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Time of India
25-04-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
Is NASCAR failing female drivers? Katherine Legge reveals death threats and sexual harassment after crash
Katherine Legge signs autographs before the start of a NASCAR Cup Series at Phoenix Raceway, Sunday, March 9, 2025, in Avondale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb) Katherine Legge , a veteran British racer with more than 20 years of experience, has revealed she's received death threats and sexual harassment following her first two NASCAR races of the 2025 season. Speaking candidly on her podcast, Throttle Therapy with Katherine Legge, the 44-year-old driver addressed the intense scrutiny she's faced while transitioning from open-wheel and sports car racing to NASCAR's high-stakes, high-pressure environment. 'Being a woman racing in NASCAR… comes with a level of scrutiny and harassment,' she said. 'But the hate mail, the death threats, and the inappropriate sexual comments that I have received aren't just disturbing—they're unacceptable.' Legge emphasized she is in NASCAR to compete, not to be tokenized. 'Let me be very clear: I'm here to race and I'm here to compete, and I won't tolerate any of these threats to my safety or my dignity , whether that's on track or off of it.' She also pushed back on claims that she's merely a 'DEI hire' or a "gimmick" driver who didn't really earn her spot. 'I've worked just as hard as any of the other drivers out there… The teams that employed me—without me bringing any sponsorship money for the majority of those 20 years—did not do so as a DEI hire, or a gimmick… It's because I can drive a race car.' FILE - Driver Katherine Legge signs autographs before the start of a NASCAR Cup Series at Phoenix Raceway, Sunday, March 9, 2025, in Avondale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb, File) Her message to fans was clear: passion for the sport is welcome, but abuse isn't. 'Constructive criticism is part of the game… But there's a very thin line between feedback and personal attacks, and it's really disappointing to see how often that line gets crossed.' Legge believes the issue reflects a broader pattern of gender-based abuse in motorsports: 'The level of hate that myself and my team are experiencing… is part of a broader issue women face in male-dominated spaces. The FIA even released a document about it—it's bad in Europe too. It's not just a USA thing.' Legge debuted in the NASCAR Cup Series at Phoenix Raceway in March, driving the No. 78 for Live Fast Motorsports . Although she qualified last, her pace during the race began improving, until a spin on Lap 215 after contact with Josh Berry led to a crash involving Daniel Suárez. She finished 30th. Her next appearance came in the Xfinity Series at Rockingham, where she initially failed to qualify but was slotted into the No. 53 car for Joey Gase Motorsports after a driver swap. Unfortunately, another incident ended her race early. On Lap 50, while trying to leave the bottom lane clear for faster cars, Legge was clipped by William Sawalich and spun into Kasey Kahne, slamming the outside wall. She finished 36th after two post-race disqualifications. 'I moved low to leave room for the lead-lap cars, and while some were able to get around me, one just didn't make it down fast enough and clipped me. The hit was too hard, and I spun into Kasey. Just a really unfortunate chain reaction.' Legge explained on her podcast, Reflecting on the crash. Despite the setbacks, Legge remains committed. She revealed a full NASCAR schedule for 2025 and will race again this weekend in the Xfinity Series Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway . 'There's no practice at Talladega,' she said. 'You go straight into qualifying, straight into 100% throttle, and then straight into the race.' Still, Legge is hopeful. 'The team at Jordan Anderson Racing has been phenomenal. The car is excellent. I'm looking forward to Talladega… Hopefully, if I have a good result there, it will quiet the noise and change some opinions.' The Ag-Pro 300 is set for Saturday, April 26, airing at 4 PM ET on The CW.
Daily Mail
24-04-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
Female NASCAR driver reveals 'disturbing' death threats and sexual harassment after part in horror crash
A female NASCAR driver has revealed that she's been threatened and harassed online following a crash in North Carolina over the weekend. Katherine Legge was driving the No. 53 car in the NASCAR Xfinity Series - the feeder series to the top-flight NASCAR Cup Series - during a race at Rockingham Speedway. The British driver appeared to come out of a corner slower than expected and was bumped from behind by the No. 18 car of William Sawalich. Legge, who has started four times in the Indianapolis 500, also made some contact with the front right quarter panel of the No. 33 machine driven by Kasey Kahne. After this crash, Legge revealed on her Throttle Therapy podcast that she's been receiving multiple harassing messages - including death threats - in the wake of the incident. While she hasn't seen the comments, she says they have been relayed to her. '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. Trouble for Katherine Legge! Kasey Kahne also involved! — Rubbin is Racing (@rubbinisracing) April 19, 2025 '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.' She continued: '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. '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.' Describing the incident with Sawalich, Legge said, 'I stayed on my line and kept doing my speed.' She added, '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.' Legge has raced in the Cup Series this season, making her debut at Phoenix last month. She's competed in two previous Xfinity Series seasons. The Rockingham start was her first Xfinity race since July 2023.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
'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
Fox News
23-04-2025
- Automotive
- Fox News
NASCAR driver Katherine Legge slams 'DEI hire' slights after Xfinity Series crash
Professional driver Katherine Legge has done a lot to make her mark on the sport of auto racing. She holds the record for the fastest qualifying time for a woman in the Indianapolis 500. She was the first woman to win an open-wheel race in North America. She was also the first woman to be inducted into the Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame. But the British driver revealed in a podcast episode that she's received "death threats" from fans after she was involved in a crash during the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Rockingham last weekend. The incident also involved veteran driver Kasey Kahne. "Let me be very clear, I'm here to race and I'm here to compete, and I won't tolerate any of these threats to my safety or to my dignity, whether that's on track or off of it," Legge said during the "Throttle Therapy" episode. She added that "the inappropriate social media comments I've received aren't just disturbing, they are unacceptable." Legge became the first woman in seven years to start in a NASCAR Cup Series race when she made the field in Phoenix. The Xfinity Series race was her second of the season. She was thrust into J.J. Yeley's car as she was bumped off the starting grid because of ownership points. Legge moved off the pace in the race when William Sawalich got into the back of her vehicle and sent her spinning. Kahne had nowhere to go and ended up running into her at the bottom of the track in Turn 1. Legge explained she was hit too hard, which caused her to spin around. As for the social media comments, Legge pushed back on claims she was a "DEI hire" or anything less than just a "gimmick" driver who didn't really earn her spot. "I have earned my seat on that racetrack," Legge said. "I've worked just as hard as any of the other drivers out there, and I've been racing professionally for the last 20 years. I'm 100% sure that the... the teams that employed me – without me bringing any sponsorship money for the majority of those 20 years – did not do so as a DEI hire, or a gimmick, or anything else. It's because I can drive a race car." Legge finished in 36th at Rockingham. The best finish she had in the Xfinity Series was 14th at Road America in Wisconsin in 2018. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Gulf Today
23-04-2025
- Automotive
- Gulf Today
NASCAR's Katherine Legge receives death threats after Xfinity crash at Rockingham
NASCAR driver Katherine Legge said she has been receiving "hate mail' and "death threats' from auto racing fans after she was involved in a crash that collected veteran driver Kasey Kahne during the Xfinity Series race last weekend at Rockingham. Legge, who has started four Indy 500s but is a relative novice in stock cars, added during Tuesday's episode of her "Throttle Therapy' podcast that "the inappropriate social media comments I've received aren't just disturbing, they are unacceptable.' "Let me be very clear,' the British driver said, "I'm here to race and I'm here to compete, and I won't tolerate any of these threats to my safety or to my dignity, whether that's on track or off of it.' Legge became the first woman in seven years to start a Cup Series race earlier this year at Phoenix. But her debut in NASCAR's top series ended when Legge, who had already spun once, was involved in another spin and collected Daniel Suarez. Her next start was the lower-level Xfinity race in Rockingham, North Carolina, last Saturday. Legge was good enough to make the field on speed but was bumped off the starting grid because of ownership points. Ultimately, she was able to take J.J. Yeley's seat in the No. 53 car for Joey Gase Motorsports, which had to scramble at the last minute to prepare the car for her. Legge was well off the pace as the leaders were lapping her, and when she entered Turn 1, William Sawalich got into the back of her car. That sent Legge spinning, and Kahne had nowhere to go, running into her along the bottom of the track. "I gave (Sawalich) a lane and the reason the closing pace looks so high isn't because I braked mid-corner. I didn't. I stayed on my line, stayed doing my speed, which obviously isn't the speed of the leaders because they're passing me,' Legge said. "He charged in a bit too hard, which is the speed difference you see. He understeered up a lane and into me, which spun me around.' The 44-year-old Legge has experience in a variety of cars across numerous series. She made seven IndyCar starts for Dale Coyne Racing last year, and she has raced for several teams over more than a decade in the IMSA SportsCar series. She has dabbled in NASCAR in the past, too, starting four Xfinity races during the 2018 season and another two years ago. "I have earned my seat on that race track," Legge said. "I've worked just as hard as any of the other drivers out there, and I've been racing professionally for the last 20 years. I'm 100 percent sure that the ... the teams that employed me - without me bringing any sponsorship money for the majority of those 20 years - did not do so as a DEI hire, or a gimmick, or anything else. It's because I can drive a race car.' Legge believes the vitriol she has received on social media is indicative of a larger issue with women in motorsports. "Luckily,' she said, "I have been in tougher battles than you guys in the comment sections.' Legge has received plenty of support from those in the racing community. IndyCar driver Marco Andretti clapped back at one critic on social media who called Legge "unproven' in response to a post about her history at the Indy 500. "It's wild to me how many grown men talk badly about badass girls like this,' Andretti wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "Does it make them feel more manly from the couch or something?' Associated Press
