​WASHINGTON — Team Penske driver David Malukas walked into the president’s gift shop at the White House and saw President Donald Trump spraying a fellow IndyCar driver with cologne.As Trump sprayed 2025 Indy 500 winner Alex Palou, he turned to Malukas and jokingly said, “You need some of this.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“It wasn’t one spray either,” Felix Rosenqvist interjected as the three drivers shared a laugh while reflecting on their eventful day during the Freedom 250 Grand Prix reception featuring members of Trump’s cabinet and corporate sponsors at a commercial office building in Washington.That was one of their many “surreal” moments, as Malukas called it, during the Freedom 250 Grand Prix Showcase at the White House on Monday. Trump hosted the drivers along with Penske founder Roger Penske and Penske president Bud Denker.1 / 38WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 09: People gather for press conference for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington DC on the National Mall on March 09, 2026 in Washington, DC. The Freedom 250 Grand Prix street circuit will feature a 1.7 mile course with seven turns on the National Mall, later this summer. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)(Tasos Katopodis, Getty Images)The Freedom 250 Grand Prix will take place in Washington on Aug. 22 and 23. It will be the first motorsport event on the National Mall.“It will be an awesome display of American patriotism and raw horsepower and ingenuity. You’re going to see cars at the level that they’ve never been at before, with cars racing more than 190 miles per hour and even higher than that down Pennsylvania Avenue,” Trump said in front of a crowd of reporters and Eisenhower Executive Office building employees. “It wasn’t exactly designed for that but what (secretary of transportation) Sean Duffy has done with these incredible, brilliant people is amazing. It’s going to be a sight for the ages. It will be something special. It’ll be one of the most unforgettable racing events the world has ever seen.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement”And they’re going to go all around the National Mall at speeds — if we did that during the regular day, I think people would be put in jail perhaps for the rest of their lives. It wasn’t supposed to be that way, but it’s going to be beautiful. It’s going to be a beautiful thing to watch.”Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 30 to launch the race. Penske recognized the administration and said IndyCar is “fortunate to have the most important office in the world give us the green light and then the checkered flag to have this event in August.”1 / 6The official The official red, white and blue Freedom 250 Grand Prix IndyCar on the Freedom 250 Grand Prix course.(Courtesy IndyCar)The race is expected to have more than 100,000 attendees. Tickets for Freedom 250 are free and any proceeds will go to charity. Malukas, Palou and Rosenqvist agreed a race in the nation’s capital will expose the sport to peopl