The Inaugural Oscar Mayer Wienie 500: Why’d They Run the Main Event on a Friday?
Six of the most famous vehicles in the country lined up behind the yard of bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this past Friday to begin one of the greatest displays of sporting prowess ever seen at the track - the Oscar Mayer Wienie 500.
Words left me, alongside any ability to suppress a smile, as the two-driver crew of Hotdoggers each entered their seven-ton fiberglass racing wieners. Chi Dog, New York Dog, Slaw Dog, Sonoran Dog, Seattle Dog, Chili Dog. Remember their names.
The six Wienermobiles represented the greatest dreams of their namesake regions, and each brought an ingenuity and fortitude of spirit to Indianapolis not seen since the day Carl G. Fisher proposed building the greatest sporting venue in the history of the world.
“It’s not fair. I always wanted to drive a food-shaped car,” said a fan in attendance.
The grid was set, Chi Dog was on pole as the teams were given the command to start their wienies. The green flag waved as an impressive hole shot from New York Dog on the outside thrust the wienie across the yard of bricks from the standing start. Now just 500 chains (It’s a real unit of measurement. Look it up.) separated our wienies from coming across the finish line.
The dirty water dog from New York rode its initial momentum into a strong lead, as the trailing wienies fell into the draft. But then, the immense winds blowing at Indy this year forced a bobble from the leader, and New York Dog was forced to lift coming out of Turn 2.
Sonoran Dog, Slaw Dog and Chi Dog pounced; taking the opportunity to come on both sides of the faltering New York Dog in an impressive three-wienie-wide move down the back stretch. Sonoran Dog would make a similarly spicy move while taking the white flag to move into the lead.
But the speed of that thrust came with a cost, Sonoran Dog suffered heartbreak with just 1.5 miles to go as smoke erupted from the casing of the #04 - their race was cooked.
With the white flag in the air, officials chose to keep the race green. Sonoran Dog dropped back, and Chi Dog reassumed the Wienie 500 lead with Slaw Dog close behind in the draft. But with so little distance left, it looked like Chi Dog had the race locked up.
But it’s never completely over at Indy. As the leader wieners powered out of Turn 4 chills and cheers erupted throughout the crowd. In a perfectly time moved, Slaw Dog channeled the 2006 Indy 500 race-winning pass of Sam Relish Jr. over Mustard Andretti to pass Chi Dog at the yard of bricks and win the inaugural Wienie 500 by the skin of its casing.
Maddy Mustard and Grillmaster Matthew, the Hotdoggers of Slaw Dog, have been immortalized in the annals of Indy history. They received the Borg Wiener Trophy and a Wienie Wreath while surrounded by a jubilant crowd chanting, “kiss the bricks! Kiss the bricks!” They obliged.
The winning wienies celebrated with bottle of a diet cola with a lemon twist and a sundae. When asked what their plan was, the duo simply said, “I’m going to Wienie Hut Jr.!!!”
The top series in motorsports have found a home at Indianapolis over the years, Indycar, NASCAR, Formula 1, IMSA, the World Endurance Championship, Moto GP, Moto America, the list presumably goes on. On the now-historic May 23, 2025, we have added a new name to the pantheon of Indy greatness. Wienie.