Rathmann born July 16, 1928 was born Royal Richard Rathmann in Alhambra, California. He could probably been considered Indy car racing's first superspeedway specialist. Two of Rathmann's three official Indy car race wins were at fast ovals topped by his 1960 Indy win. That race is considered an all-time classic, with an intense duel between Rathmann and race car driver, Rodger Ward that some Indy old-timers believe was the finest two-man battled in the hundred-year history of the race known as "the greatest spectacle in racing".
Rathmann's speed over the total 500 mile race was 166.7 mph, a figure that would not be exceeded at the Indianapolis 500 until 1986!
The 500 Milk
That sound of cars zipping by at over 200 mph defines the month of May, but so does drinking milk! It is unclear when the tradition started, but we know who to thank. Louie Meyer was a three-time winner of the race who hailed from Queens, New york. His mother recommended he drink buttermilk on hot days. No one is sure whether he took his mother's advice in 1933, but when he won in 1936 he was filmed drinking his buttermilk out of a glass bottle.
"People that barely know about the Indianapolis 500 and may not even be able to name a driver seem to know about the tradition of drinking milk. That's one of the questions I get asked so often: Why does the winner drink milk at Indianapolis? They were trying to popularize milk and the kids thought that milk was a sissy drink so whoever saw this in the newsreel thought 'Hey, that's great the 500 winner is drinking milk, let's make sure that happens every year."
Donald Davidson, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Historian
Nearly every driver since 1956 has been seen drinking milk after winning the race. The American Dairy Association provides an incentive for the winner to drink milk. It started at a small $150 prize in 1956. Today, it totals $10,000. As an Indy race fan, I recall when Brazilian race car driver and winner of the 1993 Indy 500 Emerson Fittipaldi drank orange juice rather than milk. It caused quite a stir yet each driver prior to the race is asked what type of milk does he wish to drink if he were to win the race. Emerson must have told them .. orange juice. History doesn't tell us if he asked for fresh squeezed. So the tradition of drinking milk was almost ended in 1993 when Fittipaldi broke tradition by chugging a bottle of orange juice while several fans booed.
I attended the Indianapolis 500 in 1988 when the winner was Rick Ravon Mears. He is one of three men to win the race four times!
A.J. Foyt (1961, 1964, 1967, 1977)
Al Unser (1970, 1971, 1978, 1987)
Rick Mears (1979, 1984, 1988, 1991)
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an automobile racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana. Not only is the track home to the Indy 500, it is home to the Brickyard 400 and formerly home to the United States Grand Prix. It is the largest sports venue in the world and was recently purchased by Roger Penske.
The Illusive Green Flag Waves as the Pace Car heads to the Pit Area
Pat Locke
Maestro Muse
