The 109th edition of the Indianapolis 500 takes place this Sunday and, as tradition dictates, the driver who crosses the finish line first at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will not only take the glory, but will also celebrate with a bottle of ice-cold milk, a symbol of victory in this historic race.
Although today it seems like an unbreakable custom, the idea of drinking milk after winning the Indy 500 was not born with the first edition in 1911, nor was it part of the initial protocol. The 2.5-mile oval circuit has been the scene of countless feats in its 200 laps, but it was not until the 1930s that one of its most peculiar rites was born.
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The origin of a legendary sip
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The story goes back to the 24th edition, held in 1936. The protagonist was Louis Meyer, who, after winning the race for the third time, asked for buttermilk to cool off. Meyer knew the nutritional properties of the drink and simply wanted to calm his fatigue on a hot day. “All I could think about was a nice cold buttermilk,” the driver recalled, according to the official website of the circuit.
The image of Meyer drinking what appeared to be milk caught the attention of a dairy industry entrepreneur, who saw an opportunity to turn that spontaneous gesture into tradition. Since then, milk has become synonymous with victory in the Victory Lane.
However, there were exceptions. After the Second World War, when racing resumed, Wilbur Shaw – president of the circuit and three-time winner of the race – chose to give water to the winner. But after his death in 1954, the milk custom returned, this time with an economic incentive: $400 for the driver and $50 for his chief mechanic, provided they celebrated with milk.
Emerson Fittipaldi’s 1993 challenge
Only one driver openly defied tradition. In 1993, Emerson Fittipaldi chose to drink orange juice instead of milk to promote the Brazilian citrus industry. His decision was met with boos and a wave of criticism. Although he later drank milk at the insistence of Roger Penske, his team, many still remember the episode as an affront to the ritual… and it is even said that he was “punished” when he crashed the following year while leading in the closing laps.
This news was originally published on this post .
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