The Memorial Day holiday traditionally is a weekend reserved for travel, cookouts, popular sporting events, tributes to fallen U.S. soldiers --- and drinking milk

Drinking milk?

Well, at least one grown person drinks milk each Memorial Day weekend, on national television, no less.

That person is the winner of the Indianapolis 500. This year, that was Scott Dixon.

Dixon's drinking milk after the race offered a strong contrast to the sight of NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne, who won the Coca-Cola 600 later Sunday, hoisting a championship beer.

Beer may seem a more appropriate and more manly choice of adult beverage than milk during Memorial Day weekend. But Kahne drank beer to promote his sponsor, Budweiser, while Dixon carried on one of sport's longest-running traditions.

Story has it that milk became the official drink of the Indy 500 champion after the 1936 winner, Louis Meyer, was photographed drinking buttermilk, his favorite drink, which, reportedly, his mother had recommended to him because of its refreshment quality.

Refreshment quality? How many adults drink milk because of its refreshment quality? How many adults grab for the milk when they are hot or tired after driving a long way, or after running a few miles, or after working up a sweat cutting their lawn or doing yard work?

An executive at the Milk Foundation reportedly saw the photo of Meyer drinking buttermilk and set out to ensure that the Indy 500 winner every year would receive milk to drink. So, a tradition was born.

The National Dairy Council has declared its support for the tradition, calling the celebratory chugging of the milk "a winning example for people everywhere who are looking to maintain a healthy, active lifestyle."

Kahne, meanwhile, received great support from the 200,000-plus fans who attended the Coca-Cola 600, many of whom were drinking beer.

No doubt, beer may seem more refreshing than milk this holiday weekend. But no one enjoyed milk more than Dixon.

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What Gas Problem?

Anybody who thought the number of travelers this weekend would be down over previous years because of high gas prices must not have been a race fan.

Because, just as gas prices are up over this time a year ago, so was attendance at two of the nation's premier auto races -- the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600.

Close to 250,000 people -- a quarter of a million - attended Sunday's Indianapolis 500. More than 200,00 fans were at the Coca-Cola 600 outside Charlotte later Sunday. Many of them traveled more than 500 miles to watch people drive 500 miles. Many of them traveled to the races in motor homes, which got similar gas mileage to the race cars themselves -- about 4 to 5 miles per gallon.

Labels: Hendrick Chevrolet Drinking Milk, Hendrick Chevrolet Championship Beer, Hendrick Chevrolet Holiday Weekend, Hendrick Chevrolet Official Drink, Rick Hendrick Chevrolet