(credit: Aurich Lawson)
When it comes to American sporting traditions, there are few events as storied as the Indianapolis 500. It's a 500-mile test of speed, endurance, and bravery that takes place at the end of May. It takes place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a 2.5-mile (4km) race track that's not only the oldest of its kind but also the largest sporting venue anywhere on Earth. And this year's Indy 500 is a special one—it's the race's 100th running. With speeds well in excess of 200mph (321km/h), it's the fastest race on the motorsport's calendar, and this year Ars was in attendance along with more than 350 thousand others to take in what's often called the greatest spectacle in racing.
The Track
As we'll see, the cars have changed a lot over the course of those hundred runnings. And the race has gone through good times—with crowds topping 400,000—and bad. There's been innovation, and more than its fair share of tragedy. But throughout it all the track has remained a constant. Well, almost.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway was built in 1909 by Carl Fisher, who wanted to create a venue for the nascent American auto industry to test its new-fangled creations. Initially, the 2.5-mile track's surface was made of crushed stone, something that proved conducive to a series of fatal accidents that started with the first car race it held on August 19 of that year. As the death toll mounted over the next few days, Fisher and his partners made the wise decision to pave it. They opted for bricks—more than 3.2 million of them, leading locals to dub the speedway "the Brickyard."
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