SportsIndy 500

Actions

Drivers choose their milk preference for Victory Circle at IMS

Marcus Ericsson
Posted at 11:27 AM, May 23, 2023
and last updated 2023-05-23 11:27:32-04

INDIANAPOLIS — The field of 33 drivers who qualified for the 107th Indianapolis 500 made their milk preference selections ahead of their potential visit to Victory Circle this Sunday.

Of the 33 drivers who qualified, 28 selected Whole Milk from the Indiana Dairy Association. Three drivers selected 2% milk and two drivers selected skim milk.

Of the nine past winners, seven chose Whole Milk. Only 2-time winner Takuma Sato and 4-time winner Helio Castroneves selected otherwise.

Both Sato and Castroneves selected 2%. Rookie Benjamin Pedersen joins them with the selection.

Romain Grosjean and Katherine Legge, the only female in this year's field of drivers, selected Skim milk.

According to IMS, he tradition of drinking milk after winning the Indianapolis 500 started in 1936 when Louis Meyer drank buttermilk in Victory Lane because his mother said it would refresh him on a hot day.

20 years later in 1956, the tradition took shape. Since then, every driver has had milk in Victory Circle after their win, other than in 1993 when Emerson Fittipaldi drank orange juice.