Iconic Wienermobiles Take on The Brickyard in the Wienie 500

Typically, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is filled with the sounds of open-wheel racers zipping around the oval at speeds in excess of 200 mph. However, this year, The Brickyard is playing host to a different kind of race: the Wienie 500.

Oscar Mayer, the creator of the Wienermobile, is hosting a fleet of iconic vehicles in the first-ever Wienie 500, which will take place ahead of the traditional Memorial Day race. All six Wienermobiles will participate in the race.

“The Indy 500 marks the unofficial kickoff of summer and the start of hot dog season,” said Kelsey Rice, brand communications director at Oscar Mayer.

“As a brand known for sparking smiles in disarmingly delightful ways, it’s only fitting that we bring a race of epic proportions to the Speedway and celebrate a timeless tradition: delicious meats and a little friendly competition to kick off a summer of wieners.”

Hotdoggin’ it

Each Wienermobile will represent a different regional dog, including the Chi Dog (Midwest), New York Dog (East), Slaw Dog (Southeast), Sonoran Dog (Southwest), Chili Dog (South) and Seattle Dog (Northwest).

These drivers are taking it seriously … or at least as seriously as one can. They’ll don custom Hotdogger racing suits to ensure safety is a priority. The winner of the race head to the ‘Wiener’s Circle’ for a trophy presentation. While the winner of the Indy 500 drinks milk on the victory stand, the Wienie 500 victor will celebrate with a condiment spray and hot dog.

And if you want to see a dozen Wienermobiles roasting the famed oval, it’s going to be televised.

The race will be streamed live on Friday, May 23 at 2 p.m. ET on the FOX Sports app and across @INDYCARonFOX social accounts, and fans can catch highlights from the race during Sunday’s Indy 500 pre-race show on FOX.

A tradition

While the current Wienermobile is actually six vehicles that traverse the country to promote Oscar Mayer products, the 27-foot-long vehicles have a nearly 100-year history, with the first one being produced in 1936 by Oscar Mayer’s nephew, Carl Mayer.

One might think the original was sitting in a museum somewhere, however, it’s not so. It was scrapped for metal during World War II. However, after the war ended, the Wienermobile returned, and the 1952 model, which rides on a Dodge chassis and is powered by a Chevrolet 350 V8 engine, is on display at The Henry Ford, a museum in Dearborn, Michigan, just outside Detroit.

George Molchan, playing the character “Little Oscar,” traveled with the Wienermobile from 1951 to 1987. Today the vehicles are accompanied by college interns known as “hotdoggers.”

Since then, several iterations of the Wienermobile have been produced, growing a bit throughout the years, and riding on a variety of Chevrolet chassis since 1969. In 1988, a new fleet of six 23-ft-long Wienermobiles made their way across America. In 1995, they stretched another four feet to their current 27 feet. They’re also 11 feet high.

The current version tops out at 70 mph, but in 1988 Al Unser Jr. pushed it up to 110 mph, racing around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. However, it takes a while to get to that kind of speed as its zero-to-60-mph time is estimated at just under 25 seconds.

Still a car

While it certainly stands out, especially in a mall parking lot, ultimately, the Wienermobile is still just a car. Which means its prone to some of the same issues plaguing everyday commuters. During the Super Bowl weekend in 2023, thieves in Las Vegas managed to nab the catalytic converter off the vehicle.

The next year, the Midwest model was involved in a crash with a passenger sedan on I-294 near Chicago and flipped onto its side. No injuries were reported. The driver just blew on it, saying it’s still fine if you blow the dirt off in less than 5 seconds, it’s fine.