Tony Borroz attended the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 28th, 2017. This series, Bricks And Bones, explores the cultural significance, endearing legacy, and the nitty-gritty phenomenon of The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
The prologue of this series here.
Chapter 1: Real Wrong here.
Chapter 2: St. Elmo?s Fire here.
Chapter 3: The Quiet Racer here.
Chapter 4: Hang Ten here.
Chapter 5: Female Perspective here.
Chapter 6: The Fearless Spaniard here.
Chapter 7: Speedway Legends here.

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Watching the Indy 500 from my perch in the top floor of the press center was interesting. At first, I was surprised at how professional all the drivers were. They dropped the green flag and they all snarled off into turn one with seemingly little drama. It was sort of like standing by the barrel of an enormous shotgun that was fired every 40 seconds or so.
Quiet Sunday
For the longest time, the laps just clicked off. Nobody did anything stupid. There were no gonzo dives for the inside, no low percentage moves that were doomed to failure. The racing was just as clean as could be. The first round of pit stops were largely the same way. My spot was directly behind Simon Pagenaud’s pit box and a little off from where Hélio Castroneves was. It was amazing to watch the Penske pit crews do their jobs with flawless precision.
The press center is a four story building right next to The Panasonic Pagoda, the tall timing an...