Meyer Shank Racing Battles Through Challenging Inaugural Freedom 250 Grand Prix

Washington, D.C. (August 23, 2026) — A beautiful Sunday in the nation’s capital set the stage for the inaugural Freedom 250 Grand Prix, with a pre-race spectacle featuring seven different flyovers from all branches of the U.S. military and a special appearance from President Donald Trump. Unfortunately for Meyer Shank Racing, the on-track results did not match the energy surrounding the event, with Marcus Armstrong bringing the No. 66 REMAX Honda home in 17th and Felix Rosenqvist finishing 19th in the No. 60 Texas A&M University Honda.

The race got off to a strong start for Armstrong, who held firmly inside the top five while managing his Firestone alternate tires through two early full-course cautions. After making his first pit stop on Lap 39 and switching to the primary Firestone compound, Armstrong made contact with the No. 21 car just one lap later. He was subsequently assessed a 10-second hold in pit lane for avoidable contact on the following restart, dropping him to 21st.

Armstrong and the No. 66 REMAX Honda steadily worked their way back through the field, climbing to 17th after nearly 80 laps of green-flag racing. With 20 laps remaining, Armstrong was reordered for the restart, ultimately holding his position to finish 17th.

Rosenqvist, meanwhile, steadily climbed through the field after starting 10th, moving up to seventh before making his first pit stop on Lap 39. The Indianapolis 500 winner found consistent pace on the Firestone alternate tires following the stop, advancing to sixth and maintaining the position through the halfway point of the 147-lap race.

A restart with 19 laps remaining changed the complexion of Rosenqvist’s race when he made contact with the wall. Two subsequent trips to pit lane to replace the front wing and assess the car for damage ultimately put Rosenqvist one lap down. He would go on to finish 19th.

Meyer Shank Racing will return to action next weekend at the Milwaukee Mile for the season’s first and only doubleheader race weekend.

Meyer Shank Racing Driver Quotes:

Felix Rosenqvist: "It was a decent race, I think we were sitting P6 on the final restart. The in turn 1, I think McLaughlin kind of got wide. It looked like he was gonna spin, so I went on the high line to avoid him and then I lost the rear as well in the marbles just couldn’t save it so that was a shame. I think we had at least a top 6 finish. So big shame on the points but it is what it is." 

Marcus Armstrong: "Tough race for us. I felt pretty good leading up until the penalty and then that just kind of set us back. And with no yellows we weren’t able to get our lap back and that was that. Hoping we can turn things around in Milwaukee next weekend.”