Ron Klain, former President Joe Biden’s chief of staff, praised the IndyCar race taking place in the nation’s capital this weekend, telling Politico’s “Playbook” he was “glad” to see the race.

“It's an amazing sport because it combines the heroism, courage and skill of the drivers, and then the amazing technological achievements of the cars,” Klain, a massive fan of racing, told Politico.

But when asked about Trump’s efforts to get the race in D.C., Klain praised Penske – the company leading the sponsorships of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix.

“Not only the leading sponsor of the sport and leading advocate of the sport, but now the custodian of the sport’s greatest site, the international Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” Klain said.

Business was not as usual in downtown Washington, D.C., Saturday as drivers participating in the Freedom 250 Grand Prix took practice laps around the circuit, the New York Times reported.

Road closures have caused heavy traffic in the nation’s capital. On X, some commuters complained about the detours backing up cars for miles. One man described the scene as “a zoo” and said he couldn’t drive more than a block within 10 minutes.

As drivers zipped around the circuit, doing practice rounds, the sound of the loud engines made it difficult to hear on-air reporters. NPR Correspondent Ava Berger wrote on an X post, “I can confirm: it’s loud.”

The National Gallery of Art, one of the sights that drivers will pass by on the circuit, conducted vibration studies and put up protective panels to reduce the exposure to outdoor sculptures, the New York Times said.

Airlines have had to reroute flights for the event. At least one school within the exclusion zone was forced to go fully remote as a result of the event.

Full Freedom 250 Grand Prix starting lineup:

Starting position

Driver

1. Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

2. Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global Honda

3. Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske Chevrolet

4. Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet

5. Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing Honda

6. David Malukas, Team Penske Chevrolet

7. Pato O'Ward, Arrow McLaren Chevrolet

8. Dennis Hauger, Dale Coyne Racing Honda

9. Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren Chevrolet

10. Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing Honda

11. Caio Collet, A.J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet

12. Nolan Siegel, Arrow McLaren Chevrolet

13. Will Power, Andretti Global Honda

14. Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

15. Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global Honda

16. Josef Newgarden, Team Penske Chevrolet

17. Alexander Rossi, Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet

18. Louis Foster, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda

19. Rinus VeeKay, Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet

20. Mick Schumacher, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda

21. Romain Grosjean, Dale Coyne Racing Honda

22. Santino Ferrucci, A.J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet

23. Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda

24. Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet

25. Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

Alex Palou has won the pole position for Sunday’s Freedom 250 Grand Prix in Washington, D.C.

1. Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global Honda

2. Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske Chevrolet

3. Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

4. Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing Honda

5. David Malukas, Team Penske Chevrolet

6. Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet

1. David Malukas, Team Penske Chevrolet

2. Caio Collet, A.J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet

3. Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet

4. Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske Chevrolet

5. Nolan Siegel, Arrow McLaren Chevrolet

6. Dennis Hauger, Dale Coyne Racing Honda

1. Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global Honda

2. Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing Honda

3. Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

4. Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren Chevrolet

5. Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren Chevrolet

6. Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing Honda

FBI Director Kash Patel said Saturday he met with the command post out of the Washington Field Office ahead of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix and touted safety measures put into place.

“FBI has a huge presence here to keep this event safe - nearly 400 personnel dedicated between Headquarters and President Trump’s DC ‘Safe and Beautiful Task Force’ to manage the security lift,” Patel wrote on X.

Among those helping keep the event safe are the Critical Incident Response team, multiple intelligence components and the Command Post operators. Patel said SWAT was on standby as well.