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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Give the Borg-Wiener Trophy at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to the Wienermobile affectionately known as Slaw Dog.
In a tight competition among the six famous Wienermobiles, which promote goodwill for Oscar Mayer, the vehicle representing the Southeast emerged victorious during the Carb Day event leading up to Sunday’s Indianapolis 500.
It made a dramatic pass of the Wienermobile repping Chicago at the finish line to win the inaugural Wienie 500 on Friday.
The margin was about a half a bun.
“You’re witnessing a historical moment in hot dog history,” said Sarah Oney, who co-piloted the New York Wienermobile with Connor Wolff, to The Associated Press. “This is the very first time all six Wienermobiles have been together, especially here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.”
The race was the ultimate competition: The team driving the No. 3 Wienermobile outpaced the others on a clear, cool afternoon, earning the chance to stay for the 109th Indianapolis 500.
The Wienermobiles have been around since 1936 as a promotional vehicle for Oscar Mayer — not to be confused with Louis Meyer, the first three-time winner of the Indy 500. They travel around the country, logging about 20,000 miles annually, though none were probably as important to the hotdoggers on board as the 5 miles they drove on Friday.
Oney and Wolff jumped into the lead when the green flag flew at the historic yard of bricks, and the six Wienermobiles slowly picked up speed until they reached about 65 mph. They were right in each other’s grills down the backstretch, and swapped the lead among themselves several times until the second of two laps, when the No. 4 dog led the field out of Turn 2.
That’s when smoke began pouring from its rear, and that dog was cooked.
The Wienermobile wearing No. 1 assumed the lead as the field headed onto the front stretch, and a crowd of nearly 80,000 fans who had just watched the final practice for the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 was standing and cheering.
That’s when the Wienermobile from the Southeast, which had doggedly hung around the lead for most of the race, made its big move. It passed the the Wienermobile repping Chicago just in time to relish in the sweet taste of victory.
It might have been the fastest Wieners have gone since Joey Chestnut’s heyday on Coney Island.
“The Indy 500 marks the unofficial kickoff of summer and the start of hot dog season,” said Kelsey Rice, brand communications director at Chicago-based Oscar Mayer. “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.”
