I know nothing about race cars, and very little about cars in general. But we could not visit Indianapolis without checking out the Indianapolis Speedway. So, I got us the required tickets to the Speedway Museum and a 30-minute track tour.

The newly renovated museum was interesting, even for the racing uninitiated. Late the evening, before our “Kiss the Bricks” tour, we were informed the track would be in use and were switched to the “Victory Podium” tour. It was disappointing to learn we would not be able to ride the tour van around the entire track, but as a consolation, we did see some club cars racing. It was nice to hear the roar.

The track is massive and can hold up to 400,000 fans, making the Indy 500 race the largest single-day sports event in the world.

As a Miamian, it felt like old home week to hear about Carl Fisher buying the land for the track (which opened in 1911) and the involvement of co-founder James Allison and Eddie Rickenbacker (who bought the track from Fisher in 1927). Those men all had storied roles in the development of the Miami area.

Today it’s primarily owned by Roger Penske. His team of cars and drivers under the Penske Racing umbrella has won legions of races and awards. The museum provides an exceptional showcase of cars, drivers, and all things race-related.

Most people know the winner of the Indy 500 drinks milk instead of champagne to celebrate the victory. That tradition began in 1936, when a driver’s mother urged him to drink buttermilk after racing to help combat post-race muscle fatigue (which apparently it does). When that driver won his third 500 and drank milk after the race, the dairy industry decided to get involved. Today, winners are paid $10,000 to make sure they drink milk. They do get to choose between whole, 2%, or skim – buttermilk is no longer a popular option.

We couldn’t help posing on the victory stage for this cheesy picture!