'Hate mail, death threats, inappropriate sexual comments': Katherine Legge discusses her NASCAR experience
Four-time Indianapolis 500 starter Katherine Legge is finding acceptance more difficult in NASCAR.
She was wrecked by William Sawalich in last weekend's Xfinity race in Rockingham, North Carolina, leaving her in 36th place with 50 laps completed.
Advertisement
The 44-year-old received a lot of vitriol online, prompting her to respond on this week's "Throttle Therapy" podcast.
"I keep coming to you all with this drama that I hate. It hasn't been that way in the past, so this is a new phenomenon for me," she started.
"Being a woman racing in NASCAR, it comes with an incredible sense of pride. It comes with a level of scrutiny and harassment. The hate mail, the death threats and the inappropriate sexual comments that I have received on just disturbing. They're unacceptable."
Legge discussed driving the No. 53 car for Joey Gase Motorsports for the first time.
Advertisement
As for the contact with Sawalich: "I stayed on my line and kept doing my speed. ... He charged into the corner a bit too hard, which is the speed difference that you see, and he lifted up a lane into me."
Katherine Legge NASCAR Cup experience
Legge made her Cup debut last month in Phoenix, finishing 30th after starting 37th. Her 2025 schedule includes a mix of Cup and Xfinity races, a dozen total. She considered an Indy 500 ride this season, but a deal didn't materialize.
"Let me be very clear: I am here to race. I'm here to compete. I won't tolerate any of these threats to my safety, or to my dignity, whether that's on track or off of that.
Advertisement
"Racing is a passionate sport, and I understand fans have strong opinions. I love that and I respect that about our sport. Constructive criticism is part of the game, and I'm always open to listening and improving. I will always take accountability for the mistakes that I make.
"However, what I think people need to understand is that there's a line between feedback and personal attacks, and it's really disappointing to see how often that line gets crossed."
Legge said she hasn't looked at fans' comments online, but they have been relayed to her.
Katherine Legge Indy 500 experience
Legge finished 29th in 2024, 33rd in '23, 26th in '13 and 22nd in '12.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Katherine Legge on hate mail, death threats, sexual comments from NASCAR fans
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
109th Indy 500 wide open
The Indianapolis 500 is clearly the most prestigious and important motorsports event on the planet. IndyCar drivers and teams will go to the greatest extremes to win the 'Greatest Spectacle in Racing' and the dramatic events leading up to Sunday's 109th running of Indianapolis 500 has made 2025 perhaps the most wide open and unpredictable race in many years. The recent series of events and resulting penalties surrounding the once favored Penske Team has elevated the unpredictably of the 2025 Indy 500 to highest levels in recent years. Advertisement Many of the sports betting organizations have been all over the board in their recent predictions on the 2025 Indy 500 winner. Early in the week, BetMGM predicted Pato O'Ward as the favorite at +500. He's followed closely by Alex Palou (+600), Scott McLaughlin (+700), Scott Dixon (+700) and two-time defending Indy 500 champ Josef Newgarden (+1000). It's interesting that rookie Indy 500 pole winner Robert Shwartzman, with his rookie status factored in, has only a 16th-best odds to win at +2500, along with Santino Ferrucci and Colton Herta. Most of the betting gurus rate veterans Scott Dixon, Takuma Sato, Will Power and Alexander Rossi high on their lists as possible winners. Scott McLaughlin, Colton Herta, Felix Rosenqvist, Marcus Ericsson, Christian Lundgaard and Kyle Kirkwood are given favorable chances by most oddsmakers. NASCAR star Kyle Larson, who is again attempting to do the 'Double' by racing at the Indy 500 and the Charlotte Coke 600 later in the day, has seen his odds of winning slip considerably after two practice crashes. Advertisement How will the penalties placing Team Penske's Josef Newgarden and Will Power on the last row to start the 109th 'Greatest Spectacle in Racing' this Sunday? All these questions will be answered and the winner decided when the smoke clears over the 'World's Greatest Race Course' on Sunday afternoon. Maybe that's why the Indy 500 has rightfully earned the title of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
an hour ago
How Prime Video's 'Burn Bar' is changing the way we watch NASCAR
NASCAR fans have grown accustomed to seeing speed, throttle and braking on broadcasts for years. There has been one measurement, though, that has eluded networks and viewers for years. Until now. Viewers of the Prime Video races have been able to see fuel usage with the introduction of the Burn Bar. Race teams have measured burn rates and fuel levels down to the last ounce for years, but the methodology has been kept secret due to competitive reasons. Prime Video, though, developed an AI tool using car data available to broadcasters and teams that can measure miles per gallon. The Burn Bar made a brief appearance during Prime's first broadcast of the Coca-Cola 600 on May 25. It has been used more frequently the past two weeks and will again be deployed on Sunday during the race in Mexico City. NASCAR on Prime analyst Steve Letarte, a former crew chief for Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr., contributed to the development of the Burn Bar and sees it as the first step in taking race analysis to a new level. 'It's the first true tool that is taking information off the car, making calculations and then displaying to the fan a calculation or measurement that is being used in the garage. And it does affect the team,' he said. 'There's not a sensor on the car giving us miles per gallon. It's a mathematical calculation of other cars performances.' The AI model analyzes thousands of performance data per second, including a range of in-car telemetry signals, RPMs, throttle and optical tracking of each car's position. The model then evaluates each driver's fuel consumption and efficiency throughout the race. Letarte worked with Prime Video 'Thursday Night Football Prime Vision" analyst Sam Schwartzstein during the process. They came up with four methodologies that were tested during the first part of the season, which was broadcast by Fox. Schwartzstein and Letarte would then get the data from teams after races to see how close they were until they picked one what worked the best. The Burn Bar received its toughest test during last week's race at Michigan as the final 48 laps were run without a caution flag. Most teams made their final pit stops with 50 laps to go, meaning teams were going to be down to the end of their fuel runs at the checkered flag. 'We projected William Byron to run out, which he did, and then we were on the razor's edge for Denny Hamlin. And then watching the truck push him back into victory lane at the end, knowing he was as close as we thought he was. What a cool way to see this feature come to life and elevate NASCAR broadcasts,' Schwartzstein said. Alex Strand, Prime Video's senior coordinating producer for live sports, also sees the Burn Bar as the first tool of many that Amazon and Prime Video can develop for its coverage. Prime Video is in the first year of a seven-year agreement to carry five races per season. 'It's really cool to live in a world where it shows us that anything is possible. We're starting with something that we're really excited about, but it's setting us down a path that will open up new doors for us,' he said. 'I think that's what we're really excited about is to say, 'OK, we've had success in year one on a feature that's resonated with fans right out of the gate.' It raises the table for our offseason.' After Sunday's race in Mexico City, Prime Video's coverage for this season wraps up with the race at Pocono on June 22.
Hamilton Spectator
an hour ago
- Hamilton Spectator
How Prime Video's ‘Burn Bar' is changing the way we watch NASCAR
NASCAR fans have grown accustomed to seeing speed, throttle and braking on broadcasts for years. There has been one measurement, though, that has eluded networks and viewers for years. Until now. Viewers of the Prime Video races have been able to see fuel usage with the introduction of the Burn Bar. Race teams have measured burn rates and fuel levels down to the last ounce for years, but the methodology has been kept secret due to competitive reasons. Prime Video, though, developed an AI tool using car data available to broadcasters and teams that can measure miles per gallon. The Burn Bar made a brief appearance during Prime's first broadcast of the Coca-Cola 600 on May 25. It has been used more frequently the past two weeks and will again be deployed on Sunday during the race in Mexico City. NASCAR on Prime analyst Steve Letarte, a former crew chief for Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr., contributed to the development of the Burn Bar and sees it as the first step in taking race analysis to a new level. 'It's the first true tool that is taking information off the car, making calculations and then displaying to the fan a calculation or measurement that is being used in the garage. And it does affect the team,' he said. 'There's not a sensor on the car giving us miles per gallon. It's a mathematical calculation of other cars performances.' The AI model analyzes thousands of performance data per second, including a range of in-car telemetry signals, RPMs, throttle and optical tracking of each car's position. The model then evaluates each driver's fuel consumption and efficiency throughout the race. Letarte worked with Prime Video 'Thursday Night Football Prime Vision' analyst Sam Schwartzstein during the process. They came up with four methodologies that were tested during the first part of the season, which was broadcast by Fox. Schwartzstein and Letarte would then get the data from teams after races to see how close they were until they picked one what worked the best. The Burn Bar received its toughest test during last week's race at Michigan as the final 48 laps were run without a caution flag. Most teams made their final pit stops with 50 laps to go, meaning teams were going to be down to the end of their fuel runs at the checkered flag. 'We projected William Byron to run out, which he did, and then we were on the razor's edge for Denny Hamlin. And then watching the truck push him back into victory lane at the end, knowing he was as close as we thought he was. What a cool way to see this feature come to life and elevate NASCAR broadcasts,' Schwartzstein said. Alex Strand, Prime Video's senior coordinating producer for live sports, also sees the Burn Bar as the first tool of many that Amazon and Prime Video can develop for its coverage. Prime Video is in the first year of a seven-year agreement to carry five races per season. 'It's really cool to live in a world where it shows us that anything is possible. We're starting with something that we're really excited about, but it's setting us down a path that will open up new doors for us,' he said. 'I think that's what we're really excited about is to say, 'OK, we've had success in year one on a feature that's resonated with fans right out of the gate.' It raises the table for our offseason.' After Sunday's race in Mexico City, Prime Video's coverage for this season wraps up with the race at Pocono on June 22. ___ AP NASCAR: Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
