Katherine Legge to become first woman in 7 years to race in NASCAR Cup Series
Katherine Legge to become first woman in 7 years to race in NASCAR Cup Series
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What is it like to race in the Indy 500?
Indy car driver Katherine Legge gives a very honest take on the feelings drivers have as they prepare for the Indy 500.
Sports Seriously
Live Fast Motorsports has a new driver for their NASCAR Cup Series car, and it's a veteran motor sports racer and a woman.
Katherine Legge, 44, will make her debut in the series this Sunday at Phoenix Raceway in the Shriners Children's 500, becoming the 17th woman ever to compete in a Cup race. Legge will drive the No. 78 DROPLiGHT Chevrolet Camaro.
This will also be the first time in seven years that a woman has competed in the NASCAR Cup Series, with Danica Patrick last making an appearance in 2018.
"I don't want to just be a female driver for the sake of ticking a diversity box, right?" said Legge. "I want to be there on merit, and I want to be a good example for everybody that's coming up behind me." She continued, "I have to prove competence at the end of the day, right? Don't think anybody expects me to go out and set the world on fire and be competitive because it's the most competitive championship in the world. I just don't want to make any mistakes and look silly or look incapable. I think the competitiveness will come with experience."
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Live Fast Motorsports, co-owned by driver B.J. McLeod and wife Jessica McLeod, field a part-time entry in the Cup Series. B.J. McLeod finished 22nd driving the No. 78 car at Atlanta, but he failed to qualify for the season-opening Daytona 500 and did not compete in the most recent race at Circuit of the Americas. With only 37 entries slated for Phoenix, Legge is assured of a starting spot on Sunday.
What to know about Legge's motor sports career and women in NASCAR:
Katherine Legge's auto racing career
Legge, who was born in Guildford, England, has five starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, most recently in 2023 when she recorded her best finish: 14th at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. In February, she finished 39th in the ARCA Menards Series' Ride the 'Dente race at Daytona International Speedway.
Legge is most well-known, however, as an IndyCar driver, competing in 19 races in the NTT IndyCar Series across four seasons (2012, 2013, 2023 and 2024) and 28 in CART (2006 and 2007), earned a combined seven top-10s.
She has raced in the legendary Indianapolis 500 four times, and in 2023, she set the record for the fastest-ever qualifying time by a woman.
Katherine Legge on being only female driver in the 2023 Indy 500
Katherine Legge is only one of nine drivers to ever race in the Indy 500. We ask her what it will take to get more females to be part of the sport in the future.
Sports Seriously
Legge's biggest success has come as a sports car driver. She has competed in 92 IMSA Weathertech SportsCar Championship races sine 2014, winning four times and scoring 11 podium finishes.
NASCAR cited Legge's recent participation on "high-speed ovals" in approving her to race in the Cup Series.
When was the last time a woman competed in NASCAR Cup Series?
Danica Patrick was the last woman to compete in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Her final race was the 2018 Daytona 500, where she finished 35th. In total, Patrick made 191 Cup starts between 2012 and 2018, amassing seven top-10 finishes in that span. Twice, Patrick finished top-25 in the NASCAR Cup Series standings, finishing 24th in both 2015 and 2016.
Sixteen female drivers have run at least one race in the Cup Series, including Hall of Famer Janet Guthrie, who drove in 33 races between 1976-80. The NASCAR Hall of Fame awarded Guthrie the Landmark Award in 2024.
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