Most people probably aren’t begging for a bottle of milk after a long afternoon of athletic competition, but at the Indianapolis 500, that’s the only thing the winning driver wants.
After taking the checkered flag to win the biggest IndyCar Series race of the season and one of the biggest motorsports races in the world, the victorious driver will usually celebrate a bit on the track and with their team before pulling the car to the Winner’s Circle.
Enter the Veteran Milk Man, a representative of the American Dairy Association Indiana who will hand the winner a chilled bottle of their preferred kind of milk. The winner usually takes a few sips before dumping it on their head and maybe splashing some folks nearby.
Ahead of each Indy 500, the association polls drivers about their celebratory milk choice, should they win The Greatest Spectacle in Racing. The options are simple — whole, 2 percent or fat-free milk — though many drivers hilariously would like a few more options. (There is a secret lactose-free option, should a driver request that.)
As we’ve seen over the years, whole milk continues to dominate with 26 of the 33 drivers selecting it. Five opted for 2 percent and two prefer skim.
26 drivers select WHOLE, 5 drivers select 2% and 2 drivers select SKIM in this year's #Indy500 Milk Preference Poll.
Our two Indiana dairy farmer "Milk Presenters" will be ready with all 3 options on ice! #WinnersDrinkMilk // https://t.co/mPMIlqBxqb // @IMS pic.twitter.com/sP5gnrEwfL
— Indiana Dairy Assoc. (@INDairy) May 21, 2024
So, why milk? The answer is simple: It’s a nearly 100-year-old tradition. And the many traditions of the Indy 500 and Indianapolis Motor Speedway help make the 500 the magical event it is — milk and all.
.@KyleLarsonRacin met Cream this morning 🐮
He did not glove up.#Indy500 | #INDYCAR | #WinnersDrinkMilk pic.twitter.com/GVvD7GbN66
— Indianapolis Motor Speedway (@IMS) May 21, 2024
Decades ago when the milk tradition began, it started with buttermilk and driver Louis Meyer. As Indianapolis Motor Speedway explains:
“Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Louis Meyer regularly drank buttermilk to refresh himself on a hot day and happened to drink some in Victory Lane as a matter of habit after winning the 1936 race. An executive with what was then the Milk Foundation was so elated when he saw the moment captured in a photograph in the sports section of his newspaper the following morning that he vowed to make sure it would be repeated in coming years. There was a period between 1947-55 when milk was apparently no longer offered, but the practice was revived in 1956 and has been a tradition ever since.”
Buttermilk is no longer an option, but after the Indy 500, the designated “milk people” from the American Dairy Association Indiana will pull one of three bottles — one for each milk option — from a chilled cooler, which one of the milk people is sometimes handcuffed to. And they deliver it to the winning driver for the iconic celebration.
The 108th Indy 500 is set for Sunday, May 26 (green flag at 12:45 p.m. ET) at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
