Adriane Jaeckle/File photo
SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Why does the Indy 500 winner drink milk?
According to the Speedway, it all started with legendary driver Louis Meyer, who won Indy in 1928, 1933 and 1936.
Decades before the advent of sports nutrition specialists and beverages tailored specifically to athletic activities, Meyer apparently preferred to drink buttermilk to refresh himself on hot weather. (Hey, we don’t judge here. Dude won three times. Whatever works.)
At one point, that included a swig in Victory Lane.
The Speedway says an executive with the Milk Foundation saw that moment in a newspaper photo and “vowed to make sure it would be repeated in coming years.” The track says there was no Victory Lane milk from 1947-55, but the tradition was revived in 1956 and continues today. (Significant exception: Emerson Fittipaldi, who made a dairy error by drinking orange juice instead in 1993.)
And, racing being racing, it’s a marketing opportunity. On its website, American Dairy Association Indiana highlights the dairy farmers who will deliver the victory lane milk, and even has a list of drivers’ milk preferences. (A near-majority, 15, prefer whole, perhaps surprising given Indycar drivers’ commitment to fitness. But, hey, you just won a race. Splurge a little. Also: no chocolate?)
Until he won last year’s race, Ryan Hunter-Reay says he didn’t realize the milk was kept in a cooler.
“You always wonder, is it going to be sitting there on a mantle or something like that out in the sun being warmed?,” Hunter-Reay says. “But they have a nice little cooler, and it’s cold. Definitely the best drink I’ve ever had, under the circumstances.”
Hunter-Reay says he was happy to be part of the tradition.
“For so many years, I’ve watched guys come out of the car with the wreath around their neck drinking that ceremonious first sip,” he says. “You just can’t wait. The anticipation of it was just unreal. It tasted great. It was ice cold. You want more, for sure.”
