Oscar Mayer’s Wienie 500 Is Again for Extra Laps

Wieniermobiles, begin your engines. 

That phrase kicks off the “Wienie 500” — the Indy 500-style race that includes six Weinermobiles that broke the web final yr. It’s now again for one more spherical, zooming onto your tv screens on Might 22, as Oscar Mayer tells Meals & Wine. 

When you didn’t catch final yr’s Wienie 500, contemplate it required viewing. Six of Oscar Mayer’s roving scorching canines compete in a four-lap race across the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, accelerating to a “sensational” 60 miles per hour in 26 seconds. It’s bizarre, it’s foolish, and it’s completely enjoyable.

“We predict the rationale is kind of easy — it made individuals glad. Oscar Mayer’s mission, relationship again to the Eighties, is to spark smiles, and that’s precisely what the Wienie 500 did,” Oscar Mayer model communications director Kelsey Rice tells Meals & Wine. “It offered a wanted dose of pleasure, delightfully disarming America in a means solely a model with a fleet of 27-foot scorching canines on wheels might.”

The recent dog-shaped autos aren’t significantly aerodynamic, but in some way zip across the monitor with an absurd sense of urgency. It’s a strong show of sportsmanship, in my humble opinion. Have a look for your self:

Greater than 80,000 attendees watched the race in individual final yr (15,000 greater than the 2025 Tremendous Bowl, by the way in which). One other 8 million viewers tuned in to the livestream, which is how I’ll be having fun with the race this yr.

As for the 2026 contestants, Oscar Mayer’s taking us on a visit via America’s most iconic regional scorching canine types. Six smooth Weinermobiles compete for this yr’s title: Slaw Canine (Southeast), Chi Canine (Midwest), New York Canine (East), Chili Canine (South), and Seattle Canine (Northwest). Organizers lower the Sonoran Canine from the lineup this yr, in order that they’re letting followers determine the sixth contestant through an Instagram ballot. (Followers can nominate one among six regional scorching canines beginning tomorrow, or choose to present Sonoran one other probability.) 

The beloved Slaw Canine snagged the title final yr, barreling throughout the end line at high pace and pushing out the Chi Canine for the trophy. Commentators famous it was a detailed race, so contemplate it anybody’s title this time round.

“People from totally different areas of the nation are extremely enthusiastic about how they high their scorching canines,” Rice explains. “That is one thing we hear on a regular basis, so we knew it was the right method to give followers a method to root for his or her favorites and really feel like that they had a stake within the race.”

Greater than 500,000 scorching canines have been bought finally yr’s Indy 500, the model says, and its group is keen to spice up these numbers in 2026. Alongside these summertime snacks, Oscar Mayer’s kitschy raceday traditions embody customized decals on every Wienermobile, “Hotdogger” fits for the drivers, a devoted anthem, and a winners’ circle — err, “wieners circle” — podium.

Throughout the board, Oscar Mayer is basically kicking off heat climate with quintessentially American fare. Watching six Wienermobiles race on the Indy 500 monitor is a reasonably excellent spot to begin.