Who knew that such planning went into the Indianapolis 500’s milk-drinking ceremony?
The American Dairy Association of Indiana just released a poll of the race’s 33 drivers identifying their milk preferences, so that the proper drink can be delivered to the winner’s circle Sunday.
Of the 33 drivers, 17 requested whole milk, 13 requested 2-percent milk, and three asked for fat-free milk.
Juan Pablo Montoya, who won it all last year, prefers whole milk. Charlie Kimball, Pippa Mann and Spencer Pigot are the fat-free faction.
Deb Osza, general manager of the ADAI, official milk provider of the Indy 500, said that the trend has been toward a greater preference for whole milk, which she attributes to recent studies showing that full-fat dairy might be healthier than low-fat.
The winner-drinking-milk tradition started in 1936 when Louis Meyer requested a bottle of cold buttermilk after he won that race.
Osza said that buttermilk is no longer an option.
And neither is chocolate milk.
Osza explained that the color of the liquid in the clear bottle is crucial. When Emerson Fittipaldi spurned the milk in 1993 for a bottle of orange juice, it sent a shock wave through the dairy industry.
“Our thinking is that there was such a public reaction when Emerson drank orange juice, when people saw it was clearly not milk, that we decided that why tamper with the color,” she said.
Osza said they did experiment with chocolate milk, but the visuals were less than satisfactory. “I just love that nice pure white milk in the bottle,” she said. “It looks so pretty and pristime.”
And if a driver is lactose intolerant, Osza said they would provide a bottle of lactose-free milk.
