Abbie Herr from Noble County to Serve as Indy 500 ‘Veteran Milk Person’
The 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 is Sunday, May 25—and as part of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” two Indiana Dairy producers will be joining the celebration at the end of this year’s race.
“Being there on Race Day, the energy is so electric, and it gets you really pumped up,” says Abbie Herr, an Indiana Dairy producer from Kendallville in Noble County. Last year, she was the Indy 500 Rookie Milk Person. This year, she’s the Indy 500 Veteran Milk Person, presented by American Dairy Association Indiana.
As this year’s Indy 500 Veteran Milk Person, Abbie will hand a glass bottle of milk to the winning driver in Victory Circle at the end of this year’s race. Meanwhile, this year’s Indy 500 “Rookie Milk Person” is Ashley Stockwell, an Indiana Dairy producer from Steuben County, who will hand off another bottle of milk to the winning driver’s chief mechanic.
Abbie knows what to expect as the Veteran Milk Person, since she served as Rookie Milk Person in 2024.
“Last year as a ‘Rookie’, it was so beautiful and chaotic behind Victory Circle. Then, all of the sudden, you just hear someone yelling, ‘MILK, MILK, MILK!’, and they rush you out there. Now, to be out there handing it to the winning driver is such a surreal moment,” she says.
Abbie tells Hoosier Ag Today that she hopes this opportunity serves as a moment of inspiration for her two young daughters.
“I’m so honored to be able to represent our family farm. We’re the fourth generation raising the fifth generation of Indiana Dairy producers, and I’m hoping that inspires my daughters to maybe want to take the reins one day and be selected.”
Abbie says that Indy Car drivers and dairy producers have a lot in common.
“They’re putting in a lot of hard work and a lot of dedication, and it takes a lot of determination. To see that paying off, whomever it may be, is going to be such a fulfilling thing.”
History could be made on Race Day if Josef Newgarden, who won in 2023 and 2024, wins once again this year. He’s the sixth driver to have won the Indianapolis 500 in back-to-back years. However, no driver has ever taken the checkered flag three years in a row.
“Oh my gosh, that would be so exciting! Obviously, I’m going to be happy for whomever makes it to Victory Circle. Just to be a part of that tradition—and then also you’re with the driver going to go down in history—whether it’s Josef Newgarden or somebody else, I feel like just being a part of that tradition is going to be so exciting all around!”
For more information about American Dairy Association Indiana (ADAI), visit WinnersDrinkMilk.com!
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CLICK BELOW to hear more of Hoosier Ag Today’s conversation with Noble County dairy producer Abbie Herr, this year’s Indy 500 Veteran Milk Person presented by American Dairy Association Indiana.
