INDYCAR SERIES legends and Indianapolis 500 winners Helio Castroneves, Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan will join an all-start lineup of racing icons for a special International Race of Champions (IROC) race Saturday, Aug. 22 during the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C.

The IROC Presented by Chevrolet lineup for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix weekend will feature a collection of motorsports legends. Besides four-time “500” winner Castroneves (photo, top), three-time Indy winner Franchitti and Kanaan, former NASCAR Cup Series champions Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, Bobby Labonte, Rusty Wallace and Bill Elliott will race on the 1.7-mile Freedom 250 Grand Prix street circuit around the National Mall.

The drivers will compete in authentic IROC Pontiac Firebirds that raced in series competition from 1996 through 2006.

Originally launched in 1973, IROC gained worldwide recognition as a premier all-star competition that united top drivers from racing disciplines, including NASCAR, INDYCAR, Formula One and sports car racing, to compete in identical cars, placing the focus entirely on driver skill. NASCAR Hall of Famer Ray Evernham and Rob Kauffman acquired the rights to the IROC brand and revived the series, bringing some of racing’s living legends together for special exhibition races at select motorsports events.

The IROC legends will practice and race Saturday, Aug. 22 on the Freedom 250 Grand Prix street circuit on Saturday, Aug. 22. The former INDYCAR and NASCAR star drivers competing in the Freedom 250 Grand Prix IROC race will also host a free autograph session for fans Saturday.

“We are proud to welcome the International Race of Champions to the Freedom 250 Grand Prix weekend, as we honor racing history by bringing some of the sport’s greatest heroes to this already legendary weekend,” said Bud Denker, chairman of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix. “IROC has always represented the best of the best, bringing together champions from across motorsports to compete on equal footing. From the current INDYCAR stars to former NASCAR and INDYCAR champions, the Freedom 250 Grand Prix will be a celebration of racing’s past and present competing at one of the most iconic settings in the world.”

Set against the backdrop of the National Mall, the Freedom 250 Grand Prix will mark the first-ever NTT INDYCAR SERIES race on the streets of Washington, D.C., serving as a centerpiece of the national celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The free, two-day motorsports festival is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of fans to the nation’s capital, blending North America’s premier open-wheel racing series with historic pageantry.

The 1.7-mile, seven-turn Freedom 250 Grand Prix course will wind through the heart of Washington, D.C., circling the National Mall with cars racing alongside some of the most iconic landmarks in the world. The street circuit will feature a high-speed, 0.4-mile run down Pennsylvania Avenue, dramatically framed by the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol. Pit lane will sit just off the straight between Turns 1 and 2, keeping the crews and cars at the center of the action. The drivers will speed past landmarks that include the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, the National Gallery of Art and the National Archives, creating a course that blends technical challenge with an unmistakable and historic backdrop.