The street race around the National Mall in the nation's capital averaged over 3.2 million viewers, a massive number for the open-wheel circuit. Hasan Akbas / Anadolu via Getty ImagesAug. 25, 2026 Updated 6:24 pm EDTAs it turns out, IndyCar holding a race on the streets around the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was a pretty good way to get attention for a motorsports series.Fox Sports on Tuesday reported a monster viewership number for Sunday’s Freedom 250 Grand Prix, with an average of 3.28 million viewers, marking the highest number for an IndyCar race other than the Indy 500 since the series was formed in 2008’s open-wheel unification.The viewership number nearly quadrupled the average for IndyCar’s Sunday non-Indy 500 races from last year (867,000) and represented a 364 percent boost compared to the comparable date on the calendar last year (708,000 viewers for the Fox portion of a race in Portland, Ore.).Take a drive on the Freedom Grand Prix 250 courseJeff GluckIt also allowed IndyCar the rarest of bragging rights on a non-Indy 500 weekend: The Freedom 250 Grand Prix drew more viewers than NASCAR’s Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (1.68 million viewers), and the two races even went partially head-to-head.The IndyCar number was so high that it outranked the viewership for all but four of this season’s NASCAR races, which typically dominate the American motorsports TV landscape (other than the Indy 500). Additionally, the Freedom 250 had more viewers than even the most-watched Formula 1 race ever in the United States (the 2024 Miami Grand Prix, which drew 3.1 million average viewers).Though the race reportedly cost IndyCar more than $35 million and required an executive order from President Trump to allow the series to take over the streets around landmarks such as the National Archives and Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, it certainly made a splash compared to a typical IndyCar race.Overall, IndyCar is averaging 1.875 million viewers through its first 15 races of the season, which is up 32 percent over last season at this point and is an increase of 70 percent over 2024, which was the last year before Fox took over the broadcasting rights.Fox Sports says the current number is the best start to an IndyCar season since the current open-wheel series formed in 2008 after the merger of the Indy Racing League (IRL) and Champ Car.