Whole, 2% or skim — but no buttermilk!: Why does the Indianapolis 500 winner drink milk?

Here is everything you need to know about why the Indianapolis 500 winner drinks milk:

Why does the Indy 500 winner drink milk?

The tradition started in 1936 when Louis Meyer drank buttermilk in Victory Lane because his mother said it would refresh him on a hot day, according to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. A dairy industry executive saw a marketing opportunity and milk has been part of every race since 1956.

Why can't Indy 500 winners drink buttermilk now?

Though drivers occasionally request buttermilk, it is not an option. In 2019, Brooke Williams, director of communication for the American Dairy Association Indiana, told IndyStar the organization hasn't offered buttermilk as an option since the poll was started in the mid-90s because it's not the drink it was in 1936.

Meyer was drinking milk that was left over from the butter his mother made, according to Williams. That buttermilk was refreshing, rich and creamy. But it no longer exists because dairy products are produced at large plants and the old-fashioned buttermilk is highly perishable.

Modern buttermilk is regular milk with a culture (and sometimes salt for flavor) added to it and, while you can drink it, it has a sour taste and is more often used in cooking.

"(If) we see a driver drink a full glass of buttermilk before the race," Williams said in 2019, "we'll give them some special (consideration). For now, we're keeping it to the three options (of whole, 2% and skim)."

Here is the list of milk for the 2023 Indianapolis 500 drivers

Twenty-eight of the 33 drivers said they wanted whole milk, three want 2% and two opted for skim:

Marco Andretti: Whole

Agustin Canapino: Whole

Ed Carpenter: Whole

Helio Castroneves: 2%

Conor Daly: Whole

Devlin DeFrancesco: Whole

Scott Dixon: Whole

RC Enerson: Whole

Marcus Ericsson: Whole

Santino Ferrucci: Whole

Romain Grosjean: Skim

Jack Harvey: Whole

Colton Herta: Whole

Ryan Hunter-Reay: Whole

Callum Ilott: Whole

Tony Kanaan: Whole

Kyle Kirkwood: Whole

Katherine Legge: Skim

Christian Lundgaard: Whole

David Malukas: Whole

Scott McLaughlin: Whole

Josef Newgarden: Whole

Pato O’Ward: Whole

Simon Pagenaud: Whole

Alex Palou: Whole

Benjamin Pedersen: 2%

Will Power: Whole

Sting Ray Robb: Whole

Felix Rosenqvist: Whole

Alexander Rossi: Whole

Graham Rahal: Whole

Takuma Sato: 2%

Rinus VeeKay: Whole

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indy 500: Why does the Indianapolis 500 winner drink milk?