A rendering of part of the Freedom 250 course situated in front of the U.S. Capitol. Courtesy of IndyCar
IndyCar removed a Freedom 250 Grand Prix T-shirt from the shopping section of its official website Wednesday in the wake of criticism that the product’s messaging was tone deaf and open to a racist interpretation.
The shirt, touting the IndyCar race around the National Mall later this summer, depicts the Lincoln Memorial and portrays the seated President Abraham Lincoln wearing a racing helmet with lettering above the image that says “One Nation” and lettering below that says “One Race”.
IndyCar selling a “One Nation, One Race” t-shirt for the Freedom 250 is incredibly insensitive and inflammatory. This is something that should never have been approved. #IndyCarhttps://t.co/lTAG5QyHwx pic.twitter.com/ud5M3IMAIg
— Ryan Erik King (@RyanErikKing) May 6, 2026
“IndyCar selling a ‘One Nation, One Race’ t-shirt for the Freedom 250 is incredibly insensitive and inflammatory. This is something that should never have been approved,” Ryan Erik King, a staff writer at Jalopnik.com, a platform that covers the automotive industry and motor racing, wrote on X.
In an email to The Athletic, IndyCar said: “A shirt was removed from IndyCar’s online store following feedback from customers. We understand that some individuals found its phrasing concerning and therefore have remedied the situation.” The email said the T-shirt debuted Wednesday and “was removed within a few hours.”
The product description on the IndyCar website said the shirt was officially licensed and called it a “fun graphic tee.” The item was priced at $50.
The Freedom 250 will see open-wheel cars race around the National Mall on a 1.7-mile course that passes directly in front of the National Archives and the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. The race, part of America’s official 250th birthday celebrations, is set for Aug. 23.
The grand prix event was announced Jan. 30 after President Donald Trump signed an executive order authorizing the race.
May 7, 2026
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