Why Do They Drink Milk At The Indy 500, Anyway?

In one way or another, many American sporting events have grown synonymous with beverages over the years. While each Super Bowl we wait and see what color of Gatorade gets dumped on the winning coach's head, the Indy 500 — an annual NASCAR event set to take place on May 25, 2025 – has its own beverage-related tradition. For decades, the winner of the massive race has received a bottle of milk to enjoy in celebration of their legendary achievement.

While the celebratory milk drinking has been a staple of every Indy 500 since 1956, it was technically first done in 1933 when Louis Meyer privately enjoyed a glass of his mother's homemade buttermilk after winning the race for the second time. However, it wasn't until his Indy 500 victory in 1936 — his third and final win of the race — that the world got to witness him proudly enjoying the buttermilk after the event.

As a result of Meyer's iconic actions, executives in the dairy industry began encouraging winners to continue drinking milk after the tournament in honor of the three-time winner. While it was done sporadically by winners over the following 20 years, a $400 prize for winners who complied was put in place in 1956, and the tradition has been commonplace ever since.

Seeing as cow's milk has gone out of style in recent years, the tradition may seem outdated to some outsiders looking in. But beyond the initial strangeness of the tradition overall, the practice is beloved by fans and drivers. However, some have one unique hang-up: The winner can't select buttermilk for their celebratory beverage.

Each year, every participant in the Indy 500 is given the option of what milk they want to drink, and while buttermilk was common early on, Louis Meyer's go-to was removed from the list in the mid-90s. Now, drivers only have three choices: whole, 2%, or skim milk. 

This removal was the result of the modernization of buttermilk, which is now milk with culture added to it rather than the liquid leftover from making butter. It is great for something like overnight yeasted buttermilk pancakes, but the taste is not ideal for a straight drink. Nonetheless, some drivers still choose to write in buttermilk for the sake of tradition when polled on which kind of milk they want. Of the three actual options, more often than not, whole milk is the drink of choice for drivers.