By Luis Torres, Staff Writer/Photographer
Katherine Legge may be rolling off last out of the 37-car field in Sunday’s Shriners Children’s 500 at Phoenix Raceway, but the biggest goal for the versatile racer is to complete the 312-lap event.
Legge will be making her NASCAR Cup Series debut for the BJ McLeod owned Live Fast Motorsports’ No. 78 Chevrolet. As a result of competing at Phoenix, she’ll become the first female driver to run a Cup race since Danica Patrick in the 2018 Daytona 500.
“I think expectations aside, if I can tell you what my goals and hopes are. That’s basically finish all of the laps,” said Legge during Friday’s press conference. “I want to do a good job and minimizing mistakes because everybody makes mistakes, but I really want to minimize them. I want to stay out of trouble and show respect and prove that I belong. I think if I do those things, I think I will get the opportunity to do more.”
In a career that spans over 20 years, NASCAR’s premiere division was one of the very few disciplines Legge has never run in a race car in her colorful — yet at times rollercoaster career. This is a racer who’s run a V10-powered Formula One car, the DeltaWing in sports cars, and a sprint car in Tulsa just to name a few.
There’ve been several female racers who’ve made starts or currently running full-time in NASCAR’s three national touring divisions, but none have made a Cup race since Patrick’s final race until Legge takes the green flag.
Legge commented about being the first female to run a Cup race in seven years and the journey she’s have gone through where she’d rather have the headlines be about doing her own thing as a race car driver that’s merit based instead of just being a female in racing.
“It’s disappointing that there aren’t more women in INDYCAR, NASCAR, Cup. (In) Sportscars, there’s really been kind of a gap,” said Legge. “There was Sarah Fisher and Danica, and me and Simona (de Silvestro) and a bunch of good drivers in that era. Then there’s been this gap, this lull, and so when I stop racing, or maybe alongside it but when I want to stop racing, I’d love to bring up the next generation.
“I think there’s only a handful of us that have those shared, lived experiences, and I think that my experience might be valuable in helping them navigate it.
“Everybody says, ‘What’s it like to be a girl in racing?’ and I don’t know, because I only have my own experience. I don’t know what it’s like to be a boy in racing. So, I know what my journey has been, and I know that it’s gone for me, and it’s gone against me, and I know where the struggles are,” Legge continued.
“I know mentally what you have to do to overcome those struggles, and so, I think, to me it just is I would much rather people just saw me as another racecar driver on merit, but that’s not reality and I’m not immune or blind to the fact it has helped me in ways too. I’m just going to go out there and be Katherine and do the very best that I can.”
The process for Legge to get to where she’s at in Arizona was a 10-day journey where she was at Atlanta Motor Speedway two weeks ago to see what she must do to get a NASCAR license.
Legge explained that making a start on a short track like the one-mile oval or last Sunday at Circuit of the Americas were good starting point.
There was a problem regarding Legge debuting at COTA – the timeframe between getting a license and racing.
“COTA would be great, but there was just no way to get everything done and get the car ready for COTA,” said Legge. “Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, but fortunately here I am at Phoenix.”
Another track brought up was Martinsville Speedway. Legge had conversations with other NASCAR drivers and teams with the conclusion being debuting at Phoenix is the best track for the Englishwoman to learn compared to the “terrifying” paperclip shaped oval.
“I don’t know whether that’s true or not, but I take their advice, right,” Legge commented. “I don’t know what I don’t know, so when someone says to me, then I do what I’m told.”
Once everything was situated where Phoenix would mark her Cup debut, the intense lead up transitioned into boastful happiness. From there, she had the opportunity to do several sim work and experience pit stop work throughout the week in North Carolina.
“Very happy that BJ and Live Fast gave me the opportunity. I’ve spent the majority of the week in North Carolina driving the simulator,” said Legge. “RCR (Richard Childress Racing) was kind enough to let me on their static sim, and Chevy was kind enough to put me in the DIL (Driver-in-the-Loop), the motion sim.
“Hendrick (Motorsports) was really cool. They let me do pit stop practice and Kaulig (Racing) has been super awesome, so I feel well-supported and as prepared as I possibly can having never driven on an oval like this, a NextGen car.
“I’ve done a handful of stock car races in my career, so I feel like I’m either going to sink or swim, but everybody has given me the best possible opportunity to go out there and do a good job.”
Legge has made multiple stock car starts in both the Xfinity Series, where she has five previous starts, and last month in the ARCA Menards Series at Daytona International Speedway. Unfortunately, the ever-dreadful Big One took Legge out of the race on Lap 4 and ended up 39th.
No stranger of being passionate about racing, Legge described both BJ and his wife Jessica McLeod as people who want to thrive badly and admire their effort of wanting to be in the sport. Regardless of the struggles Live Fast Motorsports have been through since entering Cup cars in 2021.
“(BJ is) such a good dude. They’re both awesome people,” Legge said of the McLeods. “I mean, they hustle, and you have to respect their love for the sport, and they want it so badly. They do everything they can to be here, and I think that that kind of embodies how I feel about it sometimes too. You don’t always have the money or the equipment, but you love racing so you do what you can and try and build on that and improve. I think he’s the same.”
With Legge running stock car races starting off 2025, a question imposed was whether it meant she’s taking a backseat in the NTT INDYCAR Series after running seven races for Dale Coyne Racing last year.
She immediately shot the discrepancies and would love to run her fifth Indianapolis 500.
“It doesn’t mean that. I would say that I’m hopeful to do more INDYCAR races,” said Legge.
While she waits for any opportunity at Indy in two months, Legge’s established goal is to minimize mistakes and finish the race where it could lead to more Cup races in the future.
“That would be awesome. I would love to do that,” Legge said about hoping to make more Cup races. “I don’t think that we have any expectation that we’re going to go out and be competitive. I think if we finish anything but last, that would be a win for us honestly because I don’t have the experience that any of these guys have.
“I don’t have the car at the moment that’s capable of going and running up in front, so hopefully we can develop me and the car and everything else at the same time and we can get there.”
Coverage of the Shriners Children’s 500 at Phoenix begins at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1. William Byron will start on pole.
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