There will be a lot of eyes on this race, with more than a few of them tuning into IndyCar for the first time since the Indianapolis 500, or maybe even ever.No shame if that's you (although, seriously, you're missing out), but to get you up to speed, here are five drivers you might want to keep an eye on when the race gets underway at 1 p.m.ET this Sunday on FOX.RACER STING RAY ROBB GEARS UP FOR FREEDOM 250 GRAND PRIX: 'THIS IS MORE THAN JUST AN INDYCAR EVENT'As he so often is, Alex Palou will be one of the drivers to beat in Washington, DC as he closes in on his fifth career championship.
(Photo by Yuan Tian/NurPhoto via Getty Images)The driver of the No.10 Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing is going to come into the weekend as the man to beat, which shouldn't be a surprise considering he almost always is.The four-time series champ and 2025 Indy 500 champ is currently leading the standings by 133 points.INDYCAR STAR ALEX PALOU REFLECTS ON WHITE HOUSE, OVAL OFFICE VISIT WITH TRUMP: 'INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE'In case you were wondering, the most you can score on a single race weekend (not including the upcoming double-header weekend in Milwaukee) is 54 points.Palou makes very few mistakes, if any, and the bad news for the field going into the Freedom 250 Grand Prix is that he made one of those mistakes last weekend in Markham, Ontario.
A poor qualifying meant that he started the race in 11th.Of course, he still finished in fourth.As I said, always dangerous.Kyle Kirkwood will need to lean on his street circuit acumen as he looks to chase down championship leader Alex Palou.(Photo by Michael L.
Levitt/Lumen via Getty Images)The Jupiter, Florida, native, who drives the No.27 Honda for Andretti Global, is currently sitting second in the championship standings behind Palou.
However, he should be licking his chops going into the weekend because this kind of race is where Kyle Kirkwood excels.Five of his six IndyCar wins have come on street circuits, and he'll want to lean on t...