Why does the Indy 500 winner drink milk? A tradition explained

The Indy 500 is famous for many reasons including the fact its winner drinks, or even drenches themself, in milk down Victory Lane - but how did the tradition start? 

Why do they drink milk at the Indy 500?

The 24th Indy 500, held in 1936, was the first to feature the Borg-Warner Trophy as the award for the winner, and the first time the victor was given the official pace car. But it’s what winner Louis Meyer did immediately after the race that initiated the most unusual of traditions.

Meyer, born in Manhattan and raised in Los Angeles, had already won the race twice when he pulled his Miller into Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s Victory Lane after more than four-and-a-half hours at the wheel on a warm day in May. Having been brought up believing in the nourishing and refreshing qualities of buttermilk, that’s what the fatigued Meyer requested and swigged after becoming the Indy 500’s first three-time winner.

An opportunistic marketing man in the dairy industry saw the footage of the post-race celebration, unaware that it had in fact been buttermilk that Meyer was chugging, and made inquiries into having Indy winners drink milk from there on.

The notion seemed short-lived as the next three-time winner Wilbur Shaw, who became president of the track, gave water to the winner, but when Shaw died in a plane crash in 1954, the idea of milk-drinking was revived. The American Dairy Industry then decided to offer $400 to the winner and $50 to his chief mechanic, provided the driver was shown drinking milk in Victory Lane. That was quite an incentive.

The Speedway’s legendary historian Donald Davidson wrote: “As luck would have it, 1956 winner Pat Flaherty suffered from a slight calcium deficiency and regularly drank milk. In addition to a healthy swig of water from the Shaw cup, he consumed an entire bottle of milk and then asked for a second. The water in the Shaw cup was still offered for a couple more years until finally being retired in favour of milk only.”

Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda celebrates winning the Indianapolis 500

Photo by: Barry Cantrell / Motorsport Images

And so it became tradition. In the modern day, every driver who participates in IndyCar's main event is asked beforehand by the American Dairy Association which milk they wish to drink should they emerge victorious.

Why did Emerson Fittipaldi drink orange juice after the Indy 500?

Emerson Fittipaldi sparked controversy by breaking tradition when he won his second Indy 500 in 1993. The two-time Formula 1 world champion declined the bottle of milk and chose to drink orange juice because he was promoting the Brazilian citrus drink industry, in which he was involved. 

That did not go down well as the crowd jeered Fittipaldi for going against tradition. Rumour has it that his team owner Roger Penske did persuade him to take a sip of the milk, but by then the damage was done and to this day there are Speedway devotees who hold the episode against the Brazilian.

Fittipaldi realised his blunder and the money that he received from the Association was donated to a charity. Since then, no Indy 500 winner has ever dared to go against tradition.

Winners drink milk

Photo by: IndyCar Series

Which milk does the Indy 500 offer?

The Indy 500 typically offers three varieties of milk to its victor: whole, two-percent or fat-free. Whole is the most popular milk choice with 72% of drivers choosing it since 2019, while 24% have gone for two-percent which is the second-most preferred. Drivers are also permitted to request a lactose-free milk, but that is rare. 

Such limited options have led to drivers desiring a wider variety as Will Power, winner of the 2018 race, said “I wanted chocolate” but in the build-up told officials that he had no preference because chocolate wasn’t an option. 

Recent years have also seen protests against cow’s milk, as a series of billboards in 2023 claimed that “winners don’t drink milk” - thus mocking the original “winners drink milk” phrase used by the Association. 

The billboard was created by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, who wrote to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Douglas Boles asking for plant-based milk or water to instead be offered. But in response, the track said it has no desire to change the options.

Why is there no buttermilk at the Indy 500?

When drivers are asked to state their preference, some can’t resist a cheeky comment as Ed Carpenter requested whole milk in 2020 but added “buttermilk, per tradition”.

Yet IndyCar say buttermilk is not an option because it “is made and used differently now than it was back when the tradition first started”.

Drivers and milk bottles

Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Images

Brooke Williams, director of communications for the Association, said Meyer drank milk that was left over from the butter his mother made, which made it a very rich and creamy drink in 1936. 

But the old-fashioned buttermilk went bad quickly, which makes that kind undesirable for dairy companies who mass produce its products. This means modern buttermilk is very similar to other milks, the only difference being that it is cultured and fermented.  

So, Indy 500 officials said it will only offer buttermilk once they see drivers consuming it pre-race because then they will know it’s actually a drink people find tasty.

Milk choices of recent Indy 500 winners