The Indy 500 is called the greatest spectacle in racing, it's the largest single-day sporting event in the world, and the winner celebrates by drinking an ice cold bottle of milk!
This is a long tradition, started by driver Louis Meyer in
1936.
Each year, two Indiana dairy farmers carry out the 'Winners
Drink Milk' tradition.
A rookie farmer is selected each year to deliver bottles of
milk to the winning chief mechanic and team owner. The following year the
rookie becomes the official milk person and is given the honor of handing the
bottle of milk to the winning driver. (They also do a ton of interviews and
videos and publicity!)
Kris is an officer of the national promotion board, so we
along with other farmers from across the country got the chance to support
dairy at this event!
I've never seen a race before, and all the traditions and
pomp and circumstance were so great. The race itself was incredibly exciting,
and the atmosphere was electric. And - it was the closest finish in race
history! Watching Ashley and Brian present milk to Felix Rosenqvist and his
team - and the fact that the milk celebration is the crowning event - was
amazing. Winners Drink Milk! And pour some over their heads too.
Great job to the Indiana and DMI promotion teams, who pay
attention to every single detail.
Here’s a little rundown.
Friday
We drove to Indianapolis and had dinner at St Elmo’s with our
group of dairy farmers and staff. St Elmo’s has a special place in my heart,
because it’s where I started eating meat after 18 years of not liking it. We listened
to the past Milk Presenter, farmers, and staff, and 2013 winner Tony Kanaan. He
and his wife Lauren talked afterward, and it was apparent what family-type people
they are.
Afterward, a group of us went to the Slippery Noodle, which is
a really popular place in Indianapolis.
Saturday
Kris and I walked around White River State Park, which had
nice sculptures and pretty pools of water. We had a meeting with everyone to
discuss current dairy issues and solutions. In 1984 in the Netherlands, farmers
were limited on the amount of milk they could produce, so many of them moved to
the US. I particularly liked hearing from the Dutch farmers on how they consider
the US the land of opportunity and now have some of the largest farms in the
country.
We had some free time, so Lotte, Tyler, (cool Michigan
farmers) Kris and I walked to the park to rent bikes – and they had a 4-person
surrey! It was pretty funny, because all of us could pedal, but there were two
steering wheels. One worked, and one didn’t, but it was impossible to sit in
the passenger seat and not try to steer. We rode all around the White River
State Park and had a lovely time.
We caught the (very) tail end of the parade, and we ate lunch
at Encanto Alebrije, a Mexican restaurant. Lotte took a call from her family
during it and it was really fun listening her switch from Flemish to English,
and listen to Tyler speak Spanish to the server. (She was born in Belgium, and
Tyler speaks Spanish with his Mexican team members.)
We met up with the larger group and went on a factory tour
at Dallara, which is where all of the Indy cars are made! All the car exteriors
are exactly the same, and then they have a choice of two different engines.
They showed us how they try to make them as safe as possible. We saw the
driving simulator for the drivers, which is one of three in the world.
Then we did our own driving simulation in public simulators,
and it was so exciting and nerve wracking! I was actually sweating! It did
work, because I had the pedal to the metal the entire time, and I still didn’t
win, which honestly showed me a glimpse of what it was like for the drivers.
(Lotte WAS one of the winners though!)
We stopped at Daredevil Brewing on the way home. They had a
band playing outside and it was pretty warm out.
Saturday
Indy 500! This was an incredible day and experience. First
of all, there are 350,000 spectators. The speedway is so huge that all the NFL
stadiums can fit into it at the same time. It is 560 acres. It has golf holes
in it. The track is 2.5 miles and has seating around it, so the other side of
the track alone is so far away!
We left the hotel at 6:30 a.m. and the party was already
happening. There were so many cars and people. We explored the grounds,
including the tons of vendors. We watched race celebrities come in on the red carpet.
We people watched. Our friend Andrea was there with her friend Amber, and we
met up and kissed the bricks of the finish line.
We had pit passes, and we went right down on the track,
right next to the cars! It was incredible how open everything was – you could
bring chairs, coolers, food, whatever you wanted, because we were basically
just outside. I loved the atmosphere so much.
We saw Ashley Stockwell (Milk Presenter) and Brian Rexing
(Rookie) being interviewed on the track.
“Do you want to see the milk?” Ashley’s husband Kyle asked.
“Yes!” we said. They pulled it out of their mobile cooler
and showed us. We oohed and ahhed. How fun! We took pictures with it and them.
At 9:00 a.m., they started the trophy march, and there were
leadup events the entire day. There was a military appreciation lap, winners
lap, historic car lap, driver introductions, etc. By noon, everyone was
watching, and it was God Bless America, military address, prayer, taps, America
the Beautiful, National Anthem, flyover, Back Home Again in Indiana, second
flyover, they said “Drivers, start your engines,” and then Blackhawk helicopters
flew over the cars INSIDE THE SPEEDWAY. It was all such an amazing spectacle –
just as promised! There was so much ceremony, tradition, excitement…and it wasn’t
even the main event!
Then…the green flag, and the race started!
It was loud, just like everyone said it would be. You had to
wear earplugs or these amazing headphones that let you listen to the race
broadcast OR you could tune into hear what the drivers and pit crews were
saying through their radios! It was fascinating to hear things like “I can’t
keep up with him” from the guy in second place.
Almost immediately, there was a crash, and everyone got out
unhurt. Then there was another crash. They would have a delay, and then they
would start again, and every time it was amazing how fast they went!
We were halfway through the race – I couldn’t believe it –
and I wanted to go to the Snakepit, where there was a concert going on. But I
didn’t want to miss any of the race! Happily, it started sprinkling and they
delayed it. Hooray! Tyler, Kris, and I walked over. The atmosphere was so energized.
I loved it! So many people, music, and a track around it all.
We couldn’t get in because it was sold out, but it was
totally open so we could just see the people dancing to the DJ. We turned
around and went back to the race.
The end of the race was also wild. After another crash (six
cars total over the race!) there were suddenly only eight laps left. Then
another racer hit the wall…and the field lined up behind the race car. The
entire race was going to be decided in a single lap. Can you believe it? After
199 laps, only one really mattered!
They raced at 230 mph, we cheered, and the cars jockeyed for
position. It ended like a drag race, with two cars side by side - the closest
finish in Indy 500 history, with Felix Rozenqvist winning by 0.02 seconds.
What a rush! Then the culmination – the milk presentation!
We watched Ashley and Brian on the big screen giving Felix the milk. He drank
it and poured it over his head, and then they passed it around. What a fun
tradition.
He kissed the bricks, did a victory lap, and was
interviewed. We went back to the suite and hung out for awhile until the
traffic died down, and then we went back to the hotel.
In the lobby, we stayed up talking to the other farmers
about – you guessed it, farming!
We went from knowing very little about the Indy 500 to
telling everyone we’d totally go back. Go dairy!
