- Oscar Mayer’s “Wienie 500” — an Indy 500–style race featuring six 27-foot Wienermobiles — returns May 22 after drawing more than 8 million viewers and 80,000 fans last year.
- This year’s competition highlights America’s favorite regional hot dog styles, from the Slaw Dog to the Chi Dog, with fans voting on the sixth contestant via Instagram.
- The playful event embodies Oscar Mayer’s mission to “spark smiles,” combining nostalgia, spectacle, and classic summertime fun at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Wieniermobiles, start your engines.
That phrase kicks off the “Wienie 500” — the Indy 500-style race featuring six Weinermobiles that broke the internet last year. It’s now back for another round, zooming onto your television screens on May 22, as Oscar Mayer tells Food & Wine.
If you didn’t catch last year’s Wienie 500, consider it required viewing. Six of Oscar Mayer’s roving hot dogs compete in a four-lap race around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, accelerating to a “sensational” 60 miles per hour in 26 seconds. It’s weird, it’s silly, and it’s entirely fun.
“We think the rationale is quite simple — it made people happy. Oscar Mayer’s mission, dating back to the 1880s, is to spark smiles, and that’s exactly what the Wienie 500 did,” Oscar Mayer brand communications director Kelsey Rice tells Food & Wine. “It provided a needed dose of joy, delightfully disarming America in a way only a brand with a fleet of 27-foot hot dogs on wheels could.”
The hot dog-shaped vehicles aren’t particularly aerodynamic, yet somehow zip around the track with an absurd sense of urgency. It’s a solid display of sportsmanship, in my humble opinion. Take a look for yourself:
More than 80,000 attendees watched the race in person last year (15,000 more than the 2025 Super Bowl, by the way). Another 8 million viewers tuned in to the livestream, which is how I’ll be enjoying the race this year.
As for the 2026 contestants, Oscar Mayer’s taking us on a trip through America’s most iconic regional hot dog styles. Six sleek Weinermobiles compete for this year’s title: Slaw Dog (Southeast), Chi Dog (Midwest), New York Dog (East), Chili Dog (South), and Seattle Dog (Northwest). Organizers cut the Sonoran Dog from the lineup this year, so they’re letting fans decide the sixth contestant via an Instagram poll. (Fans can nominate one of six regional hot dogs starting tomorrow, or opt to give Sonoran another chance.)
The beloved Slaw Dog snagged the title last year, barreling across the finish line at top speed and pushing out the Chi Dog for the trophy. Commentators noted it was a close race, so consider it anyone’s title this time around.
“Americans from different regions of the country are incredibly passionate about how they top their hot dogs,” Rice explains. “This is something we hear all the time, so we knew it was the perfect way to give fans a way to root for their favorites and feel like they had a stake in the race.”
More than 500,000 hot dogs were sold at last year’s Indy 500, the brand says, and its team is eager to boost those numbers in 2026. Alongside those summertime snacks, Oscar Mayer’s kitschy raceday traditions include custom decals on each Wienermobile, “Hotdogger” suits for the drivers, a dedicated anthem, and a winners’ circle — err, “wieners circle” — podium.
Across the board, Oscar Mayer is essentially kicking off warm weather with quintessentially American fare. Watching six Wienermobiles race on the Indy 500 track is a pretty great place to start.
