Photo: Alamy
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday establishing a once-in-a-lifetime event on the National Mall to celebrate America’s upcoming 250th birthday: street racing.
“I have some incredible people, and this is a very exciting thing that we’re doing…it’s having to do with our great 250th birthday,” the president said during a special signing ceremony at the Oval Office.
He continued, “We’re ‘Celebrating Greatness with American Motor Racing.’ That’s going to be the name of the event, it’s going to take place on August 21 through the 23.”
According to the White House, it will be the first-ever INDYCAR street race in the nation’s capital and will be held near the National Mall.
The Secretary of the Interior (Doug Burgum) and the Secretary of Transportation (Sean Duffy) have been directed in this order to issue all necessary permits and approvals “as expeditiously as possible to plan, prepare for, and conduct the race.”
Secretary Duffy spoke on Friday about the vision for the event.
“The president gave us all a directive, which I’m grateful for. We’re going to celebrate America’s 250th birthday, and he asked all of us to think outside the box,” he said. “…To think, 190 miles per hour down Pennsylvania Avenue. This is going to be wild!”
Secretary Duffy said that the last time there was a “race” in D.C. was in 1801. It was a horse race.
“There’s a lot of work that goes into this, as you can tell,” Duffy continued. “…We couldn’t be more excited about this…this is free for the American people, to come to your nation’s capital and see a great road race. Freedom, America, speed, and road racing. It doesn’t get more American than that, Mr. President.”
President Trump said that the concept of such a race has been a dream of many “for years,” but noted that others had failed to bring the idea to life. “They don’t get things done,” he remarked. “Trump gets things done.”
