President Obama Shuts Down the National Mall for a Car Race and Takes the First Lap Himself in the Presidential Limousine
A 1.66-mile street circuit past the Capitol, the Smithsonian and the Reflecting Pool, three hours of grounded flights at Reagan National, $90 million in federal security money, and one ceremonial lap in The Beast
Ink = the flip (fiction). Red = real Republican · Blue = real Democrat.
WASHINGTON — The National Mall, a public lawn normally reserved for protests, kite festivals and people looking for the bathroom at the Air and Space Museum, has been converted into a seven-turn street circuit at the direction of President Obama, who is scheduled to open the racing on Sunday by driving the course himself in the presidential limousine.
Congress set aside $90 million for security. A private racing company is covering most of the rest, a figure that officials would only describe as larger than the cost of racing through Detroit. Flights into Reagan National will be grounded for three hours during the race so the planes do not compete with the cars for the airspace, and roughly 140,000 spectators are expected, 100,000 of them on free lottery tickets and a smaller number on a Champions Club pass costing about what a used sedan costs.
