By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, Aug 21 (Reuters) – Several major companies will be sponsoring an IndyCar race for the first time when the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, touted by President Donald Trump, takes place around Washington, D.C., on Sunday.
New backers include Boeing, SpaceX’s Starlink and Delta Air Lines, Bud Denker, the chair of the 250-mile (402-km) race and president of Penske Corp, said at a press conference on Thursday. Penske is running the event.
The event will cap off a series of celebrations of the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence.
“I love the race,” Trump said when he signed the executive order calling for the race in January.
Trump will wave the green flag at the start of the race and take a lap around the course in the presidential limousine. Trump is expected to invite some executives to watch the race with him in a special suite, three sources said. Many of the companies will have corporate suites along the race course.
The event has dozens of corporate sponsors, allowing executives to mingle with the many administration officials and lawmakers expected to be at the race.
“This is also an opportunity for us to grow our sport and, by showcasing it to these companies that were never part of our sport,” Denker said.
IndyCar’s Freedom 250 Grand Prix will involve drivers hitting speeds of 170 miles per hour (274 kph) on historic Pennsylvania Avenue, around the National Archives and through some of the country’s cultural institutions on Saturday and Sunday.
Denker said Delta CEO Ed Bastian will attend.
Other companies sponsoring the event include General Motors, Honda, United Airlines, Amazon.com’s AWS unit, Shell, Gulfstream, Altria, Verizon and Washington Gas. Many senior executives and members of Congress are expected to be on hand, the sources said.
The White House referred questions about Trump’s plans for the race to Penske.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said the city expects 140,000 people to attend race events each day. A large swath of downtown will close to traffic.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Chris Sanders and Rod Nickel)
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