As we’ve come to establish throughout the past 62 days of this project nothing is ever quite as it seems when it comes to Indianapolis, with every prominent figure and tradition each having their own unique back-story that makes the 500 what it is today. This approach to the 500 can even be seen in the race’s post-race ceremonies, where an old mother’s led the victor’s toasts at the Brickyard being not with champagne but rather a cold bottle of milk.

The origins of the milk of Indianapolis date back to 1933, where after claiming his second victory in five years at the speedway future Brickyard hall of famer Louis Meyer was spotted drinking a class of buttermilk in victory lane. Decades before the advent of sports nutrition specialists and beverages tailored specifically to athletic activities, Meyer was noted for his preference to drink buttermilk to refresh himself on hot days, a belief that originated from his mother when Meyer was beginning to start his racing career. Following his record breaking third win at the speedway in 1936, Meyer once requested milk in victory lane, but rather then poor the substance into a glass as he had done in 1933, Meyer chose to take a swig directly from the bottle, where a newspaper photographer snapped a photo of the New Yorker taking the drink while holding up three fingers to represent each of his Indy victories, the image showing up in many of America’s national newspapers the day after the race. An executive with what was then the Milk Foundation was so elated when he saw the moment captured in a photograph that following morning that he vowed to make sure it would be repeated in coming years, and starting with Wilbur Shaw’s first win at the Brickyard in 1937 a bottle of milk was offered to every winning 500 driver in victory lane shortly after their success. Contrary to popular belief, the early days of the tradition meant that drinking the milk was presented as an option to drivers rather then an obligation, although the majority of winning drivers chose to take up the offer.

After Tony Hulman purchased the Indianapolis Motor Speedway following the end of World War II the milk traditional was controversially scrapped for the race’s revived running in 1946. Instead the winner of the race instead rewarded with a jug of iced water provided to them from former three time speedway champion Wilbur Shaw. The ‘water by Wilbur’ was seen at the speedway until 1956, when the milk returned as a ritual as milk companies became sponsors of the race purse, handing a bottle of milk to the winner of the race to further promote their product.. As of 2016, a sponsorship of $10,000 is now paid out by the American Dairy Association if the winner sips the milk in victory lane.

Surprisingly, much preparation goes into preparing the ceremonial milk for the race, with the American Dairy Association going as far to highlight the dairy farmers who will deliver the victory lane milk to the Brickyard in time for the race, In addition to this, each driver competing in the event is asked to name their type of milk preference should they be successful in the race, with drivers having the choice between traditional whole milk, fat-free and two percent variants. Following the arrival of diabetic driver Charlie Kimball to the series in 2011, a lactose free option was also made available to drivers, but as of 2015 no driver has selected this option as their post-race preference.

Since 1956, only two drivers have failed to drink the milk in victory lane; the most high profile of example of which coming at the hands of Emerson Fittipaldi in 1993. Shortly after claiming his second 500 win, Fittipaldi turned down the offer to drink the milk in victory lane to instead take a drink of orange juice, a move designed to promote the Brazilian’s involvement in his native country’s citrus industry. Although Fittipaldi would later drink the milk away from television cameras, the snub from the Brazilian drew considerable ire from Indycar fans, leading to Fittipaldi being booed in driver’s introductions the following week by the crowd in Milwaukee, in the heart of America’s Dairyland. Bobby Unser would also fail to drink the milk in 1981, although following the New Mexico native’s initlal disqualification from the race Mario Andretti sipped from a bottle of milk the next morning during the traditional photo shoot.

Many reading this article for the first time may wonder why I devote an article to something as simple as milk? But for Indycar fans it is small traditions such as this that when added together help to make the 500 the unique racing experience that it is, as well as the guarantee that when the Monday newspapers arrive the shot of the winning driver sipping the bottom will be seen on back pages up and down the country.

In today’s video local Indianapolis TV station RTV6 speak to Indiana dairy farmer about the processes that go into making the famous milk.