“I Thought She Was Messing With Me”: When Kyle Larson Embraced the Tradition of Milking a Cow for the Indy 500

Kyle Larson’s Indianapolis 500 debut might not have gone exactly to plan last May, but he sure did have a lot of fun at the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. One of the more lighthearted commitments he fulfilled was to milk a cow, a task reserved for the one who sets the fastest speed for a rookie in qualifying. Larson clocked 232.846 mph to become the latest to honor the tradition which began in 2016 with Alexander Rossi.

The Fastest Rookie Program has been active for half a century. Larson set the second fastest time in history this year, behind Tony Stewart’s record of 233.100 mph in 1996.

To celebrate the effort of the rookies, the American Dairy Association devised the novel custom of “milking”. Now, there are specifics involved too. The drivers have to milk a cow that was raised on an Indiana farm.

Larson, who has won a great deal of honors in his storied NASCAR and racing career so far, was surprised by this one.

“She was full of pressure and ready to release some milk, so it wasn’t too difficult,” Larson had said after going through the ceremony. “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.”

Kyle then went on to talk about how the milking added the fun quotient to the many experiences he had at Indy.

“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, becomes a core memory for rookies. The 2021 Cup Series champion made sure that he soaked 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. Larson finished 18th with a top average lap speed of 223.584 mph. The 32-year-old was named the Rookie of the Year.

Interestingly, Larson had 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.