'Winners Drink Milk': Inside the iconic dairy celebration at the Indy 500

Bruce Martin
Special to FOXSports.com

INDIANAPOLIS — Two of the greatest traditions of the Indianapolis 500 began in the same year when Louis Meyer became the first three-time winner of the Memorial Day Classic at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

It was the first year for the Borg-Warner Trophy, the incredibly impressive silver trophy that has become one of the most iconic trophies in the world. Although the winner doesn’t get to keep the permanent Borg-Warner Trophy, a sterling silver bas-relief likeness of the winner’s face is attached to the trophy along with the other winning drivers in the history of the Indy 500.

The second tradition, however, began organically — literally.

When Meyer pulled into Victory Lane after 200 grueling laps that make up the 500 miles in the race, he was thirsty. He asked for a cold bottle of buttermilk, and he drank as photographers snapped photos of the celebration.

The following day, many newspapers around the United States featured the photo of the winning driver of the Indianapolis 500 drinking from a bottle of milk.

It was the birth of a legend.

But first, a backstory few people might know.

The actual buttermilk back in the 1930s, was actually different than today’s strong-tasting, acidic buttermilk that is used in baking and brining. It would be considered "sweet cream" by today’s dairy standards.

Brooke Williams, the Director of Communications for the American Dairy Association of Indiana, knows the real story of what happened on May 30, 1936.

"The buttermilk that Louis Meyer drank was back when they churned butter and took the cream off the top of the butter," Williams told FOX Sports. "That was the buttermilk that Louis Meyer wanted. That sweet, rich, buttermilk.

"Today’s