​IndyCar made a pit stop at the White House this week.Detroit auto giants Roger Penske and General Motors President Mark Reuss joined Indy 500 winner Felix Rosenqvist, Indy 500 runner-up David Malukas, and reigning IndyCar champion Alex Palou at the White House to give the nation’s capital a preview of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix coming next month to DC’s streets.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe motorsports event follows June’s UFC Freedom 250 slugfest that showcased the world’s best ultimate fighters on the White House south lawn. Team Penske driver Malukas and his pit crew showed off their quick hands, too, with a tire-burning, 6.5-second pit stop in front of the West Wing.President Donald Trump, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Penske President Bud Denker, and Fox Sports CEO (and IndyCar broadcast partner) Eric Shanks looked on while White House staff cheered from the steps of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.Washington, DC – At the Freedom 250 Grand Prix West Wing preview, left to right: Felix Rosenqwist, Alex Palou, and Roger Penske give President Trump a racing helmt.“As we count down to the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, this will be like no other race,” said Trump, flanked by a pair of Chevrolet Corvette ZR1s from GM that will serve as pace cars for the event. “It’ll be one of the most unforgettable racing events the world has ever seen, and we have the most talented people. These (drivers) have a lot of courage.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Freedom 250 was hardly a foregone conclusion this summer as initial plans to run the race on Capitol Hill ran into congressional roadblocks.Denker recounted how a White House executive order broke the logjam by moving the race to city streets around the National Mall. The historic, one-time event has been a collaboration between Bloomfield Hills-based Penske Entertainment, which owns IndyCar, the federal government, and the D.C. mayor’s office to celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday.“Within 24 hours of this idea changing onto the city streets, we had an executive order in my inbox to review,” said Denker. “Four days later, I was in (the president’s) office here to sign it.”The event will be free to the public, a promise that brought a flood of interest.“Over 250,000 people signed up to come to this event, and we will be able to accommodate 100,000 each of the two days,” Penske said of the Aug. 22-23 race that will be broadcast on Fox. “We’re honored. We think about the Indy 500 as an iconic race, but this is going to move right up there next to it … from the standpoint of the best in the world.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIt was an emotional day for Malukas, a first-generation American born of Lithuanian immigrants who built a successful trucking business.“Incredible day and one I’ll never forget,” said the 24-year-old, who has had a strong debut season for Team Penske. “It was my first time getting to see the White