A Pit Stop at the Lincoln Memorial?

By Ed Epstein

Washington, D.C.

Friday, January 23, 2026

The Trump administration wants to hold an IndyCar race this summer on the National Mall, including around the Lincoln Memorial, but the idea faces opposition from congressional Democrats, according to reports.

Punchbowl News, a daily newsletter that covers Congress in detail, reported this morning that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has told congressional leaders the plan calls for a race on Friday, August 21. The racecourse would begin outside the Supreme Court and make its way around a full circuit of streets along the National Mall, including the Lincoln Memorial at the west end. The area for pit stops during the race would be on streets around the Reflecting Pool, which stretches for blocks from the base of the Lincoln Memorial east to the World War II Memorial.

Commercial advertising is banned on the mall, and Indy cars are plastered with ads that help pay for the expensive vehicles, drivers, and crews. Congress would have to pass an exception to the ban for the race, and Punchbowl reports that's where the Democrats—in the minority in the House and Senate—come in.

They appear cool to voting for an exception, saying that the U.S. Capitol Police, the National Park Service, and other federal resources in the capital city are already stretched thin. Democrats are also not in the mood generally to help the Trump administration. The article didn't mention if anyone in Congress thinks it would not be appropriate to hold a massive car race around some of the nation's most sacred memorials.

Setup for the race would disrupt normal activities along the mall for some time before the race.

President Donald Trump has floated the idea of building a huge memorial arch on the west end of Arlington Memorial Bridge, the span that runs from Arlington National Cemetery across the Potomac River to the Lincoln Memorial.

If the race comes about, Washington will join the ranks of American cities that have hosted road races. Chicago allowed NASCAR to hold a race around its lakefront Grant Park from 2023 to 2025. No race is scheduled for 2026, although organizers say they want to return in 2027.

Long Beach, California, has hosted a Grand Prix race on its downtown streets since the 1970s.

Photo from the National Park Service