Fans travel to DC as Freedom 250 Grand Prix takes over the National Mall

WASHINGTON - High speeds are coming to the nation's capital this weekend as the Freedom 250 Grand Prix gets underway, bringing high-powered IndyCars to a city accustomed to 25 MPH speed limits.

The unprecedented event will feature IndyCars reaching speeds of roughly 180 MPH as they race along a 1.7-mile track set up around the National Mall.

District officials expect approximately 140,000 attendees each day for a race weekend unlike anything Washington, D.C., has hosted before.

Fans from across the country have traveled specifically for the event, including spectator Donavan Wadsworth, who traveled from Tennessee and admitted he never expected to visit D.C. for an IndyCar race.

Other visitors were caught by surprise while sightseeing, including Moyses Garay, who tried to visit the White House only to find his path blocked by the track setup. He ended up watching practice runs instead.

"They're loud, they're hitting the turns, they're skirting," Garay said. "I'm like, 'Whoa, these cars are serious.'"

Fox 5's Chad Ricardo got a first-hand look at the action during a ride along the circuit, reacting to the extreme speeds by noting, "That is far faster than I thought it was going."

Beyond the speed on the track, event organizers faced an unusually fast timeline behind the scenes. According to officials, a race of this magnitude typically requires about two years to plan, but this weekend's event was organized and put together in just eight months.