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Yahoo
a day ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Katherine Legge feels 'passionate' about NASCAR transition
Katherine Legge has raced anything and everything. Her storied career includes four Indianapolis 500 starts, most recently in 2024. She found success in sports cars, competing in multiple endurance classics, such as the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. With last month's Indy 500 not on Legge's racing radar in 2025, she switched her attention to NASCAR. It's a move that happened by chance, though she first felt the adrenaline of stock car racing in 2018, making four Xfinity Series starts for JD Motorsports. Advertisement She fell in love with stock cars immediately, with a best finish of 14th at Road America. 'I loved it and wanted to do more, I just didn't know how to go about it,' Legge told about her move to NASCAR. 'I'm lucky that my sponsors pivoted with me and we're all in on NASCAR. 'It was something that I felt incredibly passionate about doing. I have so much fun doing it and am so motivated. I'm working hard at it. I really want to make this home.' RELATED: e.l.f. Cosmetics to sponsor Legge for multiple Cup, Xfinity races The joy for Legge in her first go-around was jostling the heavy cars around road courses. Her oval debut in NASCAR came at Richmond Raceway in 2018, finishing 28th in a 40-car field. Advertisement 'It's super fun to drive the cars; you were wrestling with them the whole time,' Legge reflects on her initial voyage. 'It's like Champ Car — we had to wrestle those beasts around the track. '[NASCAR is] not easy. It's one of the hardest championships to chase in the world because of the strength and depth. There are so many good drivers over here that are widely versed in stock car racing.' Legge began hunting for rides in February when the 2025 season began. She made her Cup debut for Live Fast Motorsports at Phoenix Raceway, though she was initially eyeing Circuit of The Americas one week prior as her first attempt. Her initial race didn't go as planned as she was involved in multiple incidents and contacted Daniel Suárez in the process, ending his day. 'It was a big uphill battle, but I respect the challenge and am not blind that it is a challenge going in with a team that wants to set out to be a entry to people like me into Cup,' Legge said. 'They know where they are at and what they want to achieve. It was going to be my first foray and fly under the radar and that didn't happen. I wanted to use it to gain experience.' Katherine Legge smiles next to her NASCAR Cup Series car. After bowing out of full-time competition, Live Fast team owner BJ McLeod wants to turn his part-time entry into a developmental ride to help rising talent. He's aware of Legge's credentials and hopes to get her acclimated, with their next opportunity slated for Sunday at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City (3 p.m. ET, Prime Video, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Advertisement MORE: Mexico City schedule | Cup Series entry list for Mexico City 'It's the toughest thing that she's ever come across,' McLeod said of Legge adapting to the Cup Series. 'I don't know that she would tell you that, but I can tell you that the group of drivers that get to do [Cup] every week are truly some of the best drivers in the world. All of them are that good. Not one, not 20, not 30, all 36 or however many are there. They truly are that good, and it makes it extremely difficult for her because even if she's equally as talented, she doesn't get to race every week. She is the only part-timer that's trying to get out there, get up to speed and she has very limited stock car experience.' Chevrolet paired Legge with Jordan Anderson Racing in the Xfinity Series following her introduction to Cup racing. The goal was to get the England native more starts. In addition to full-time drivers Jeb Burton and Blaine Perkins, Anderson occasionally fields a third entry. With limited on-track experience, he believes Legge has done a masterful job getting up to speed, even though the results would indicate otherwise. Advertisement 'I know she's been baptized through fire coming in this way,' Anderson said. 'With [25] minutes of practice, it's hard enough to learn a track, let alone a new car. 'The speed is there if we make her comfortable. I've been impressed with her time in the sim and how she adapts and the things she picks up, the time she has spent studying. This isn't a fly-by-night project for her; she's wanting to prove her worth and come in here and learn and do the right things.' It was key that Legge diversified her schedule. She also wanted to run consecutively, beginning with NASCAR's return to Rockingham Speedway. She failed to qualify, but the team struck a deal with Joey Gase Motorsports to field her. She led a lap in her second start at Talladega Superspeedway and was running midpack when she was collected in a multicar incident that began towards the front of the field. She has DNF'd in three of four starts and failed to qualify in the series' most recent race at Nashville Superspeedway. 'It's been good, bad and indifferent,' Legge said. 'I have been taken out in every race in some form or another. The only one that I think was down to me was Phoenix, which started it all. After that, it's been a lot of carnage.' Katherine Legge drives an Xfinity Series car at Talladega. Legge is delighted that her two car owners are fellow racers with McLeod and Anderson. She has leaned on them, along with AJ Allmendinger, whom she's known for two decades, and Xfinity veteran Justin Allgaier. Advertisement Compared to other racing series, Legge believes breaking into NASCAR is the hardest. She has limited oval starts and is going to new venues. The divisions are also stacked with established talent. 'NASCAR is especially challenging for the sheer number of good drivers,' Legge added. 'It's a tough beast to tame, but I'm up for the challenge.' While overcoming multiple hurdles in Legge's short NASCAR stint, she has learned plenty about herself. She is up for any racing task, though she believes she was humbled in some ways. 'I thought that I was a lot better than I am,' Legge admitted with a chuckle. 'I have no doubt that I'll get there. But how quickly? I thought I would drive the car a couple of times and then be up at the sharp end, but it's taking a little longer than I anticipated.' Advertisement The next beast for Legge to tame is the Cup Series' international debut at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez this weekend, again competing for Live Fast. Her second half of the season continues filling up, with Cup starts at the Chicago Street Race, Sonoma Raceway, Watkins Glen International and Richmond Raceway on the docket. She has a pair of Xfinity Series races left in the No. 32 car at EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway) and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, though she is trying to bulk up her racing allotment. MORE: Cup Series schedule | Xfinity Series schedule The goals for the upcoming events are to log laps and gain experience. 'Bottom line, I'm not going there looking to outpace anyone,' McLeod admitted. 'What I'm expecting is to go there and give her a solid car so that she can learn and develop her skills and try to get her closer to reaching her goals.' Legge hopes to go full time at some point in NASCAR, though she isn't shutting the door on running the Indy 500 again.
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Who is Colton Herta? Get to know the Andretti Global driver set for the 2025 IndyCar Series season
The 2025 IndyCar Series season is approaching, and Colton Herta is considered a championship contender in his seventh season. He won two races in 2024 on the way to a runner-up points finish. Here's what you should know about Colton Herta: Age: Turns 25 on March 30 Nationality: United States Hometown: Valencia, Calif. Car number: 26 Race team: Andretti Global Engine: Honda Best 2024 results: He won two races (Toronto, Nashville), giving him nine career wins in 99 starts. He had six podium finishes and was second to Alex Palou is series points. Indy 500 starts: 6 Indy 500 pole-sitter: 0 Indy 500 wins: 0 Best Indy 500 finish: 8th, 2020 2024 Indy 500 finish: 13th Career Indy 500 earnings: $2,292,934 IndyCar rule changes: Here are 5 fans should know for 2025 He has been part of Rolex 24 at Daytona winning teams in the GT Le Mans and LMP2 classes. Driver salaries are mostly confidential, but reporting from various sources indicates Colton Herta is IndyCar's highest-paid driver at $7 million for 2025. All 2025 races will be shown on Fox. Will Buxton is the play-by-play voice, with analysts James Hinchcliffe and Townsend Bell. IndyCar Nation is on SiriusXM Channel 218, IndyCar Live and the IndyCar Radio Network (check affiliates for each race) The 2025 IndyCar Series schedule includes 17 races, all televised on Fox. (Times are ET; %-downtown street course, &-road course, *-oval) March 2, St. Petersburg, Florida %, noon March 23, Thermal, California &, 3 p.m. April 13, Long Beach, California %, 4:20 p.m. May 4, Birmingham, Alabama &, 1:30 p.m. May 10, Indianapolis &, 4:30 p.m. May 25, Indianapolis 500 *, 12:45 p.m. June 1, Detroit %, 12:30 p.m. June 15, St. Louis *, 3 p.m. June 22, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin &, 2:30 p.m. July 6, Lexington, Ohio &, 2 p.m. July 12, Newton, Iowa *, 5 p.m. July 13, Newton, Iowa *, 2 p.m. July 20, Toronto %, 2 p.m. July 27, Monterey, California &, 3 p.m. Aug. 10, Portland &, 3 p.m. Aug. 24, Milwaukee *, 2 p.m. Aug. 31, Nashville *, 2:30 p.m. (Team and drivers; *-Indianapolis 500 only) : Santino Ferrucci, David Malukas : Colton Herta, Kyle Kirkwood, Marcus Ericsson, Marco Andretti* : Pato O'Ward, Nolan Siegel, Christian Lundgaard, Kyle Larson* (with Rick Hendrick) : Kyffin Simpson, Scott Dixon, Alex Palou : Jacob Abel, Rinus VeeKay : Ryan Hunter-Reay*, Jack Harvey* : Alexander Rossi, Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter* : Conor Daly, Sting Ray Robb : Felix Rosenqvist, Marcus Armstrong : Callum Ilott, Robert Shwartzman, Romain Grosjean (reserve) : Graham Rahal, Louis Foster, Devlin DeFrancesco : Josef Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin, Will Power This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IndyCar Series driver profile: Colton Herta, Andretti Global
Washington Post
14-02-2025
- Automotive
- Washington Post
Oh, baby! Bubba Wallace celebrates his 1st win at Daytona with his newborn son and a new outlook
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Bubba Wallace vowed to try to 'enjoy the little stuff' this season. It showed in victory lane. 'Can I get a Rolex for this one?' Wallace quipped, referring to what winners receive after the Rolex 24 at Daytona sports car race. Wallace, driving the No. 23 Toyota for 23XI Racing, won the first of two qualifying races Thursday for the upcoming Daytona 500 . He showed enough speed to make him one of the favorites heading into 'The Great American Race.'
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Racing driver Jamie Chadwick says the sport 'is secretly trying to find the next female superstar'
British racing driver Jamie Chadwick may not yet be a household name. That could all change this June when the 26-year-old British racing driver heads to France to make her debut in the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans. Her impressive resume -- three consecutive titles in the W Series and stints in Indy NXT, British Formula 3 and Extreme E -- has some calling her the most "decorated" female driver in the U.K. Early on, the 26-year-old Chadwick said she tried desperately to fit in with the male drivers, purposely not drawing attention to herself or her talents. "My whole career, I was just one of the boys," she told ABC News last month. "I laughed about their terrible jokes about women. It's very easy for females not to make noise ... we have this 'just grateful to be here' mentality." She is no longer staying silent. Chadwick, a Rolex Testimonee brand ambassador who served as the grand marshal of this year's Rolex 24 at Daytona endurance race, said she understands the importance of having a female role model in the sport. She was inspired by her own experience with Susie Wolff, the managing director of the F1 Academy and former Scottish racing driver. "I wrote her an email in 2013 and she replied back with advice," Chadwick said, adding that she has developed a "good relationship" with Wolff. According to Chadwick, the F1 Academy effect has been "significant." The academy, which started in 2023, helps to develop and prepare "young female drivers to progress to higher levels of competition" and "show them that there's a place for them in our sport." Now, young girls are looking to Chadwick for encouragement. "I try to support and give guidance" to these future drivers, she said. Moreover, Chadwick argued female drivers are increasingly in demand by team owners: "Everyone is secretly trying to find the next female superstar." Chadwick spoke about her unexpected rise in motorsports, how she prepares mentally for a race and training with her Le Mans teammates Logan Sargeant and Mathys Jaubert. MORE: Meet the women of the F1 Academy The following interview has been edited for clarity. Q: Who was a role model for you in the beginning of your career? A: I didn't have too many role models when I started because there weren't many [female drivers]. I fell into this sport by accident. The reason I got involved was because of my older brother and I think he was a role model -- I just followed everything he did. We raced against each other when we were younger and were super competitive. It was not the healthiest of sibling rivalries, I am sure. It wasn't until a bit later that I realized the importance of role models in my career. Q: Are you actively trying to be a role model for young girls who are interested in motorsports? A: I try to do the best I can. I've benefited so much from initiatives and different doors opening for women in the sport. I feel like I've got a great opportunity now to really make sure the next generation has similar opportunities, if not better. It's important for me to encourage as many young girls as possible because I think it's a sport that should be more open to women and we can really do a lot to reduce that diversity gap. Q: Did you face any naysayers early on who said you can't have a career in motorsports because you're a woman? A: I definitely think there were naysayers ... there were comments like, "Oh, she's good for a girl." When are we going to get a point where people stop saying that? Not everyone has the same support that I did and that's why I want to make sure the next generation has equal opportunities. Q: There's lots of talk about a possible female driver in F1. How involved are you in the F1 Academy? I mentor Williams Development driver Lia Block and I love what the team is doing. Williams is putting a lot of visibility on women in the sport. There's so much pressure to get a female driver into F1 ... but it's also not necessarily what we're trying to achieve. We're trying to achieve increased participation in general for women. The first step is just increasing participation and then down the line we can look at a female F1 driver. Q: Where do you see yourself in the next five years? A: I obviously want to be racing at the highest level I can. I am fortunate to be competing in Le Mans for the first time this year [in the LMP2 category], which is very exciting. I just want to grow and be the best racing driver I can be and continue to help develop the future of the sport. Q: Why endurance racing? A: I was competing in Indy NXT and I was very keen to go to IndyCar but the opportunities didn't quite come about in the end. So my feet have sort of fallen into endurance racing. But it's a great place to be in the sport. It's a little bit more friendly for female drivers. IndyCar would have been really tough physically. Endurance racing is a good opportunity for me to establish myself. Q: What's your training regime for Le Mans? A: It's quite important to be light -- the less you are, the better. So losing a little bit of weight is a factor. Plus making sure I am strong, fit and can stay in the car for three hours at a time. I am really looking forward to the challenge. There's no one better to ask than Tom [Kristensen] about Le Mans. I am lucky to have access to him. [Kristensen is a nine-time Le Mans winner and fellow Rolex Testimonee.] Q: What has Tom said about Le Mans? A: The main thing he said was to get in as many laps as you can in practice. Make sure your eyes are good for the night, which is a good bit of advice. And to enjoy it and make the most of it. He's Mr. Le Mans and I am sure to pick his brain more. Just to win it once would be a dream. Q: How do you stay focused for a 24-hour race? A: Good question. Adrenaline is a big thing. You're so focused on what's coming at you -- you're dialed in. When it's the middle of the night and you're tired ... you just have to focus and try not to make a mistake. It's not easy. Q: Are you frequently in touch with your Le Mans teammates? A: My co-drivers are former Williams driver Logan Sargeant and Mathys Jaubert, who is 18. He's very young but an exciting French talent. We're all rookies, which will be pretty tough. We've never had teammates before so we're getting used to that dynamic. Q: You were the grand marshal at the 24 Hours of Daytona in January. How did your partnership with Rolex begin? A: Partnering with a brand like Rolex is not something I had expected in my career. Rolex has a huge history in motorsport. In 2021, I was competing in the W Series and won my second title and on the back of that we started some conversations. Rolex is really keen to bring in young talent but also young female talent. I jumped at every single opportunity I had to work with them. We're now going into our fourth year together and it's an incredible partnership to have. It's giving women drivers more opportunity and awareness. Racing driver Jamie Chadwick says the sport 'is secretly trying to find the next female superstar' originally appeared on
