It’s a tradition that dates back more than 90 years, and this year will be no different. Upon exiting the car, the winner of this year’s Indianapolis 500 will get a refreshing drink of wholesome milk, courtesy of 2026 Veteran Indy 500 Milk Presenter, dairy farmer Ashley Stockwell of Hudson, Indiana.
“It’s been a really big deal to embrace myself in dairy. I’ve always been in agriculture, but now being able to embrace myself in dairy, in the farm, and raise our kids on the farm has been a blessing for us. Just being able to show them what it means to grow up on a farm, the work ethic, right? We know cows don’t take a day off. It’s 24/7 for us, and just seeing how much they embrace the life that you know, like we’ve grown to love, is something that I’m passionate about.”
She says she was surprised when she learned the background of presenting milk to the winner.
“As an Indiana native, I’ve always known about the race. I’ve always known the Indy 500 was a really big deal. I’ve always known that winners drank milk. But it wasn’t until probably the last 10 years that I actually fully understood that, hey, that’s an Indiana dairy farmer presenting the milk once I kind of dug into this more.”
Stockwell says it’s an honor to represent her home state.
“To be able to be the farmer representing nearly the nearly 700 Indiana dairy farm families is really humbling, especially as this is the Year of the Female Farmer. I don’t think when I was selected, anybody knew that this was in our future. So the fact that it all lined up to be a female representing that this year means a lot to me, and especially to my family and to our family’s dairy farm.”
This year’s 500-mile race will take place on May 24.