Kyle Kirkwood delivered a dominant performance at the inaugural Freedom 250 in Washington DC, leading 128 laps on his way to one of the biggest victories of his IndyCar career. The Andretti Global driver bounced back emphatically from a crash in Markham the previous weekend, putting together a near-perfect race around the brand-new street circuit.
For Kirkwood, however, the significance of the win went far beyond simply adding another victory to his IndyCar tally. As an American driver winning what could be considered his most special home race, the magnitude of the event was clear from the moment he woke up on race day.
“Yeah, it was a great feeling to rebound after last weekend, to get here, to see all the fans, 100,000 people on both days is absolutely incredible. The whole place there’s people, rows of five in the pace laps, all the way around the track, 1.6 miles. Super cool to see.
“To be able to win in what will be considered probably my home race, right, being the Freedom 250 as an American, is something very special. I’ll cherish this moment for a very long time.”
A rebound for Kirkwood after recent mistakes
Kirkwood’s victory came just one week after a difficult weekend in which his own mistakes cost him. Rather than allowing that disappointment to carry into Washington, the Andretti driver admitted that it had the opposite effect.
The mistakes served as motivation, with Kirkwood believing the preparation he put into the race in Washington was greater than ever before.
“That was huge, right? After last weekend, my mistakes there, kind of flipped a switch where I was like these mistakes feel terrible. 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. I think those preparations paid off this weekend.”
That preparation was evident throughout the race. On a long and demanding street circuit, Kirkwood knew that simply having the pace would not be enough. After what happened the previous weekend, avoiding mistakes became one of the biggest priorities of his race.
He described the event as requiring something closer to an endurance racing mindset, particularly with the number of laps and opportunities for mistakes. The #27 also dealt with a lot of traffic on the day.
“I mean, we knew it was going to be a battle, right? You almost have to look at this race in every sense as a little 500 where it’s going to be so many stops. You just kind of want to be there at the end and give yourself a good shot. That was a lot of the mindset.
“It was keeping it off the walls, doing everything clean, hitting your marks, not making big mistakes.
“Everything off line was very slippery. Staying on lines, dotting Ts, dotting Is was a big part of today. We had the pace, the car, the crew. Everything was teed up for us. We just had to execute and not make any mistakes.”
A race of enormous significance
Washington was clearly a race that meant something different to Kirkwood. The event had been built around a major occasion in the American capital, with a huge crowd lining the new 1.6-mile street circuit.
For the Andretti driver, the energy of race day was something he had only previously experienced at one other event.
“This morning when I woke up, quite honestly. You know there’s an instinct that you have when you wake up and your heart is already racing. I only get that one other place, and that’s the Indy 500. Just that sensation, it gives it its own energy. That’s what this place had.
“This was a very special day. We were very prepared for it. Outside of the Indy 500, I don’t think there’s another race that you’d want to win.”
That comparison to the Indianapolis 500 showed just how seriously Kirkwood viewed the occasion. Later, he admitted that the Washington victory may even rank as the most satisfying win of his IndyCar career.
“Yeah, to your first question, this likely is the most satisfying win that I’ve had, just the magnitude of it. It’s huge. This one and my first are pretty similar.
“Also here, when you think about the magnitude, what this means, having this race here in DC, being the Freedom 250, as an American, it might top the first win for me.”
Andretti continue to build momentum
The victory also continued a strong run of form for Andretti Global, who have found themselves consistently at the front of the field in recent weeks. Kirkwood was joined by teammates Marcus Ericsson and Will Power near the front in Washington, with Andretti finishing first, third and fourth.
Team Principal Ron Ruzewski praised Kirkwood’s work ethic following the victory, while also highlighting the effort from across the organisation.
“It’s awesome. The momentum we’ve been carrying, Kyle, he did an awesome job today. He didn’t put a wheel wrong all day.
“To just echo his work ethic, I read a quote earlier that said that the ones who make it look easy put in the most work on their own. That’s exactly what he did this week.”
Kirkwood similarly credited the Andretti engineering group and the preparation behind the scenes for helping give the drivers a competitive car at every type of circuit this season.
“Yeah, I mean, it starts with, like he said, the engineering group. They have done a phenomenal job all this season, whether it’s street courses, road courses, ovals. We’ve elevated the game, our game, exponentially.
“Quite honestly they’ve given us the tools every single weekend to go fast. Those efforts, that growth that we’ve seen everywhere else, is showing exponentially on these circuits that are brand-new because we’re putting in that much more effort than maybe some of the others are.”
A moment Kirkwood will remember for a long time
Despite leading much of the race, Kirkwood admitted that keeping his emotions under control was not always easy. With the possibility of winning such a significant event in front of him, he had to continually remind himself to refocus.
“There’s times where it’s like a hundred laps in, I’m thinking about winning this race, right? I have to, like, block it out, try and be like refocus, reset. I just told myself to reset.”
Only on the final lap, with a comfortable lead, was Kirkwood finally able to begin taking in what was happening around him.
“If last weekend is any indicator, as soon as you lose a little bit of focus, small mistakes are very consequential. Did everything in my power to not let myself drift away in any sense.”
The views from inside the cockpit were also something Kirkwood said would stay with him, particularly the sight of fans packed around the circuit.
“The first one, which is the more serious one, is the fans that were here. I talked about this, touched on it a little bit. You don’t have that vibe anywhere else other than the Indy 500, when we get 330,000 people out there.
“There’s rows of people at every single fence. They’re all cheering you on during the parade laps. There’s so many views from today, it’s bouncing in my head.
“Seeing the bombers come over. Facing that wall after I did a burnout and failed miserably. Yeah, there’s a lot of views from today that are pretty special that I’ll take with me for a long time.”
For Kirkwood, the race in Washington was about far more than the 128 laps he led or the points gained in the championship. After a difficult previous weekend, he responded with a mistake-free drive at one of the biggest events on the calendar.
As the first winner of the inaugural race, he also has the distinction of knowing that, at least for now, his name will forever be attached to a historic new event in the nation’s capital.
