Donald Trump took center stage as he attended the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, the IndyCar spectacular that he created, on Sunday. 

The President was joined by First Lady Melania as the ceremonial sporting events to celebrate the United States’ 250th anniversary continued in Washington, DC. 

The NTT IndyCar Series took to the streets of the capital in one of its most unique events as the Freedom 250 Grand Prix loops around Pennsylvania Avenue and Washington DC’s landmark national monuments on Sunday afternoon. 

The 1.7-mile track wove past several iconic landmarks in the nation’s capital, including the National Mall, the Washington Monument and the US Capitol Building. 

And President Trump, who created the Freedom 250 Grand Prix by executive order as part of the United States anniversary commemoration, will be taking to the historic track himself. 

Arriving at the start line in a limousine, Trump greeted the lineup of drivers, IndyCar staff members and Roger Penske, who waited on the pit road. 

The President’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., and his wife Bettina were also seen arriving for the 147-lap event, headlining the host of MAGA stars in attendance. 

Trump was then granted the honor of performing a ceremonial lap in his armored limousine known as ‘The Beast’ and wave the green flag to launch Sunday’s race. 

Donald Trump took center stage as he attended the Freedom 250 Grand Prix on Sunday

The NTT IndyCar Series took to the streets of DC for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix

He will have a prime seat to watch the spectacle as open-wheel cars race in the shadow of iconic landmarks at speeds up to 185 mph. 

The pre-race celebrations were opened with a flyover by the US Army Chinooks, Black Hawks and Apache helicopters. 

Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President of the FIA said: ‘The Freedom 250 INDYCAR race pairs 250 years of American achievement with a sport that embodies speed, ingenuity and the freedom of the open road. 

‘This is a landmark event, and it is an honour for the FIA to be a part of it. Congratulations to President Trump, the U.S. Government, INDYCAR, our Member Club ACCUS, and all involved on making this vision a reality.’

The Trump administration previously hosted a showcase event outside the White House in July to promote the race, which featured drivers Alex Palou, Felix Rosenqvist and David Malukas, alongside a live pit stop demonstration in front of the West Wing.

Back in January, Trump held an event in the Oval Office alongside Roger Penske, a racing great who chairs the Penske Corporation, and signed an executive order to get the race in place.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who was in the Oval alongside his Fox News host wife Rachel Campos-Duffy, said the president had tasked him to ‘think outside the box’ and do something ‘historic and cool.’

Duffy didn’t realize that Penske’s company was already trying to get Washington, DC to host a race, which is now being dubbed the Freedom 250 Grand Prix.

The pre-race celebrations were opened with a flyover by the US Army Chinooks, Black Hawks and Apache helicopters

US Army’s ‘Pershing Own’ Band performs on the track ahead of the race

‘But to think, 190 miles per hour down Pennsylvania Avenue, this is going to be wild,’ Duffy said.

The Transportation Secretary noted how the last race hosted in the streets of Washington was in 1801, when President Thomas Jefferson hosted a horse race.

‘And they’re going to put up something that’s really amazing,’ Trump gushed. ‘It’s really having to do with our great 250th birthday. We’re having so many wonderful things.’

It’s not the first time Trump has put himself front and center at sporting events to celebrate the United States’ semiquincentennial. 

The UFC took over the South Lawn on June 14 for an astonishing event that saw Trump perform his own walkout from the Oval Office before taking his seat cageside. 

He also attended the final day of the Patriot Games, the high school athletic competition that he created as part of the United States’ 250th anniversary celebrations, in Geneva, Ohio. 

The event brought together 120 teen athletes from ages 14 to 17 with one male and one female athlete representing each US state, plus participants from territories and tribal nations with $250,000 in scholarship money on the line. 

Trump in his second term has increasingly seemed to focus on relishing the presidency’s ceremonial aspects. 

That’s included a healthy dose of visits to sporting events – including an appearance last month at the World Cup final, where he presented the trophy to winner Spain and lingered onstage with the team as its members jumped in a hail of confetti.