INDIANAPOLIS (Wednesday, March 19, 2025) – Indianapolis Motor Speedway, American Dairy Association Indiana and Prairie Farms Dairy are collaborating to bring Indianapolis 500-branded milk pints and cartons to fans across the Midwest.
More than 13,000 retailers across Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois, Missouri and Wisconsin will be stocked with 16-ounce pints celebrating five winners of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”
Each milk type will feature a different Indy 500 winner, allowing fans to collect them all:
- 2% reduced-fat milk features back-to-back winner and defending winner Josef Newgarden (2023, 2024)
- Whole vitamin D milk features two-time Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato (2017, 2020)
- Premium chocolate milk features 2018 Indy 500 winner Will Power
- 1% lowfat chocolate milk features four-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves (2001, 2002, 2009, 2021)
- Premium strawberry milk features 2022 Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson
Fans can expect to find these pint bottles in retail locations for a six-week distribution window beginning this week.
In addition to the collectible pint bottles, approximately 80 million half-pint cartons decorated with a graphic in celebration of Winners Drink Milk will be distributed to schools throughout the same eight states.
“At IMS, we know winners drink milk,” INDYCAR and IMS President J. Douglas Boles said. “These milk pints and cartons are another way our fans can be part of the Race Day excitement and celebrate like an Indy 500 champion.”
An ice-cold bottle of milk after 500 miles of racing is one of the most iconic celebrations in all sports. The tradition of drinking milk after winning the Indianapolis 500 dates back to 1936, when Louis Meyer, an avid drinker of buttermilk, requested a bottle after winning his third Indy 500. As the story goes, a dairy industry executive saw the newsreel footage of the iconic moment and requested milk be made available to the winner of each Indianapolis 500 thereafter.
“Drinking the coveted bottle of ice-cold milk on Victory Podium isn’t just a celebration – it’s a tribute to dairy farmers and more than a century of racing history,” American Dairy Association Indiana CEO Jenni Browning said. “At the Indy 500, milk is the ultimate symbol of hard work, endurance and victory. With these special-edition pints and cartons, fans can drink milk and celebrate the winning drivers and dairy farmers everywhere.”
These days, buttermilk is no longer offered as an option. All 33 drivers entered in the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge submit their milk preference to the Dairy Association in advance. They can choose between whole milk, 2% reduced fat milk or skim milk. Whole milk is the most popular choice, but there are some drivers that still request buttermilk in honor of Meyer.
The 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge is scheduled for Sunday, May 25. Tickets are on sale at IMS.com or by calling or visiting the IMS Ticket Office.
