Kyle Larson’s Indianapolis 500 debut might not have gone exactly to plan last May, but he sure did have a lot of fun participating in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. One of the more lighthearted commitments that he had to fulfill after setting the fastest speed for a rookie (232.846 mph) in qualifying was to milk a cow. The tradition began in 2016 with Alexander Rossi and has continued to date.
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The Fastest Rookie Program has been active for half a century and Larson was the recipient of its top award this season. His pace was the second fastest in history, next only to Tony Stewart’s record of 233.100 mph in 1996. To reward his effort and that of other rookies, the American Dairy Association celebrated when the drivers had to take part in the “milking” custom.
They had to milk a cow that was raised on an Indiana farm. Although Larson has won a great deal of honors in his career, milking a cow was a first for him.
He said during the celebration, “She was full of pressure and ready to release some milk, so it wasn’t too difficult. It’s cool. I learned about this on Fast Friday when I was asked if I was ready to milk a cow. I thought she was messing with me.”
“Everything about the Indy 500, there is a lot of tradition, and this is a fairly new tradition going back to 2016 with Alexander Rossi. It’s neat to be here with the other rookies and get to do something fun and funny.” Experiencing these activities backed with strong tradition is a core memory for rookies. The 2021 Cup Series champion made sure that he took it all in.
How Larson missed out on celebrating with a bottle of milk in victory lane
Since 1956, every driver who has reached victory lane in the Indianapolis 500 has celebrated the success by drinking from a bottle of milk. There were huge expectations that Larson would be photographed doing the same. However, he missed out on the opportunity after being caught with a speeding penalty on the pit road during the race.
Interestingly, he’d even chosen the kind of milk that he would receive in victory lane if he won. It is a requirement for drivers to inform the American Dairy Association of Indiana of their choice of milk. They usually get 2 percent, whole milk, skimmed, or chocolate. Larson had gone with whole milk.
He explained the choice, “I was going to choose almond milk because my daughter had dairy allergies, but I was told the photos look better with the whole milk. So, I went with whole milk.” Hopefully, he will be able to taste it next season.
