The Freedom 250 Race Medal: How Roger Penske Ended Up on a Mint Medal

The U.S. Mint marked IndyCar's first race in Washington, D.C. with a national medal, and put a living person on the back. The Mint's own citizen advisers didn't recommend that side. Here is how it got made.

The Race

The Freedom 250 Grand Prix, the first NTT IndyCar Series race in the nation's capital, ran on August 22 and 23, 2026, as part of the Semiquincentennial. Cars raced 147 laps, 250 miles in all, on a 1.7-mile course around the National Mall, with the Capitol and the Washington Monument as the backdrop. Kyle Kirkwood won.

The Medal

The Mint issued the medal under the Secretary of the Treasury's authority to strike national medals. It is the size of a half dollar: 1.205 inches across, 11.34 grams, copper-nickel clad, with a plain edge and a matte finish, struck at Philadelphia with no mint mark. The obverse shows an Indy car marked USA in front of the Capitol, with UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and FREEDOM 250. The reverse shows Roger Penske, the former driver who founded Penske Corporation and now owns IndyCar, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500, with MOTORSPORT PIONEER and ROGER PENSKE.

What the Coin Committee Said

The Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee reviewed two obverse and two reverse candidates on August 6. Representatives of Penske Corporation attended and said they preferred Obverse-04 and Reverse-03. The committee unanimously recommended Obverse-05, which had scored 17 of 27 points. Reverse-02 scored highest among the reverses, with 9 of 27, but the committee recommended no reverse.

The discussion explains why. Member Donald Scarinci noted that Penske is a living American, and said that "it is for the lawyers to opine" whether a portrait of a living person can appear on a U.S. medal without an act of Congress; he did not vote on the reverse. Christopher Capozzola said that those who want to honor Penske should pursue a Congressional Gold Medal through Congress. Kellen Hoard said the reverses weren't tied to the race and read as a Penske medal. Other members were comfortable with the portraits and preferred Reverse-02 as the stronger artwork.

What the Fine Arts Commission Said

The Commission of Fine Arts reviewed the designs by email and, in a letter dated August 12, recommended obverse #5 and reverse #3, "consistent with the preferences of the honoree" and the CCAC. That pairing, the Capitol obverse and the headset portrait, is the medal the Mint struck.

The Release

The medal was offered only in a preorder window, August 21 to September 4, for $60, with a maximum of 15,000. The Mint produced it to demand, began shipping around September 28, and says no additional medals will be produced. Each comes encapsulated in a black presentation box.

Sources: Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, August 6, 2026 meeting transcript and minutes, and letter to Secretary Bessent (August 10, 2026); Commission of Fine Arts, case CFA 17/SEP/26-1 (letter of August 12, 2026) and the Mint's design submission; U.S. Mint product page, 2026 Freedom 250 Race Medal; CoinNews, "U.S. Mint Unveils Freedom 250 Medal for First D.C. IndyCar Race" (August 20, 2026); ANA Reading Room, "Freedom 250 Grand Prix Medals"; Associated Press race report (August 23, 2026).