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Fox News
02-04-2025
- Automotive
- Fox News
Katherine Legge on NASCAR Cup Series debut: 'This 100 percent is my identity'
AVONDALE, Ariz. — Katherine Legge doesn't view her racing as the first woman in the NASCAR Cup Series in more than seven years as something to take pride in doing. "It's disappointing that there aren't more women [in] INDYCAR, NASCAR Cup, sports cars," Legge said Friday, a day prior to her first time in a Cup car for practice at Phoenix Raceway. It will be a somewhat historical moment as Legge, driving for Live Fast Motorsports, is the first female to drive NASCAR's current Next Gen car and only the eighth woman to compete in Cup's modern era. "Everybody says, 'What's it like to be a girl in racing?'" Legge said. "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. And I know mentally what you have to do to overcome those struggles." The 44-year-old Legge has an extensive racing resume that includes 47 starts in top open-wheel cars and nearly 100 starts (including four wins) in top road-racing series. She has competed in everything from electric cars in Formula E to midget cars at the Chili Bowl. Legge has made five career Xfinity starts and will make her Cup debut Sunday. "I've driven so many different forms of racing," Legge said. "I feel like this is the one that I really wanted to do that's eluded me. I just love it. It's in my blood. "You know how they say that your job should not be your identity? Well, this 100 percent is my identity. I am just a racing driver." The Cup debut will cap a whirlwind two weeks for Legge, who met with NASCAR officials two weeks ago at Atlanta Motor Speedway to find out what she would need to get a license to race in Cup. She was approved for road courses and tracks one mile and shorter. While last week at Circuit of the Americas would have made more sense considering her road-course experience, she and the Live Fast team didn't have time to get ready in a week. So she's had a little less than two weeks to prepare for the Cup debut. She has driven simulators at Richard Childress Racing (a static simulator) and Chevrolet (a motion simulator where the seat moves). She drove a car during Hendrick Motorsports pit stop practice this week just to get used to how a Cup car stops and launches. "I feel like I'm either going to sink or swim, but everybody's given me the best possible opportunity to go out there and do a good job," Legge said. Legge hopes to compete in more Cup events, and she said she hasn't ruled out INDYCAR starts. "I would say I'm hopeful to do more INDYCAR races," Legge said. The Indianapolis 500? "I would love to," she said. "Let's see." Legge said the scramble to get in a Cup race had nothing to do with Women's History Month and all about racing at Phoenix, which the team felt would be a better track for her to debut at rather than the smaller Martinsville and Bristol tracks coming up in the next several weeks. "[I was hoping to] fly under the radar for my first Cup race. Nobody's going to notice, I'm just being in the back, we'll chill, we'll get NASCAR permission [to do more]," Legge said. "And then somebody was like, 'You know it's International Women's Day.' "Oh, s---. No way I'm flying under the radar [was my response]. So, no, I did not take that into consideration." When she's done racing, Legge does want to have an influence on increasing the number of girls and women competing in motorsports. In recent years, NHRA drag racing has been the most prominent form of motorsports where women have had consistent success. She will be the first woman to compete in a Cup race since Danica Patrick in the 2018 Daytona 500. "There's been kind of a gap. There was Sarah Fisher and Danica [Patrick] and me and Simona [de Silvestro] and a bunch of good drivers in that era. And then there's been like this gap and this lull," Legge said about the women in the top racing series across various forms of motorsports. "When I stop racing, ... I'd love to bring up the next generation because I think that 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." Her experience has allowed her to know that the questions about women in racing come with the territory. "To me, it just is," Legge said. "I would much rather people just saw me as another racecar driver on merit. But that's not reality, and I'm not immune to or blind to the fact that it has helped me in ways, too. "So I'm just going to go out there and be Katherine and do the very best that I can." Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
CNN
19-03-2025
- Automotive
- CNN
Katherine Legge never set out to be a role model, but now she says she has a point to prove in NASCAR
When British racing driver Katherine Legge was given her long-awaited chance to compete in a NASCAR Cup series race for the first time, she would have been hoping to fly under the radar. Instead, as the first woman in seven years to compete in one of the sport's elite level events and it coinciding with International Women's Day, Legge became the story at Phoenix Raceway. Under an intense spotlight, Legge's debut was a baptism of fire. 'An absolute roller coaster of emotions' is how she described it to CNN Sports, while one of the sport's former champions Kevin Harvick said she'd been 'thrown to the wolves.' The 44-year-old Legge's motorsport experience is expansive. 'I've driven literally everything else on the planet,' she explained, 'IndyCar, Open Wheel, electric cars, sports cars, you name it – I've driven it.' By her own admission, her stock car experience was limited, but she'd been invited by Live Fast Motorsports, a team which gives new talent a pathway into the sport. 'They weren't expected to be competitive or fast,' she said. 'Basically, all I had to do was go out there and show I was competent, finishing the race was what everybody would have said was a great result.' However, Legge never made it to the finish line; instead, her race ended around two-thirds of the way through when a second spin resulted in a crash with driver Daniel Suárez, who was running in sixth place at the time of the accident. She'd been struggling to control her Chevrolet but was starting to find a rhythm until she fatefully understeered on a turn in the 215th lap. 'I was bitterly disappointed,' she lamented. 'I got a massive backlash from some of the fans which was obviously not what I'd hoped for either.' Legge says that she's been cautioned not to read the negative comments online, but she understood that she was criticized for being allowed to compete, despite her relative lack of experience. 'But the problem there,' she asked, 'is how do you get the experience?' Legge takes full responsibility for the incident, and she quickly telephoned Suárez to apologize for it, but she feels as though she was set up to fail. 'There is no testing, there is no practice, there is literally one session before qualifying and then you go race,' she explained. 'I understand making your way up through the ladder series, like doing Xfinity and trucks, but the NextGen Cup car doesn't drive like a Xfinity or a truck at all, in any way, shape or form, it's kind of its own unique beast. To get experience, you have to do the races.' She says that if a practice session had been available, it would have removed the element of surprise, allowing her or any other new driver to learn how to handle the car. 'Did I make a mistake?' she asked. 'Yes. But it is also the way that you get better. Would I make the same mistake again? Absolutely not.' Legge is grateful to the voices within the paddock who have recognized her quandary and spoken up in her defense. The legendary driver, team owner and broadcaster Dale Earnhardt Jr. pointed to what was essentially a triple disadvantage for Legge. 'It does not help that she's in a car that doesn't do a lot of things right, and we don't have any practice,' he said on his podcast. Dismissing the criticism from some fans, Legge expressed gratitude for the support inside the paddock. 'I'm very much grateful,' she said of the other drivers. 'They know how hard it is. They recognize that it was a tall order, they are the voices that should be listened to. I think that while the fans are the reason we go racing, it's not an educated opinion all the time.' It may well have taken a high-profile incident like this for NASCAR to rethink its approach to incoming talent. Meanwhile, what tempered some of Legge's disappointment afterward was the reaction that so many people had to her racing as the first woman in stock cars' premier series since Danica Patrick in 2018. Video clips of young girls watching her race circulated on social media and Legge reposted one of them on Instagram. 'I never set out to be the representative for women in motorsports. I think that each and every one of us are individuals and we should all be judged on our own individual merit,' she said. 'But it comes with a responsibility, and so I try to do the very best job with that that I can. 'I see videos of young girls watching the race and thinking they can be anything they want to be when they grow up because they see a girl driving a racecar and that's what makes it worthwhile, making an impact on those lives is really special and means the world to me.' Since Danica Patrick stopped racing in 2018, Legge has emerged as the most prominent female racing driver in the world. In 2023, she outqualified all of her male teammates at the Indy 500 and she became the fastest ever female to qualify for the prestigious race at The Brickyard, but she doesn't see herself as a trailblazer. 'Back in the day, the Janet Guthrie's and the Lyn St. James' of the world, they were the ones who were really breaking barriers,' she told CNN. 'There was no female restroom in the pits back then. Right now, I'm just trying to be a racecar driver. It's not like I feel like I'm any different.' Legge is hoping that she'll get another chance in NASCAR soon and she is determined to prove that she belongs there. 'For sure it wasn't my best work at the weekend,' she said. 'I didn't showcase the talent that I feel that I have, and I wish it had gone differently. 'I think the naysayers are wrong, so I'm definitely going to go back and try again. I love the NASCAR paddock, and I see a future there – and anyway I need redemption now, right?'
Gulf Today
10-03-2025
- Automotive
- Gulf Today
Katherine Legge spins out twice in first NASCAR Cup Series race in Phoenix
Katherine Legge spent 25 years working her way through professional motorsports before getting her shot at driving a NASCAR Cup Series car. Her first go-round was a bumpy ride. The first woman to drive a Cup Series car in seven years, Legge spun out twice and didn't finish the race in her debut at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday. "It was baptism by fire,' Legge told Fox Sports. "I think there's a lot of positives to take from it. Obviously, there were mistakes made, but I learned so much. Hopefully, I get to come back.' Legge had raced everything from dirt bikes to IndyCars during her climb through the ranks, learning she would get her Cup Series shot about 10 days before Sunday's race. The English driver had limited experience on ovals, spending much of her prep time in a simulator in North Carolina before becoming the first female driver on the circuit since Danica Patrick at the 2018 Daytona 500. Legge struggled in qualifying at the mile oval in the desert, so she and the Live Fast Motorsports team opted to make several overnight changes to her No. 78 Chevrolet. It didn't work out quite how they wanted. Fighting the car from the start, Legge spun out on lap 4 of the 312-mile race before returning to the field. She struggled to make up any ground and spun again late in the race after bumping off another car, taking out Daniel Suarez with her. Legge couldn't continue to race and finished 30th. "I was so loose. I was hanging onto it,' she said. "We kept making adjustments. We kept making the car way more stable for me. At the end there, I think we were relatively quick, so it wasn't bad. I wish we hadn't made the changes. It was a rough start.'
CNN
10-03-2025
- Automotive
- CNN
Katherine Legge becomes first woman to race in NASCAR Cup Series since 2018
Katherine Legge accomplished something no woman has done in seven years. Compete in the NASCAR Cup Series. The 44-year-old English driver made her Cup Series debut on Sunday at the Shriners Children's 500 at Phoenix Raceway in Arizona, before being involved in a crash that ended her day early. She was running in 28th place on lap 216 when her car spun out after making contact with another driver. As her car spun, it collided with Daniel Suárez, who was running in sixth place at the time. Legge, who piloted the No. 78 Chevrolet for Live Fast Motorsports, became the 17th woman to compete at NASCAR's top-level and the first since Danica Patrick in 2018. The 42-year-old Patrick last raced in the 2018 running of the Daytona 500. Legge also spun out early in the race but regained control of the car. She called it a 'rough start' but commended the adjustments the team made throughout the race. 'I think we were relatively quick compared to the field, so it wasn't bad,' Legge told Fox Sports. 'We were trying to find some pace, and we found it throughout the race, but it was a rough start.' On her first Cup Series start, Legge found positives to look back on. 'Baptism of fire. I think there's a lot of positives to take from it. Obviously there were mistakes made, but I learned so much and hopefully I get to come back and do it again,' Legge said. Legge, who is from Guildford, England, has previously raced in multiple series including seven IndyCar Series starts last year. She also has four career starts in the Indianapolis 500 and in 2023 set a record for fastest qualifying time by a woman. Her debut on stock car racing's biggest stage happens today. @katherinelegge | @teamlivefast Ahead of the race, Legge told reporters about her experiences as a women in the racing world while also hoping to see more in the future. 'It's disappointing that there aren't more women in IndyCar, NASCAR Cup, sports cars,' Legge said Friday. '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. And I know mentally what you have to do to overcome those struggles.' Legge added it would 'awesome' to get future opportunities to race in the Cup Series. 'I would love to do that,' Legge said. 'I don't think that we have any expectations 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.' Christopher Bell took the checkered flag to win his third race in a row with Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson rounding out the top three. With his third straight victory, Bell becomes only the 29th driver to accomplish the feat in the NASCAR Cup Series' modern era (post-1972), according to NASCAR. He is the first to do so since Larson accomplished it in 2021. The NASCAR Cup Series schedule continues on next weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Katherine Legge spins out twice in first NASCAR Cup Series race in Phoenix
AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Katherine Legge spent 25 years working her way through professional motorsports before getting her shot at driving a NASCAR Cup Series car. Her first go-round was a bumpy ride. The first woman to drive a Cup Series car in seven years, Legge spun out twice and didn't finish the race in her debut at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday. 'It was baptism by fire,' Legge told Fox Sports. 'I think there's a lot of positives to take from it. Obviously, there were mistakes made, but I learned so much. Hopefully, I get to come back.' Legge had raced everything from dirt bikes to IndyCars during her climb through the ranks, learning she would get her Cup Series shot about 10 days before Sunday's race. The English driver had limited experience on ovals, spending much of her prep time in a simulator in North Carolina before becoming the first female driver on the circuit since Danica Patrick at the 2018 Daytona 500. Legge struggled in qualifying at the mile oval in the desert, so she and the Live Fast Motorsports team opted to make several overnight changes to her No. 78 Chevrolet. It didn't work out quite how they wanted. Fighting the car from the start, Legge spun out on lap 4 of the 312-mile race before returning to the field. She struggled to make up any ground and spun again late in the race after bumping off another car, taking out Daniel Suarez with her. Legge couldn't continue to race and finished 30th. 'I was so loose. I was hanging onto it,' she said. "We kept making adjustments. We kept making the car way more stable for me. At the end there, I think we were relatively quick, so it wasn't bad. I wish we hadn't made the changes. It was a rough start.' ___ AP auto racing: The Associated Press
