The 20 Weirdest Indianapolis 500 Traditions and Superstitions Explained

Helio Castroneves celebrates winning back-to-back Indy 500s by drinking from two milk glasses. May 26, 2002.Photo: JEFF HAYNES/AFP (Getty Images)

After he took the checkered flag, 1933 and 1936 Indy 500 winner Louis Meyer climbed out of his car and asked for one thing: a cold glass of buttermilk. Legend has it that his mother told him to drink it on hot days, so Meyer went ahead and did it. A few drivers followed suit in the aftermath, but shortages during World War II saw the milk soon replaced by water.

The tradition of winners regularly drinking milk was revived in the mid-1950s, when milk companies started sponsoring the event — if you sip milk in Victory Lane, you’ll receive a handsome $10,000 award. And with the American Dairy Association sponsoring the event, you have to drink some form of dairy milk. Sorry to those of you who are lactose intolerant!

The milk thing is serious. I’ll never forget arriving at the track bright and early for my first Indy 500 and watching a man walk through the Pagoda Plaza with a suitcase handcuffed to his wrist. When I asked someone what was inside, I was expecting it to be a cash prize. No — it was the bottles of milk, primed and ready for the winner to drink.

Don’t believe that it’s a Thing? In 1993, Emerson Fittipaldi decided to sip some orange juice instead of milk since he, y’know, owned citrus farms and wanted to promote his business. Fans weren’t having it, and he was heavily booed at subsequent race weekends. Folks in Indiana still hold a grudge.