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The winner of the next 109th Indianapolis 500 will receive a bottle of ice milk in the victory circle on Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
But why milk? When did tradition began?
The origin of the tradition took place in 1936, when Louis Meyer, after winning his third Indy 500, sat on his car and had a bottle of Babeurre in his left hand.
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The Penske Josef Newgarden team driver drinks milk on the Victory podium after winning the 108th Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 26, 2024. (Imagn)
But tradition began with an accident. Meyer drinking post-victory was unexpected.
“It was a hot day. I entered the garage … and everything I could think was a beautiful cold tuber,” said Meyer, according to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway website.
Meyer grew up in Yonkers, New York, and his mother told him that the Babeter would refresh it with a hot day. So, after an exhausting race, Meyer wanted the drink he had growing up: the Babeter.
The milk has remained because the moment of Meyer with the milk was captured by a cameraman. A framework of the dairy industry saw Meyer’s images and asked that the milk be given to each winner of Indianapolis 500.
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The milk bottles for the 2025 Indy 500 are signed by the DEVLIN DEFRANCESCO, Louis Foster and Felix Rosenqvist drivers when sending the famous blue envelopes with Tickets for Indianapolis 500 March 2025. (Imagn)
Each winner from 1938 to 1941, then after the return of the interruption of an interruption due to the Second World War in 1946, drank milk in the circle of victory.
However, there was a time when milk was not the drink given to the winners. Wilbur Shaw, who won Indy 500 in 1937, 1939 and 1940, became president of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and has implemented certain changes.
From 1947 to 1954, the emblematic race winners received cold water in a silver chalice. However, tradition did not last because Shaw died in a plane crash in 1954 and, in 1956, the milk returned.
The Penske team’s pilot, Josef Newgarden, drinks his milk after winning Indy 500 on May 26, 2024. (Imagn)
But milk has returned as an accessory price because the winners were offered $ 400 to drink milk.
Since then, 69 consecutive winners of the race and 76 winners have appreciated the milk in the circle of victory.
The Indy 500 will be broadcast on May 25 on Fox with a blanket from 10 a.m. he. It will also be available for Broadline live on Foxsports.com And the Fox Sports application.
