Racer doggos can enjoy winning the 2019 Indianapolis 500, too.
Just ask Norman Pagenaud, the Jack Russell Terrier of 2019 Indianapolis 500 winner Simon Pagenaud, driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Chevrolet in the NTT IndyCar Series.
Along with his mom, Pagenaud’s fiancee Hailey McDermott, they celebrated in Victory Lane on Memorial Day weekend on Sunday, May 26 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“Norman freaked out,” McDermott told NBC Sports. “He very excited and thought, ‘I want to lick some of that milk off your face, Dad.’ Norman is enjoying all of the attention.”
Drinking milk in Victory Lane is a tradition for the winner of the Indy 500 for obscure reasons, as all grand sporting traditions are. According to the American Kennel Club, small amounts of milk should be safe for adult dogs as a special treat.
Norman has his own Twitter account at @NormanPagenaud. But he’s more of an Instagram pup, updating that account on a far more regular basis. (His Insta has the same handle as Twitter.)
Norman’s had a lot to cheer lately – Simon Pagenaud also won the Grand Prix of Indianapolis earlier in May, and he has two wins, two podiums, and five top-10 finishes in six starts so far during the 2019 season.
The French driver’s NASCAR teammates on the stock car side of things at Team Penske are doing just fine as well.
Joey Logano is also having a strong season in his No. 22 Ford Mustang, with a win, a pole, seven top fives and nine top 10s through 13 races in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. This comes despite losing the Logano family Frenchie Luigi last week.
Brad Keselowski has won three races along with five top fives and six top 10s in the No. 2 Mustang.
Pagenaud’s IndyCar teammates, American Josef Newgarden and Australian Will Power, have combined for another win and four podium finishes so far in 2019.
Norman’s next chance to possibly join in on the Victory Lane celebrations comes during the two-part Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix on Saturday, June 1 at 3:30 p.m. ET, or Sunday, June 2 at 3:30 p.m. ET. Both races will be televised on NBC.
For more racing news, opinion and analysis, be sure to check out the FanSided Network’s home for all things motorsports at Beyond the Flag, or Fronstretch, an independent racing news site.