That honor — in what could be the only running of this race — goes to four-time series champion Alex Palou.After an interesting day of practice that saw drivers familiarizing themselves with the tricky, seven-corner Freedom 250 Grand Prix Circuit around the streets of Washington, D.C., it was time to bolt on some red alternate Firestone tires for some high-speed runs.HERE ARE 5 DRIVERS TO KEEP AN EYE ON AS INDYCAR HITS THE STREETS OF WASHINGTON FOR FREEDOM 250 GRAND PRIXChip Ganassi Racing's Alex Palou will lead the field to green in the Freedom 250 Grand Prix.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)In the first group — which had some serious heavy-hitters in it — several drivers clipped the wall, including Marcus Ericsson, Rinus VeeKay and Will Power.The big stunner was Ed Carpenter Racing's Alexander Rossi, who made an early exit after looking solid all day long.Andretti Global's Kyle Kirkwood topped the group with a 56.773, followed by Meyer Shank Racing's Marcus Armstrong and Chip Ganassi Racing's Alex Palou, who can clinch a fifth career IndyCar title if he leaves the District of Columbia with a 163-point lead in the standings.Unusually, the fastest time, which belonged to Team Penske's David Malukas, would not have been fast enough to get into the second round had he been in the first group.DRIVERS JOSEF NEWGARDEN AND KYLE KIRKWOOD TALK INDYCAR'S 'ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME' FREEDOM 250 GRAND PRIXScott Dixon looked like he was on the verge of topping the group, but his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Kyffin Simpson brought out a red flag, throwing out Dixon's lap.In the second round, Kirkwood topped the group with a 56.829 and moved on with Scott McLaughlin, Alex Palou, Marcus Armstrong (who hit the wall out of Turn 7 on his fastest lap), David Malukas and Christian Rasmussen, who turned in a really strong performance to get into the Fast 6, which features single-car qualifying.All six drivers opted for red alternate tires with Kirkwood's team opting to run first.On his run, the...