For Brigette Jones, memories of the Indy 500 date back almost as far as she can remember.
In high school, the Greenfield native sewed cloth strips of white, black, yellow, red, green and blue — all colors of various racing flags — together into a shirt to wear to the race.
She’s gone to all but a handful of races since the 80s and always sits in the same seat. On race day, she brings binoculars and a stopwatch to track her favorite racers.
And last fall, she got the chance all race fans dream of.
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Winding around turn four of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway while suited up in a bright yellow fireproof suit, Jones certainly looked the part of a racecar driver.
“I remember sitting there, gripping the wheel and looking at myself in the mirror, thinking ‘this is so cool,’” Jones said of the experience.
Jones was one of 100 Hoosiers selected to participate in “The People’s 500,” a video and accompanying photography exhibit designed to commemorate the 100th running of the race, which takes place Sunday afternoon, and its biggest fans.
During the making of the exhibit, which was unveiled last week at the Tube Factory art gallery, 1125 Cruft St., in Garfield Park in Indianapolis, Jones got to complete two laps around the 2.5-mile track behind the wheel of a 2015 pace car.
Jones submitted an essay outlining her experiences at the track to be considered to be part of the video, which was commissioned by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and created by California-based multimedia artist Jesse Sugarmann.
