Who is Katherine Legge? 5 things to know about the racer making her first NASCAR Cup start
Race car driver Katherine Legge is headed back to NASCAR, this time taking on the sport's premier Cup Series at Phoenix Raceway this weekend.
Sunday's Shriners Children's 500 at Phoenix's mile-long track will mark Legge's NASCAR Cup Series debut, and she'll be the first woman to compete in NASCAR's top series since Danica Patrick's final race, the 2018 Daytona 500, before retiring from stock cars. At Phoenix, Legge will be behind the wheel of the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet, the team announced Monday.
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A seasoned veteran, Legge is far from a newcomer in motorsports, including racing in the IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500. She's also competed in NASCAR before — just not in the Cup Series.
So here are five things to know about Legge before she makes her first NASCAR Cup Series start this weekend at Phoenix.
1. Legge has made four Indy 500 starts, including in 2024
Legge made her Indy 500 debut back in 2012 before also going on to compete in IndyCar's biggest race in 2013, 2023 and 2024. She's one of nine women to ever compete in the Indy 500 and was the only woman in the field last year, finishing 29th. Her best Indy 500 finish was 12th in 2012.
2. Legge set two Indy 500 qualifying records
Ahead of the 2023 Indy 500, Legge set two qualifying records for women in the field: fastest one-lap qualification run (231.627 miles per hour) and fastest four-lap qualification run (231.070 miles per hour).
3. She's from England
With a decades-long racing career, Legge is a 44-year-old native of Guilford, England but she's been racing in the U.S. for two decades.
4. Legge is not new to NASCAR
In her racing career across multiple disciplines, Legge has competed in five NASCAR races, all in the second-tier Xfinity Series. She made four starts in 2018 and one in 2023, including racing at Road America, Richmond Raceway and on Charlotte Motor Speedway's roval.
5. Legge raced at Daytona International Speedway in February
In the ARCA Series race at Daytona International Speedway ahead of the Daytona 500, Legge competed in the Ride The 'Dente 200 in the No. 23 Chevrolet. Although she started ninth, she was involved in an early multi-car wreck and didn't finish the race.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Katherine Legge making her first NASCAR Cup start, first woman since Danica
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