Jeff Gordon delivered a commanding performance on the streets of Washington, D.C, sweeping both International Race of Champions feature races during the Freedom 250 Grand Prix weekend and claiming the 2026 IROC title.
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The four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman not only answered a personal challenge from the team owner but also used the moment to make a clear case for expanding the series revival beyond its current historic exhibitions.
Reflecting on the original series, Gordon said during the post-interview, “I think it’s more of a historic type of race now, but I still think, I mean, you saw the crowd today, you see the excitement around these cars. I think it still has a huge potential to be a series of some sort, and I think, you know, running the cars on these types of tracks is the only way that happens.”
The IROC series was founded in 1973 by Roger Penske, Les Richter, and Mike Phelps, who once brought top drivers from NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula 1, and sports cars together in identically prepared cars to determine a true champion of champions. It ran until 2006, when sponsorship challenges and manufacturer conflicts ended the original run.
In 2024, NASCAR Hall of Famer Ray Evernham, Gordon’s long-time crew chief, and Rob Kauffman acquired the rights and began staging revival events with original-era cars, primarily the Pontiac Firebirds used from 1996 to 2006.
“I wish that at that time it could have been a little more spread out. It started on road courses, and I wish it could have been road courses and the big ovals and really had a different discipline, street courses, right? I think that would have been amazing,” Gordon further added in the same interview.
The performance marked Gordon’s first individual race win since his 2015 NASCAR Cup victory at Martinsville; more significantly, it gave him a platform to argue that IROC should evolve beyond pure nostalgia. In another interview with SpeedonFox, Gordon also expressed his gratitude to the stakeholders who made this possible.
“This is special. I mean, I’ve run a few. Of course, I ran the IROC series back in the day, but run a few of these with Ray and Rob Kauffman; big thanks to them. They put a lot of effort into this series and these cars; I can’t thank them enough. I had a sponsor, HendrickCars.com. Thank you, HendrickCars.com.”
By delivering a clean sweep on a unique Street circuit and immediately advocating for a calendar that includes all types of racetracks like road courses, big ovals, and street courses. Gordon framed the weekend as both a competitive success and a blueprint for expansion.
Rick Hendrick expected Gordon to win the IROC race
Gordon’s car for the DC races came from Hendrick’s personal collection. Hendrick loaned him one of the silver Pontiac Firebirds for the revival event. Ahead of the event, Gordon revealed on the SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Podcast that his boss had been applying steady pressure on him for the IROC.
“We did the Monterey Car Week out in Laguna last year. We did Ten Tenths in the event there earlier this year, and it’s just a fun car to drive, a fun group of drivers to get together with, and also get to work with Ray again. And so yes, it’s been a lot of fun, and it’s Rick Hendrick’s car that he’s had in his collection. So he’s been putting some pressure on me about why I haven’t won any of these choices,” Gordon said on the podcast.
On the 1.7-mile street circuit around the national mall garden started near the back of the eight-car field in the first 10-lap race after a random draw. He went towards overtaking four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves to take the win, with Kurt Busch finishing second.
Again, for the second race, he charged past Castroneves and Tony Kanaan to take the win once more, with Busch finishing second again. The double victory sealed the 2026 title under the low-point scoring system. He also gave a shout-out to Kyle Busch and his family.
“This is super special, and I wanna shout out to Kyle Busch’s family. Nice to be able to have that sticker on the car, and I’m excited about what’s gonna happen at Bristol and some other things I think NASCAR and the teams have planned, but really special,” Gordon said in a post-race interview with SpeedonFox.
The weekend formed part of America’s 250th anniversary celebrations, with the Freedom 250 serving as IndyCar’s first race in the streets of the nation’s capital. By fulfilling Hendricks mandate and publicly advocating for a broader modern series, Gordon strengthened the case for the IROC’s revival.