RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 23: Sting Kyle Kirkwood, driver of the #27 Sam's Club Honda celebrates with his crew after winning the NTT INDYCAR Series Freedom 250 on August 23, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) | Getty Images
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Kyle Kirkwood said Friday that he might need a few “miracles” to pull off a comeback in the IndyCar standings as he tries to chase down championship leader Alex Palou.
He might have gotten a few of those on the streets of Washington, D.C. on Sunday afternoon.
Starting second alongside the championship leader, Kirkwood stormed to the lead over Palou in the early going. Not only did the Andretti Global overcome both the fatigue of a 250-mile race and the field for the victory, but with Palou suffering a brutal day, Kirkwood chipped away at the Chip Ganassi driver’s lead in the standings. When dawn broke Sunday morning, Palou enjoyed a 133-point lead over Kirkwood in the title race.
As afternoon gives way to evening here in Washington, D.C., that lead is down to 91 points, with Kirkwood clawing back a whopping 42 points thanks to today’s results.
Kirkwood took the lead from Palou on the opening lap, with this move on the outside as the grid rocketed down Pennsylvania Avenue:
POV: Kyle Kirkwood takes the lead on the opening lap! 👏 pic.twitter.com/4yliuqNT9Y
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) August 23, 2026
Several laps later, the problems began for Palou. First the driver was hit with a drive-through penalty, which dropped him down the pecking order:
DRIVE-THROUGH PENALTY FOR ALEX PALOU 🫢 The No. 10 served the penalty on the Lap 43 restart. pic.twitter.com/4FX40Z9TJ3
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) August 23, 2026
Up next was a slow pit stop, as the crew failed to secure the front-left soft tire to Palou’s No. 10 car:
Issues are compounding for Alex Palou 😧 pic.twitter.com/i7qvEueF1W
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) August 23, 2026
Then finally, a spin for Palou on Lap 122, as he hits the wall at Turn 5:
ALEX PALOU SPINS IN TURN 5 😬 The No. 10 has front wing damage on Lap 122. pic.twitter.com/DVvPVTEnYy
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) August 23, 2026
Out front, Kirkwood had to navigate several restarts to hold onto the lead. The biggest threat came from Scott McLaughlin on a restart late in the race, when McLaughlin took the lead for a split second. Kirkwood moved wide to defend, giving McLaughlin some space on the inside, but the Team Penske driver could not stick the overtake, and he caught the wall instead:
THE RISK DOESN'T PAY OFF 🫣 Scott McLaughlin is out of the race after wall contact in Turn 1. pic.twitter.com/UJGJUAKvTH
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) August 23, 2026
That left Kirkwood with one more restart to navigate, and while he held onto the lead, Christian Lundgaard behind him began to slowly chip away at the Andretti driver’s advantage. But Kirkwood was able to find the rhythm over the closing laps, pulling away from his Arrow McLaren rival to claim the win in the inaugural — and perhaps only — Freedom 250.
Which touched off a huge celebration on the D.C. streets, one that even included a bald eagle:
It doesn't get more American than having a bald eagle attend your podium ceremony 🦅🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/19OgvGBgh2
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) August 23, 2026
Lundgaard, Will Power, Marcus Ericsson, and Kyffin Simpson filled out the top five finishers.
Speaking in the press conference after the race Kirkwood told the media, including SB Nation, that his crash in Markham a week ago helped pave the way for his success today at the Freedom 250.
“I mean that was huge. After last weekend … I feel like this week I worked harder than I ever have in preparation for this event,” said Kirkwood. “To be able to win in what will probably be considered my home race … is something very special, and something I will cherish for a very long time.”
Kirkwood led 128 of the 147 laps at the Freedom 250, lending even more credence to the “King of the Streets” moniker. That set a new IndyCar record for the most laps led by a driver at a single street course race.
The Andretti Global driver elaborated on his preparation moments later during the post-race press conference, giving credit to the engineering group.
“It starts with the engineering group. They have done a phenomenal job all this season, whether it’s street courses, it’s road courses, it’s ovals … it starts with them,” began Kirkwood. “Quite honestly they’ve given us the tools every single weekend to go fast.
As for Lundgaard, he moved up to third in the standings with his P2 finish, overtaking David Malukas who crashed out of the race in the early going.
“I feel like I had just a couple of laps where I was faster than [Kirkwood] and then another 12 laps where he was faster than me,” said Lundgaard. “I think we got a better result than we expected … I’m just happy to see Alex not win for once.”
That last bit sparked a great deal of laughter in the press conference room here in Washington, D.C.
Both Power and Lundgaard said during the press conference that they wanted the series to return to Washington, D.C., and that the racing lived up to the spectacle.
“It was everything you’d want,” said Power.
“I feel like this is a good contender to the Indy 500,” added Lundgaard. “I think overall this is just a testament to where the series is going.
“Nothing’s like D.C., I think we did very well for our first time.”
Kirkwood had something of a different view.
“No, I never want to come back here because I’ll be the only winner of this thing,” joked Kirkwood.
But then he talked about how important it was to win this race, and what it meant to him.
“There’s an instinct that you have when you wake up and your heart’s already racing,” said Kirkwood. “There’s only one other place where that happens, and that’s the Indianapolis 500 … outside of the Indy 500 I don’t think there’s another race you want to win.”
Kirkwood and the rest of the gri...
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