Whole milk still the top choice among Indy 500 drivers
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The votes have been counted and the results are in: Whole milk still reigns supreme at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The American Dairy Association Indiana has revealed the milk preference for all 33 drivers in this year’s Indianapolis 500.
Drivers can choose between whole milk, 2%, skim, or having no preference. Lactose-free milk is available upon request, but chocolate milk is not. (And don’t even think about opting for orange juice — just ask 1993 Indy 500 winner Emerson Fittipaldi, who drew the ire of many race fans for messing with tradition.)
Twenty-six drivers drivers chose whole milk, five drivers selected 2%, and two selected skim milk.
This year’s milk preferences are:
- Marco Andretti — Whole
- Marcus Armstrong — Whole
- Tom Blomqvist — Whole
- Agustin Canapino —Whole
- Ed Carpenter — Whole
- Helio Castroneves — 2%
- Conor Daly — Whole
- Scott Dixon — Whole
- Marcus Ericsson — Whole
- Santino Ferrucci — Whole
- Pietro Fittipaldi — Whole
- Romain Grosjean — 2%
- Colton Herta — Whole
- Ryan Hunter-Reay —Whole
- Callum Ilott — Whole
- Kyle Kirkwood — Whole
- Kyle Larson — Whole
- Katherine Legge— Whole
- Christian Lundgaard — Skim
- Linus Lundqvist — Whole
- Scott McLaughlin — Whole
- Josef Newgarden — Whole
- Pato O’Ward — 2%
- Alex Palou — Whole
- Will Power — Whole
- Graham Rahal — 2%
- Christian Rasmussen — Skim
- Sting Ray Robb — Whole
- Felix Rosenqvist — Whole
- Alexander Rossi — Whole
- Takuma Sato — 2%
- Kyffin Simpson — Whole
- Rinus VeeKay — Whole
Why winners drink milk
Drinking milk after winning the Indianapolis 500 is a tradition that dates back nearly 90 years.
After winning his third Indy 500 in 1936, Louis Meyer pulled into the winner’s circle, sat down atop his car, and asked for a drink of buttermilk.
“With a cheering crowd around him, Meyer held up three fingers with his right hand, and in his left hand he held a bottle of buttermilk,” the IMS website says.
As the story goes, a dairy industry executive saw a newsreel of Meyer with the bottle of milk and realized it was a great marketing opportunity.
Each winner from 1938 through 1941 drank milk in the winner’s circle. There was a period between 1947 and 1955 when milk wasn’t offered, but the practice returned for good in 1956.