The IndyCar Freedom 250 race had plenty of eyes on it.
FOX Sports activities issued a press launch on Tuesday, Aug. 25 saying that 3.282 million followers tuned into the one-off race, which was held in a rectangular-circuit via Washington, D.C. The beginning/end line was in entrance of the U.S. Capitol and a stretch of the monitor went down Pennsylvania Avenue.
Commercial
Since Sunday’s competitors was the primary, and solely, version of the race, there aren’t any direct viewership scores to match. However FOX mentioned that this quantity is the most-watched non-Indy 500 IndyCar race since 2008 when open-wheel racing in the US was united in a merger between Indy Racing League and Champ Automotive.
1 / 8
See hanging images from DC grand prix celebrating America’s 250th
A inexperienced flag is waved earlier than the beginning of the NTT INDYCAR Collection on Aug.23, 2026 in Washington, DC. U.S. President Donald Trump established the Freedom 250 Grand Prix weekend as a part of the yearlong celebration of America’s 250th anniversary.
(Finn Gomez, Getty Pictures)
1 / 8
See hanging images from DC grand prix celebrating America’s 250th
A inexperienced flag is waved earlier than the beginning of the NTT INDYCAR Collection on Aug.23, 2026 in Washington, DC. U.S. President Donald Trump established the Freedom 250 Grand Prix weekend as a part of the yearlong celebration of America’s 250th anniversary.
(Finn Gomez, Getty Pictures)
2 / 8
See hanging images from DC grand prix celebrating America’s 250th
Graham Rahal, driver of the #15 Gaylor Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda is prepped forward of the NTT INDYCAR Collection on Aug.23, 2026 in Washington, DC. U.S. President Donald Trump established the Freedom 250 Grand Prix weekend as a part of the yearlong celebration of America’s 250th anniversary.
(Eric Lee, Getty Pictures)
3 / 8
See hanging images from DC grand prix celebrating America’s 250th
Marcus Ericsson, driver of the #28 Acura Andretti World Honda drives by followers earlier than the beginning of the NTT INDYCAR Collection on Aug. 23, 2026 in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump established the Freedom 250 Grand Prix weekend as a part of the yearlong celebration of America’s 250th anniversary.
(Eric Lee, Getty Pictures)
4 / 8
See hanging images from DC grand prix celebrating America’s 250th
The Trump Aircraft flies previous the Washington Monument earlier than the beginning of the NTT INDYCAR Collection on Aug. 23, 2026 in Washington, DC. U.S. President Donald Trump established the Freedom 250 Grand Prix weekend as a part of the yearlong celebration of America’s 250th anniversary.
(Mike Kropf, Getty Pictures)
5 / 8
See hanging images from DC grand prix celebrating America’s 250th
Racing automotive groups work on their autos as they prepare for a follow spherical earlier than the NTT Indycar Collection Freedom 250 Grand Prix in Washington, DC, on Aug. 23, 2025. The Freedom 250 Grand Prix is a part of celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of US independence. The race will cowl 147 laps of a 1.7-mile, seven-turn avenue circuit across the Nationwide Mall, passing landmarks together with the US Capitol and Washington Monument.
(ROBERTO SCHMIDT, AFP through Getty Pictures)
6 / 8
See hanging images from DC grand prix celebrating America’s 250th
Championship factors chief Spanish racer Alex Palou climbs on his automobile earlier than a follow spherical for the NTT Indycar Collection race within the Freedom 250 Grand Prix in Washington, DC, on Aug. 23, 2026. The Freedom 250 Grand Prix is a part of celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of US independence. The race will cowl 147 laps of a 1.7-mile, seven-turn avenue circuit across the Nationwide Mall, passing landmarks together with the US Capitol and Washington Monument.
(ROBERTO SCHMIDT, AFP through Getty Pictures)
7 / 8
See hanging images from DC grand prix celebrating America’s 250th
A fan paints on an indication as they make there manner via the fan zone earlier than the beginning of the NTT INDYCAR Collection on August 23, 2026 in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump established the Freedom 250 Grand Prix weekend as a part of the yearlong celebration of America’s 250th anniversary.
(Mike Kropf, Getty Pictures)
8 / 8
See hanging images from DC grand prix celebrating America’s 250th
Marcus Armstrong, driver of the #66 Meyer Shank w/Curb-Agajanian Honda on the monitor forward of the NTT INDYCAR Collection on Aug. 23, 2026 in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump established the Freedom 250 Grand Prix weekend as a part of the yearlong celebration of America’s 250th anniversary.
(Finn Gomez, Getty Pictures)
This 12 months’s Indy 500 had an viewers of 6.635 million viewers, a 6% lower from 2025, FOX’s first season as IndyCar’s broadcast companion. This 12 months’s Grand Prix at Highway America beforehand was the most-watched race moreover the Indy 500 with an viewers of 1.803 million.
The community added that the viewers for the Freedom 250 was a 279% improve from the common Sunday viewership of an IndyCar (non-Indy 500) race in the course of the 2025 season.
FOX utilized 90 cameras in its broadcast, together with inserting one on prime of the Washington Monument. The competitors, which Kyle Kirkwood gained, was a part of the festivities for the 250th birthday of the US.
Commercial
FOX additionally broke data this summer season for the World Cup. The ultimate match, through which Spain beat Argentina for its second males’s title, noticed a median viewers of 38,937,000 viewers, making it the most-watched soccer match in United States historical past. The semifinal match between Lionel Messi’s Argentina and England was the most-watched semifinal fixture within the event’s historical past.
In different motorsports tv scores information, System 1’s viewership has declined this season in U.S. family attain since switching from ESPN to Apple TV.