Trump caps summer of US 250th birthday with auto race through Washington

WASHINGTON, Aug 23 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump will cap the celebration of the U.S. 250th anniversary with a first-of-its-kind auto race through the streets of Washington, closing a summer defined by sports and spectacle as drivers speed past some of the capital's most iconic landmarks.

IndyCar’s Freedom 250 Grand Prix will zoom through the National Mall, past the U.S. Capitol, down historic Pennsylvania Avenue and around the National Archives, with the marquee event on Sunday afternoon. The race is expected to draw roughly 200,000 spectators, officials said, and tickets are free. Passes to private trackside clubs sold for $5,000.

Trump's motorcade will take an honorary loop around the racetrack, and he's set to wave the green flag to start the 250-mile (402-km) race.

"I don't know if anything will ever top what we're going to be having," Trump said in July, as drivers visited the White House to celebrate the start of track construction.

The race is the latest in a series of sporting events Trump has used to celebrate the country and his second term.

He opened the summer with a professional mixed martial arts bout on the South Lawn of the White House, then presented the championship trophy to FIFA World Cup champion Spain a month later.

Earlier in August, he appeared at the “Patriot Games,” a cross between a game show and track meet for high school athletes, televised on sports network ESPN.

For Trump, the events have served to raise his profile, both domestically and globally. The UFC fight card was streamed internationally, and during the World Cup trophy presentation, he lingered at mid-pitch while the Spanish team hoisted the trophy into the air – in front of a global TV audience that likely eclipsed 1 billion viewers.

The Washington race has faced its share of criticism. The track was originally set to run through the grounds of the U.S. Capitol, but the proposal required lawmakers' approval and stalled in Congress. Advertising is prohibited on Capitol grounds, and the race cars, with their dozens of corporate sponsors, along with trackside billboards, would have run afoul of those regulations.

Trump instead issued an executive order commanding Transportation Department officials to draw up a course that did not require congressional signoff.

"When you think about America 250, you also think about cars, and when you think about cars, you do think about freedom," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at the White House event with Trump.

Race officials said the city's roads will not need much refurbishment before or after the race, in which drivers are expected to reach 185 miles per hour on the Pennsylvania Avenue straightaway.

The event has dozens of corporate sponsors, including major companies such as Boeing (BA.N), SpaceX's (SPCX.O) Starlink and Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) that will be sponsoring an IndyCar race for the first time, Bud Denker, the Grand Prix's chair and president of Penske Corp., said on Thursday.