good. Obviously, first, I want to apologize, Stingray (Robb), there was nothing you can really do there. It was just me. I just want to apologize to the teams, the sponsors, everybody. Obviously, big race here, but I don’t really know what’s been going on with me. Just in a bad run of form here in the past few races. So, need to get back to work, and figure out what’s going on, if it’s mentally, if it’s physically, I don’t really know, but I got to work on myself here. Got a few more races to finish off the season, and, have to make sure I can put myself back on form.” Sting Ray Robb, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger – Goodheart Chevrolet finished 25th:“Really unfortunate day. We were making progress, made up a couple of spots early and I felt like we were starting to get into our race. Then Malukas crashed right in front of me and I had nowhere to go. I was already there on the racing line.“Obviously, a really disappointing way to end the race, especially at an event like this. It’s been really cool to be here racing in Washington and, as an American, definitely something pretty special to be part of. Just wish we could have stayed in it and seen what we could do. My thanks to the No. 77 crew – really great work all weekend.” |
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| Up next The last weekend of August includes the NTT INDYCAR SERIES’ second visit to Wisconsin, this time to a historic track in West Allis, Wisconsin, for a doubleheader on August 29 and August 30. The Milwaukee Mile oval will play host to a race on Saturday at 2:30 pm (ET) and Sunday at 1 pm (ET) on FOX. |
| NTT INDYCAR SERIES News ConferenceSunday, August 23, 2026Christian LundgaardWill PowerPress Conference THE MODERATOR: We’re joined by Christian Lundgaard and Will Power, second- and third-place drivers in today’s race. Christian, what was it like trying to reel in Kyle a little bit? CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Yeah, I feel like I had just a couple of laps where I was faster than him, and then I know the 12 laps where he was faster than me, so… Yeah, what an experience all weekend. The best background I’ve ever had on a racetrack obviously. Just being a part of it, seeing where the series is going, being a part of it.Obviously the race was long. I think we got a better result than we expected. We got three more races to go. I think I’m just happy to see Alex not win for once (smiling). I hear you all laughing, so you agree with me, which is great. THE MODERATOR: You just won the room with that. CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Obviously Kyle and I were second and fourth in the championship going into this weekend. Alex and David had some unfortunate luck out there. But those are the days that we need to not have for the rest of the season.I’m definitely pushing for that second. Kyle made that a little tougher for me today. THE MODERATOR: Third straight podium of the season, Will. Another sign that Andretti Global is coming together at the right time for you. Your thoughts on the day?WILL POWER: Yeah, that first yellow kind of hurt us. Man, even at that point you have so many laps to go, you’re still over a hundred laps to go, we can certainly make a lot work from here. I saved a lot of fuel. I probably would have gone three laps longer than the guys around me.Yeah, a lot of on-track passes, to be honest, to move up. Good strategy. Good stops. It’s just becoming normal for us to do this. We’re starting to eliminate all the weaknesses and be strong everywhere and have a chance to win everywhere.Team’s made huge progression over this season, and you can see it now. It’s all coming online. I think the expectation now every weekend is to be on the podium, challenge for a win.I think next year we’ll be wanting to be all top five in the championship type stuff.THE MODERATOR: We’ll open it up for questions. Q. What were your overall thoughts on the racing product? Would you want to come back here?WILL POWER: Definitely want to come back here. CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Yeah, I don’t think there is any complaints. Q. Do you want to come back?CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Absolutely. WILL POWER: Amazing event. CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I just got to do it one better. He’s got to do it two better. WILL POWER: Amazing backdrop. Q. At what point today did the moment or the magnitude of this spectacle hit you?WILL POWER: Probably when we jumped in the truck and drove around. You see the pageantry. Had a very Indy 500 vibe. CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: It’s actually funny, we were in the back of the truck and we were talking about it. I feel like this is a good contender to the Indy 500. I think overall this is just a testament to where the series is going. I think Milwaukee to some extent is going to feel a little boring next week. Just so different. Obviously it’s a different type of track, it’s a different event. Nothing’s like DC. But I think we did very well for the first time..Q. A lot was made about the length of the race, the strength it would take. Did it feel as long as they made it out to be? WILL POWER: I loved it, man. I just love endurance stuff. Wasn’t a problem for me. CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Your cars are good, too. First, third and fourth. I feel like you guys’ cars are pretty good. WILL POWER: We were just cruising, man. CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Must be nice. Must be nice (smiling). WILL POWER: Fingertip driving. Q. We talked about how bumpy the track was. Was the track better? Not too many yellows because of the bumps. CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I mean, it still is bumpy. Still is bumpy. WILL POWER: The tough bumps is like turn four, you’ve got to lock in. Just rips out of your hand. CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: A big bump in turn four. I feel like most of the bumps are either when you’re going straight or in the brake zones. It’s not so much really in the apex, except turn four, which is also the slowest corner on the track. WILL POWER: It would be power steering would be so nice. CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: No. Got to muscle it. WILL POWER: I don’t really care either way. I do enjoy that. |
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| CHEVROLET IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIESFreedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C.1.7-mile, 7-turn Washington, D.C. street circuitWashington, DCSunday Race ReportAugust 23, 2026 WASHINGTON (August 23, 2026) – After 250 hard-fought laps on the Streets of Washington, D.C., celebrating the United States 250th birthday, American brand Chevrolet with driver Christian Lundgaard in the No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet ended up on the second step of the podium. The second-place finish is Lundgaard’s sixth podium of the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season and his 12th with Arrow McLaren and Team Chevy. Nolan Siegel in the No. 6 NTT DATA Arrow McLaren Chevrolet started 18th and finished sixth, his best career finish and his fourth top 12 finish in the last five races. Josef Newgarden brought the No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet across the line in eighth place, his tenth top ten finish in the first 15 races of the season. Rookie Caio Collet, driving the No. 4 Combitrans Amazonia Chevrolet, was finally rewarded on a weekend he had pace, finishing in ninth place and closing the gap in the battle for Rookie of the Year. Kyle Kirkwood led 128 of 147 laps on the way to his second win of the season. Freedom 250 – Race Results: |
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| What they’re saying – Freedom 250 Christian Lundgaard, No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet finished 2nd:“Long day, long weekend. I’m very thankful for the No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren crew who’s done an amazing job all weekend, and really all year in general. I’m so happy we were able to execute here on the biggest stage in the United States and get the results and the hardware today. We’ll go again next week and the week after that.” Nolan Siegel, No. 6 NTT Data Arrow McLaren Chevrolet finished 6th:“Long and hot day. P6, our best finish of the season, so I’m very, very proud of everyone on the 6 car. It was a pleasure to drive all weekend and what a place to do it. It was such a cool event. It absolutely set the standard for IndyCar. I’ve just been having a blast all weekend. It feels really good to put a good result on the board and to to do it here in the nation’s capital is so special. It’s an honor to be here and an honor to drive this car, and I’m looking forward to finishing the season strong.”Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet finished 8th:You’ve got to give a lot of credit to everybody. Fox has given us such great coverage. This entire year, you guys have done a great job. Penske Entertainment really did a phenomenal job getting this off the ground. This is not easy to do and it’s the coolest backdrop, I think we’ve had in sports. Really. It really felt like the Indianapolis 500 here today, which is so unique. We don’t have that anywhere else in in the United States. I know we all really enjoyed it and maybe we’ll come back. I would love to have another shot. Today in the Astemo Chevy, you know, I’ve not been in the best shape this year. But, if we come back, that would be amazing. But if not, we’ll treasure this. This moment that we had was really cool. Caio Collet, No. 4 Combitrans Amazonia Chevrolet finished 9th:“So yeah, a really positive day. I think the weekend overall was really positive. The team they did a really, really good job giving me a competitive car all weekend long. And today we had the first clean race of the year from start to finish. I kept myself out of trouble. I attacked when I need needed to, and also just defended and let some people go when I had to, I think it was a clean race from start to finish. The team did a really good job on the pit strategy as well. We were inside the top 10, fighting for a top 10 finish, and in the end we came away home with P9. So extremely happy with the result. Hopefully, we can keep the momentum going through the last three races of the year. A big thanks to AJ Foyt Racing, and Combitrans Chevrolet for all the help, and hopefully we can keep the momentum going.” Alexander Rossi, No. 20 ECR Java House Chevrolet finished 12th:“What an honor it was to compete in this race. Everyone involved in the Freedom 250 did an amazing job and deserve a tremendous amount of credit. We didn’t get the finish we were aiming for today, but I’m proud of the effort ECR put in and I am looking forward to the doubleheader in Milwaukee next weekend.”Christian Rasmussen, No. 21 Splenda Stevia Chevrolet finished 14th:“We got all we could out of it today! We were having a strong run and were very competitive until we got hit and spun. I appreciate the work the Splenda Stevia boys did to get me back in the race and we were able to pass everyone that we could. We are ready to go back to Milwaukee now and defend our win!” Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet finished 16th:“A struggle in the race today. Just a really tough time trying to keep up with the race pace. We had to make additional stops because we had an issue fueling the car for some reason. We’re going to work to figure out what happened, and then go to Milwaukee and try to have a strong weekend there.” Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet finished 21st:“Yeah, just the bad luck continues to rain down on us. We had an electronical gearbox issue. Unfortunately, I think it hurt something in the gearbox, and you know you have to run the rest of the race out to try and pick up positions when people wreck. It’s just a nightmare to not be in the way, and the car not wanting to downshift or upshift correctly. So yeah, so it’s just all-in-all horrible weekend. So on to the oval.” Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet finished 22nd:“I felt my tires were pretty solid on the warm-up lap and I was like, I’m going to have a crack here, and misjudged how loose it was down the inside there. It was one of those chances. Kyle has been quick all weekend, and I just want to get some track position. Basically, just lost it. Locked the rears and away she went. Sucks for my PPG Chevy team, I thought we did a really good job all day. I feel for them. I went for it, and sometimes that what happens.” Rinus VeeKay, No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Chevrolet finished 23rd:“We had a really good race going and we were looking strong. We moved forward pretty quickly and the car was good – the pace was there and the strategy was working well. We got up to the lead briefly and then everything started to go wrong.“The next lap Armstrong hit Rasmussen and he came into me. There was nowhere I could go and that was it. It’s a shame because we’d made a lot of progress and there was a good result there for us. This has been an incredible event and a great job by the team, so it’s a really frustrating way to end the weekend.” David Malukas, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet finished 24th:“Yes, all good. Obviously, first, I want to apologize, Stingray (Robb), there was nothing you can really do there. It was just me. I just want to apologize to the teams, the sponsors, everybody. Obviously, big race here, but I don’t really know what’s been going on with me. Just in a bad run of form here in the past few races. So, need to get back to work, and figure out what’s going on, if it’s mentally, if it’s physically, I don’t really know, but I got to work on myself here. Got a few more races to finish off the season, and, have to make sure I can put myself back on form.” Sting Ray Robb, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger – Goodheart Chevrolet finished 25th:“Really unfortunate day. We were making progress, made up a couple of spots early and I felt like we were starting to get into our race. Then Malukas crashed right in front of me and I had nowhere to go. I was already there on the racing line.“Obviously, a really disappointing way to end the race, especially at an event like this. It’s been really cool to be here racing in Washington and, as an American, definitely something pretty special to be part of. Just wish we could have stayed in it and seen what we could do. My thanks to the No. 77 crew – really great work all weekend.” |
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| Up next The last weekend of August includes the NTT INDYCAR SERIES’ second visit to Wisconsin, this time to a historic track in West Allis, Wisconsin, for a doubleheader on August 29 and August 30. The Milwaukee Mile oval will play host to a race on Saturday at 2:30 pm (ET) and Sunday at 1 pm (ET) on FOX. |
| NTT INDYCAR SERIES News ConferenceSunday, August 23, 2026Christian LundgaardWill PowerPress Conference THE MODERATOR: We’re joined by Christian Lundgaard and Will Power, second- and third-place drivers in today’s race. Christian, what was it like trying to reel in Kyle a little bit? CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Yeah, I feel like I had just a couple of laps where I was faster than him, and then I know the 12 laps where he was faster than me, so… Yeah, what an experience all weekend. The best background I’ve ever had on a racetrack obviously. Just being a part of it, seeing where the series is going, being a part of it.Obviously the race was long. I think we got a better result than we expected. We got three more races to go. I think I’m just happy to see Alex not win for once (smiling). I hear you all laughing, so you agree with me, which is great. THE MODERATOR: You just won the room with that. CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Obviously Kyle and I were second and fourth in the championship going into this weekend. Alex and David had some unfortunate luck out there. But those are the days that we need to not have for the rest of the season.I’m definitely pushing for that second. Kyle made that a little tougher for me today. THE MODERATOR: Third straight podium of the season, Will. Another sign that Andretti Global is coming together at the right time for you. Your thoughts on the day?WILL POWER: Yeah, that first yellow kind of hurt us. Man, even at that point you have so many laps to go, you’re still over a hundred laps to go, we can certainly make a lot work from here. I saved a lot of fuel. I probably would have gone three laps longer than the guys around me.Yeah, a lot of on-track passes, to be honest, to move up. Good strategy. Good stops. It’s just becoming normal for us to do this. We’re starting to eliminate all the weaknesses and be strong everywhere and have a chance to win everywhere.Team’s made huge progression over this season, and you can see it now. It’s all coming online. I think the expectation now every weekend is to be on the podium, challenge for a win.I think next year we’ll be wanting to be all top five in the championship type stuff.THE MODERATOR: We’ll open it up for questions. Q. What were your overall thoughts on the racing product? Would you want to come back here?WILL POWER: Definitely want to come back here. CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Yeah, I don’t think there is any complaints. Q. Do you want to come back?CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Absolutely. WILL POWER: Amazing event. CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I just got to do it one better. He’s got to do it two better. WILL POWER: Amazing backdrop. Q. At what point today did the moment or the magnitude of this spectacle hit you?WILL POWER: Probably when we jumped in the truck and drove around. You see the pageantry. Had a very Indy 500 vibe. CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: It’s actually funny, we were in the back of the truck and we were talking about it. I feel like this is a good contender to the Indy 500. I think overall this is just a testament to where the series is going. I think Milwaukee to some extent is going to feel a little boring next week. Just so different. Obviously it’s a different type of track, it’s a different event. Nothing’s like DC. But I think we did very well for the first time..Q. A lot was made about the length of the race, the strength it would take. Did it feel as long as they made it out to be? WILL POWER: I loved it, man. I just love endurance stuff. Wasn’t a problem for me. CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Your cars are good, too. First, third and fourth. I feel like you guys’ cars are pretty good. WILL POWER: We were just cruising, man. CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Must be nice. Must be nice (smiling). WILL POWER: Fingertip driving. Q. We talked about how bumpy the track was. Was the track better? Not too many yellows because of the bumps. CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I mean, it still is bumpy. Still is bumpy. WILL POWER: The tough bumps is like turn four, you’ve got to lock in. Just rips out of your hand. CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: A big bump in turn four. I feel like most of the bumps are either when you’re going straight or in the brake zones. It’s not so much really in the apex, except turn four, which is also the slowest corner on the track. WILL POWER: It would be power steering would be so nice. CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: No. Got to muscle it. WILL POWER: I don’t really care either way. I do enjoy that. |
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