The race to turn D.C. into an IndyCar track
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Bud Denker is the face of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Bud Denker is like The Wolf from "Pulp Fiction," but instead of cleaning up crime scenes, he builds race tracks.
Why it matters: It typically takes two and a half years to stage a race through city streets. For the Freedom 250 Grand Prix on the National Mall, Denker had seven months.
🏎️ Behind the scenes: To bring IndyCar onto D.C. streets lined with museums and monuments, the race chairman had to become a Washington insider.
- Denker's original plan charted a race course around the Capitol building. That would've required congressional approval.
- Denker couldn't secure the votes, but Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told him the race was still alive — if he could move the track.
- President Trump issued an executive order on Jan. 30 instructing federal agencies to make the grand prix a reality. It's set for Aug. 22-23.
🔧 Zoom in: Politics was only the beginning. Denker has to worry about every inch of the course.
🚘 Denker, whose day job is being the president of Penske Corporation, brought a red Corvette to town to get a street-level view in a low-sitting car.
🕳️ Manhole covers are his nemesis. They have to be welded shut because the downforce from race cars will hoover them up.
- Some will be covered in silicon to smooth out bumps.
- Denker says D.C.'s asphalt can withstand high temperatures — perfect for IndyCar.
- Another plus: Pennsylvania Avenue gets repaved every four years for inauguration.
📏 IndyCar needs streets that are at least 40 feet wide.
- Denker can list the width of Pennsylvania Avenue (92 feet), Independence Avenue (82 feet) and 7th Street (78 feet) off the top of his head.
- "I know every single one of the dimensions of your streets. I measured them myself," he says.
🗒️ Including federal and D.C. regulations, Denker says the weekend of racing required 1,300 pages of permits.
- Freedom 250 Grand Prix contracted with events management company Harbinger to help file them all.
- "Many places, I ask for forgiveness afterward," Denker says. "You can't ask for forgiveness here. You have to ask for permission ahead of time."
🥩 It's not only the roads. Denker also wants to avoid disruptions to businesses around the course.
- The Capital Grille will be impacted, but Denker says he's carving out a lane so guests can get in.
- Smithsonian museums and federal buildings within the viewing area will act as relief centers from summer heat or any other emergencies.
🏰 The best view of the race is from the Federal Trade Commission at the corner of 6th St. NW and Constitution Avenue.
- From the third-floor terrace, FTC chairman Andrew Ferguson and his guests will be able to see the pit lane, the paddock where cars are kept and the straightaway on Pennsylvania Avenue.
- Spotters will be perched on the roof to radio road advice to their drivers.
- The race control room will be inside the FTC hearing room.
The intrigue: Denker won't reveal who gets the best seats.
- On a map he showed to Axios, there was a "VIP" box apart from the two buildings that hold 78 luxury suites and a club area.
🟩 Trump could be the one waving the green flag to start the race, Denker says.
By the numbers: The majority of the 280,000 people attending reserved free tickets.
- But club tickets cost $5,000 per person — and suites much more.
- The Indiana Economic Development Corporation has a $250,000 contract with D.C. Grand Prix Inc. for a 40-person suite that will host Indiana Gov. Mike Braun.
- Denker expects to host some lawmakers who "probably weren't going to sign the bill" for a race.
"A few of them, I wanted to say, 'Go to Ticketmaster,'" he joked. "But they're all welcome."