Latest news with #ShrinersChildren's500
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
NASCAR's Katherine Legge urges young girls to ‘never, ever give up'
(NewsNation) — The first woman in a NASCAR Cup Series since 2018 made her debut at the Phoenix Raceway in Arizona in perfect timing for Women's History Month. At the Shriners Children's 500, Katherine Legge became the first woman to compete at NASCAR's top level since Danica Patrick nearly a decade ago. The English driver is the 17th woman to race in the Cup Series and one of only two to drive in the Indy 500. Legge, 44, joined NewsNation's 'Morning in America' to discuss how she has inspired young girls and women looking to get into the sport. Katherine Legge the 1st woman in 7 years to compete in NASCAR Cup Series race 'When you set out down a career path, you never really think, 'OK, I'm going to do it for all of the women,' or 'I'm going to be a role model or a trailblazer or anything like that,'' she said. 'You're literally just following your dream, and along the way, somewhere you realize that there is a certain element of that, and with that comes responsibility.' She said women and young girls approach her, praising her for what she does. '(They're) like, 'We see you doing it, and therefore we think we can do it,' and that's special,' Legge said. Last weekend wasn't an easy race. Legge spun in the first few laps before crashing out a couple hundred laps later, colliding with other cars. At the time, Legge called the experience 'baptism by fire.' First female NBA scout talks trailblazing for Women's History Month 'It was just one of those things where I think everybody who's gone into the Cup Series has made a mistake. Just happened to be in front of everybody when everybody was paying attention because it was Women's History Month,' Legge said. It was a learning experience, and she said she would be ready for the next race. 'At the end of the day, I feel so much better having got that first race under my belt and that experience because I know that when I go out there next time, it'll be a totally different kettle of fish,' she said. Legge had a few words of advice for young girls. 'Just keep your head down, keep at it, and never, ever give up,' she said. 'Believe in yourself, even if you have to fake it till you make it.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Briscoe, Haley, Keselowski involved in Phoenix melee during Stage 2
A multicar crash collected several contenders at Lap 99 of Sunday's Shriners Children's 500 at Phoenix Raceway. Joe Gibbs Racing's Chase Briscoe collided with Justin Haley exiting Turn 2 while running four-wide on the heels of a Stage 2 restart. The contact briefly sent Brisoce's No. 19 Toyota airborne and rocketed both his car and Haley's up the track, collecting Carson Hocevar. Their cars then ricocheted further into traffic, clogging the back straightaway. RELATED: | Others involved included 2012 NASCAR Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski, 2023 Xfinity Series champ Cole Custer, Riley Herbst, Todd Gilliland, Shane van Gisbergen, Noah Gragson, AJ Allmendinger and Austin Dillon. Gilliland, Gragson, Allmendinger and Dillon were able to continue without immediately going behind the wall for repairs, but all other vehicles were taken to the garage. Those teams will have an opportunity to repair their vehicles in a designated area under the 2025 Damaged Vehicle Policy. This story will be updated.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
NASCAR figuring out if building new track in Fontana is the 'right thing to do'
NASCAR remains committed to bringing stock car racing back to Southern California. But it admitted this weekend it is still not sure where and when that will happen. 'The market is extremely important to NASCAR,' said Dave Allen, NASCAR's West Region president. 'So we're not abandoning the market. What we don't have is a firm timeline yet. There's some things within the sport that need to get sorted before we can make some strategic decisions as it relates to what we're what we're going to build. 'We're going to do something. I just don't know what and when yet.' Allen spoke before Sunday's Shriners Children's 500 at Phoenix Raceway, where Christopher Bell notched his third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series win by holding off a hard-charging Denny Hamlin on the final restart with two laps to go. With the exception of 2021, when the schedule was hampered by the coronavirus pandemic, NASCAR has run at least one race in Southern California every year since 1997, when Auto Club Speedway opened on the site of the old Kaiser steel mill in Fontana. That streak will end this year. Read more: NASCAR wants to race again in Southern California, but when will it happen? Auto Club Speedway, which has been torn down, played host to its final race in 2023 while the Clash at the Coliseum, run on a temporary half-mile track installed atop the Coliseum's football field, did not return this winter after three years. NASCAR had hoped to race on a half-mile oval being built on the site of the former Fontana speedway, but that project has stalled. 'That's option No. 1,' said Allen, the former president of Auto Club Speedway. 'Obviously, we've been there for a long time. We still retain enough land to build a half-mile oval if we chose to do that. 'But we still need some time to sort some things out and figure out if that's the right thing to do.' In the meantime, NASCAR is embracing concepts outside traditional race tracks. The series debuted a street race in Chicago in 2023 and has reportedly considered racing on the streets of San Diego as well. 'We're always looking for new opportunities,' Allen said. 'We're always looking for either new markets or things that we can do different in a market that we're already [in]. 'We're trying to leave all options open.' Ten days after the final race in Fontana, NASCAR reportedly sold 433 of the 522 acres that comprise the venue's footprint to Ross Perot Jr.'s Dallas-based Hillwood Development company and CBRE Investment Management for approximately $569 million. The site is being converted into a logistics facility and industrial park with 6.6 million square feet of warehousing spacing. A generation ago there were more than a dozen race tracks holding regular events across Southern California, but with the closing of Irwindale Raceway last year, just a handful remain. Many, such as Irwindale and the Auto Club Speedway, sat on land that had become too valuable, part of a nationwide trend that has seen the ground sold out from beneath iconic short tracks in places such as Greenville, S.C., and Midland, N.C., the heart of stock-car country. 'The land and the cost of doing business, when you have a facility like we had in Fontana, it's very, very challenging,' Allen said. 'At the end of the day we're a for-profit company and we have to make decisions that are good for the business so we can keep it going.' Read more: Irwindale Speedway closure the latest blow to racing in Southern California The ideal solution, Allen said, is the original one. NASCAR retained approximately 90 acres of Auto Club Speedway's massive footprint, including the main grandstands, front straight, pit road and pit road suites. Those were all to be incorporated into the new short-track venue. 'The plan is to be there. But if opportunities come up, we're open to anything,' Allen said. 'If you had 300 acres and wanted to build a racetrack and be a partner with us, then we would listen. So I think it's keeping the property warm and being able to do different things with it. And you adjust depending on the market and needs of the market. 'We're kind of just in a holding pattern.' Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
10-03-2025
- Automotive
- Los Angeles Times
NASCAR figuring out if building new track in Fontana is the ‘right thing to do'
AVONDALE, Ariz. — NASCAR remains committed to bringing stock car racing back to Southern California. But it admitted this weekend it is still not sure where and when that will happen. 'The market is extremely important to NASCAR,' said Dave Allen, NASCAR's West Region president. 'So we're not abandoning the market. What we don't have is a firm timeline yet. There's some things within the sport that need to get sorted before we can make some strategic decisions as it relates to what we're what we're going to build. 'We're going to do something. I just don't know what and when yet.' Allen spoke before Sunday's Shriners Children's 500 at Phoenix Raceway, where Christopher Bell notched his third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series win by holding off a hard-charging Denny Hamlin on the final restart with two laps to go. With the exception of 2021, when the schedule was hampered by the coronavirus pandemic, NASCAR has run at least one race in Southern California every year since 1997, when Auto Club Speedway opened on the site of the old Kaiser steel mill in Fontana. That streak will end this year. Auto Club Speedway, which has been torn down, played host to its final race in 2023 while the Clash at the Coliseum, run on a temporary half-mile track installed atop the Coliseum's football field, did not return this winter after three years. NASCAR had hoped to race on a half-mile oval being built on the site of the former Fontana speedway, but that project has stalled. 'That's option No. 1,' said Allen, the former president of Auto Club Speedway. 'Obviously, we've been there for a long time. We still retain enough land to build a half-mile oval if we chose to do that. 'But we still need some time to sort some things out and figure out if that's the right thing to do.' In the meantime, NASCAR is embracing concepts outside traditional race tracks. The series debuted a street race in Chicago in 2023 and has reportedly considered racing on the streets of San Diego as well. 'We're always looking for new opportunities,' Allen said. 'We're always looking for either new markets or things that we can do different in a market that we're already [in]. 'We're trying to leave all options open.' Ten days after the final race in Fontana, NASCAR reportedly sold 433 of the 522 acres that comprise the venue's footprint to Ross Perot Jr.'s Dallas-based Hillwood Development company and CBRE Investment Management for approximately $569 million. The site is being converted into a logistics facility and industrial park with 6.6 million square feet of warehousing spacing. A generation ago there were more than a dozen race tracks holding regular events across Southern California, but with the closing of Irwindale Raceway last year, just a handful remain. Many, such as Irwindale and the Auto Club Speedway, sat on land that had become too valuable, part of a nationwide trend that has seen the ground sold out from beneath iconic short tracks in places such as Greenville, S.C., and Midland, N.C., the heart of stock-car country. 'The land and the cost of doing business, when you have a facility like we had in Fontana, it's very, very challenging,' Allen said. 'At the end of the day we're a for-profit company and we have to make decisions that are good for the business so we can keep it going.' The ideal solution, Allen said, is the original one. NASCAR retained approximately 90 acres of Auto Club Speedway's massive footprint, including the main grandstands, front straight, pit road and pit road suites. Those were all to be incorporated into the new short-track venue. 'The plan is to be there. But if opportunities come up, we're open to anything,' Allen said. 'If you had 300 acres and wanted to build a racetrack and be a partner with us, then we would listen. So I think it's keeping the property warm and being able to do different things with it. And you adjust depending on the market and needs of the market. 'We're kind of just in a holding pattern.'
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.
