Kyle Kirkwood wins Freedom 250 as Trump watches IndyCar race in Washington

American driver Kyle Kirkwood has won the IndyCar Freedom 250 Grand Prix in Washington for Andretti Global, celebrating an emotional victory in the US capital.

The 27-year-old Florida native waved to cheering spectators and was then embraced by members of the Andretti Global team.

“You can’t even put it into words. I’m almost in tears here,” Kirkwood told Fox after the race.

Kirkwood described the contest as “a hard race, 147 laps. I’m out of breath right now trying to get words to you if I’m being honest.”

US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump were among those watching the race and applauded Kirkwood following his victory.

“It felt good to dominate out there, not gonna lie. That was a really good moment,” Kirkwood told Fox when asked about winning in front of Trump.

“I’m a fellow Florida guy; I live up in Jupiter so it’s cool to see him down here.”

Kirkwood described winning in Washington as a major career moment.

“What an incredible place to do it. You know if you can’t win it at the (Indy) 500 this is definitely the place to win. … What a dream come true,” he said.