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What kind of milk will this year’s Indy 500 winner drink after his victory?

By Dani Bostick

May 25, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Balloons are released at the start of the 2014 Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
May 25, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Balloons are released at the start of the 2014 Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
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School cafeterias these days only offer low-fat milk, but NASCAR winners have a full range of options.

Football coaches get drenched in Gatorade; Indy drivers chug milk. The tradition originated in 83 years ago in 1933. Back then, the Golden Gate Bridge was under construction, Mount Rushmore was dedicated, and the game Monopoly was brand new. That same year, Louis Meyer won the Indianapolis 500 and requested buttermilk as his celebratory drink. Three years later, he won again, and again he requested buttermilk to celebrate.

After that second victory in 1936, a picture of Meyer enjoying his dairy drink ran in newspapers. Thus, a tradition began, and milk was given to winners of the Indy 500 ever since. Sam Hornish, Jr. recalled his celebratory bottle of milk fondly via the Associated Press, “It was like, 95 degrees that day and everybody thinks that was the last thing I wanted. The milk was exactly what I wanted after that race.”

In 2007, Dario Franchitti said of the milk, via Yahoo!, ” They chill it and it’s very cold. I went for full fat inside and then I went outside in Victory Circle after the rain stopped and I had another bottle and I think that was 2%. That was good as well. I was liking the milk.”

Though school children do not have many choices of milk in their cafeterias, Indy 500 participants do have a choice. The American Dairy Association in Indianapolis, Indiana, creators of the #WinnersDrinkMilk hashtag, posted each drivers preferences.

Whole and two-percent are the most popular choices with only three drivers requesting skim milk, should they cross the finish line first. Buttermilk is no longer an option. Last year’s winner Juan Pablo Montoya chose two-percent milk, but he was more fond of the wreath than his beverage, explaining via the Associated Press, “I don’t like milk.”

This year, Scott Dixon is favored to win. If he does, he has chosen to celebrate with two-percent milk.

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