INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Kyle Larson has been adamant about soaking up the entire Indianapolis 500 experience as the NASCAR superstar prepares to make his debut in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” on Memorial Day weekend.

He didn’t expect to find himself under an udder on Tuesday.

One of the most accomplished drivers of any generation is still just an Indy 500 rookie. And one of the somewhat new traditions at a place steeped in them is that rookies, after completing their harrowing qualifying runs and a penultimate practice on Monday, return to otherwise quiet Indianapolis Motor Speedway the next morning for a crack at milking a cow.

“What? Is that a thing?” Larson asked when first informed of the custom.

Told that it was, indeed, a thing, the driver of the No. 17 Arrow McLaren asked: “Do we get to glove up?”

So on a hot, sunny Tuesday at the speedway, there was Larson — just as he had promised — standing alongside a black-and-white Holstein that was quietly munching away. Larson bent at the waist, reached with his right hand — ungloved, for the record — and gave one of the udders a couple of tentative tugs.