It’s officially the month of May, and that means the 2022 Indianapolis 500 is right around the corner. One of the biggest motor sports events in the world has some grand traditions that go along with it — including a celebratory bottle of milk.
Nearly a century told, it’s tradition for the Indy 500 winners to celebrate the victory with a few sips from a bottle of milk before pouring it on their heads and subsequently splashing everyone else in their vicinity. And drivers get to choose what type of milk they hope to celebrate with, thanks to the The American Dairy Association Indiana.
The organization polls Indy 500 drivers to get their preferred 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. Jimmie Johnson already shared his completed poll, but now we have a look at everyone else’s preference.
The American Dairy Association Indiana — which is also in charge of delivering the correct bottle to the winner after the famous 500-mile race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway — released the results of its 2022 milk poll Monday.
And yet again, whole milk remains the popular choice.
Of the 32 drivers polled, as of May 2, 25 want whole milk, six want two-percent milk and one driver — Juan Pablo Montoya, who actually wants chocolate milk — officially has no preference. But Montoya isn’t alone in that request. Graham Rahal, Colton Herta and Devlin DeFrancesco also noted they’d like chocolate, but from the choices, opted for whole milk.
And some others wish the milk tradition really stuck with tradition, as Ed Carpenter and Felix Rosenqvist requested (most likely in vain) buttermilk.
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 often handcuffed to.
And they deliver it to the winning driver for the iconic celebration.
The 106th Indy 500 is set for Sunday, May 29 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
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