INDIANAPOLIS (WRTV) — The American Dairy Association’s annual Fastest Rookie Luncheon is the longest continuous sponsorship at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Since 1975, the American Dairy Association has hosted an Indianapolis 500 rookie luncheon to honor the fastest rookie driver during Indy 500 qualifying.
This year, Indy 500 rookie Mick Schumacher has the best starting position for this Sunday’s Indy 500. Schumacher will have a better starting position than the other three rookies, Jacob Abel, Caio Collet, and Dennis Hauger. Schumacher had an average four-lap qualifying speed of 229.450 mph.
The four Indy 500 rookies even had a chance to milk a cow at the track on Tuesday, and they were asked if it was their first time.
“That was my first time,” Dennis Hauger said. “I grew up in the countryside in Norway, so I’ve been around cows and animals before, but I’ve never milked one. That was a new experience. Obviously, that’s a pretty big tradition around here, and it brings good luck, so obviously we had to do that before we get the race underway.”
“I have, but a long time ago now,” Schumacher said. “It was good, Eric [Bousman] was showing us how to do it properly, and I think once you understand the mechanism of how it worked, then it was pretty easy.”
Jacob Abel also shared his unique experience.
“It was pretty simple, I guess,” Jacob Abel said while laughing. “You just squeeze the milk, I felt bad we wasted it. I figured we were going to bottle it up somehow. It was cool.”
The four drivers will be racing in their first Indianapolis 500’s on Sunday, and they shared what the anticipation has felt like before the big day.
“In my opinion, what makes it really so exciting is the whole time you spend on the track,” Schumacher said. “You have two weeks essentially of pure driving and getting ready, so the anticipation for it just builds throughout the time. I’m so ready to go out there and go racing.”
“It’s really intense, honestly, I think the whole month is the most intense month of my life so far,” Collet said. “Just every day at the track, trying to see what you can improve on the car. Watching the previous years, what they did on the track, the couple of days of practice that we had, and to see what you can do to be a little bit better.”
The 110th running of the Indianapolis 500 is set for Sunday, May 24.
