More than 100,000 racing fans are expected to descend on the nation’s capital this weekend to watch as the streets around the National Mall become an IndyCar course. But not everyone is cheering.
Preservationists from across the country are worried about the side effects of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, particularly the vibrations from race cars thundering at speeds in excess of 185 miles per hour past landmarks including the National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum and the Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building. They say these vibrations could damage the precious treasures housed inside.
“I’ve been to an IndyCar race,” said Mary Okin, the assistant director of the Living New Deal, a nonprofit research project and public archive of New Deal history. “Your whole body shakes. You can blow out an eardrum.”