Drink the milk! Drivers’ dairy preferences for this year’s Indy 500

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INDIANAPOLIS – One of the Indy 500’s unique traditions is for the winner to drink milk after taking the checkered flag.

With a full field of 33 drivers taking part, organizers need to know their milk preferences so they can be prepared no matter who wins.

The American Dairy Association conducted its annual milk preference poll to ask drivers which type of milk they’d prefer. Drivers can choose from three milk options: whole milk, 2% milk or fat free milk (there is a fourth option for “no preference”).

According to this year’s survey, 26 drivers want whole milk, 6 want 2% and 1 (Juan Pablo Montoya) has no preference. No driver picked fat-free milk.

Juan Pablo Montoya indicated “no preference,” although he wouldn’t mind chocolate milk (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

The survey also includes a space for drivers to leave a comment. While not everyone fills it out, the responses can provide some entertainment value.

Two drivers—Ed Carpenter and Felix Rosenqvist—wrote they’d prefer buttermilk. While not offered as an option, it’s the original drink of Indy 500 champions. According to racing lore, Louis Meyer enjoyed a glass of buttermilk after winning the 1936 race because his mother had told him it was the best thing to drink on a hot day.

Since then, it’s been a tradition for the winner of the Indianapolis 500 to drink milk.

Louis Meyer is a three-time winner who started the tradition of drinking milk in the Victory Circle. (AP Photo/File)

Chocolate milk, another drink not offered as an option, got a few mentions. Devlin DeFrancesco, Colton Herta and Juan Pablo “No Preference” Montoya all commented they would like chocolate milk. It’s also favored by Graham Rahal, who chose whole milk “since chocolate isn’t an option and tradition matters.”

Four-time winner Helio Castroneves requested “pink powder please,” a reference to last year, when he added strawberry flavoring to his bottle. Castroneves is seeking his fifth Indy 500 win.

A few drivers wanted to make sure they got very cold milk, including Santino Ferrucci, Dalton Kellett, Jimmie Johnson, Scott McLaughlin, Alex Palou and Kyle Kirkwood, who wrote, “Ice cold please.”

Marco Andretti requested whole milk and wrote, “No orange juice,” undoubtedly a reference to the infamous 1993 moment when Emerson Fittipaldi chugged OJ instead of milk to the dismay of Indy 500 fans.