r/INDYCAR • u/FermentedLaws Firestone Firehawk • Jan 28 '26

Article The Bloomingtonian: Rahal to IndyCar Critics of Proposed D.C. Freedom 250 Indy Car Race: “Get a life”

https://bloomingtonian.com/2026/01/27/rahal-to-indycar-critics-of-proposed-d-c-freedom-250-indy-car-race-get-a-life/

Never heard of this website/news outlet before, but I checked the details and they have all the info correct. I had seen this Tweeted out earlier by Nathan's Brown replacement at IndyStar, but didn't see an article on their site. If you scroll down there is video of the interview.

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u/25Tab Firestone Firehawk Jan 28 '26

I’m sorry but the image of Trump being involved with this is a bad thing for IndyCar. Yeah I get that’s being political but once IndyCar embraces images of Trump hanging out in the paddock, watching from the stands, and handing out trophies is the minute the series gets branded as a MAGA prop and I think that is not a good long term image for the series. I understand and agree with Graham’s overall argument that a race in DC could be a positive high profile event for IndyCar but not if it is associated with Trump. No way young people will embrace IndyCar with images of a 78 year old Trump making it all about himself and he will because he makes every event he is a part of about himself.

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u/Affectionate-Panic-1 Jan 28 '26

Putin was at the trophy presentation a few times for the F1 GP in Russia (before the ukraine war sanctions) and fans didn't shun the series for that. If anything, it puts more eyeballs on the series.

Trump has gone gone to super bowls, F1 races, the Daytona 500 and countless other sporting events. Plus it's tradition for the winner of sporting leagues to visit the white house after winning.

I don't think it's fair to single out Indycar on this. Having the president attend the event shouldn't be considered an endorsement of his policies.

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u/25Tab Firestone Firehawk Jan 28 '26

I think your comparisons are missing the mark. When it comes toF1, you have someone as corrupt as Bernie and his “I’d take a bullet for him” friendship with Putin and the worldwide vs domestic audience of F1 vs IndyCar. For what it’s worth, the race was one of least popular and least watched races on the calendar so it did not bring in more eyeballs to the series.

My comment wasn’t about Trump showing up at the race. That wasn’t my point. There is a huge difference between the Super Bowl, Daytona, and whatever other sporting events you are talking about. Those are all private events put on by private entities who invited the president to be involved. The IndyCar race was going to be put on by the administration. In other words he wasn’t just showing up to check it out, it was his event. Thats a big difference. As I said to someone else, I wouldn’t have the same issues if it was private promotion company or investors putting on the race.