A bold effort against all odds — Beyond the final result, Katherine Legge can take pride in her progress through practice and qualifying, as she took on a big challenge with minimal preparation, an unfamiliar car, and a steep learning curve to become the first woman to start a NASCAR Cup race in 7 years.
Katherine Legge, one of the most accomplished female drivers of the past two decades, made her NASCAR Cup Series debut at Phoenix Raceway, becoming the first woman to race in NASCAR's top category since 2018. The milestone adds another prestigious championship to her already remarkable résumé, which includes some of the world's most prestigious racing series and race cars.
A multiple race winner in the Atlantic Championship and a top-10 finisher in Champ Car, Legge has competed in four Indianapolis 500s, setting the record as the fastest woman to ever qualify for the race. Her extensive single-seater experience includes stints as a race driver in Formula E and a test driver in Formula 1. In sports cars, Legge raced three seasons in the ultra-competitive DTM championship—where she secured one fastest lap—and drove the innovative DeltaWing prototype in IMSA.
In North America's premier sports car championship, she finished as vice-champion in 2018 after winning two races, continuing to compete in the GTD class until 2024. That same year, she also took on a part-time campaign in IndyCar. Throughout her career, Legge has raced in the FIA World Endurance Championship and GT World Challenge Europe, among others.
With a racing résumé that rivals many motorsport stars, it was only natural for Legge to take on the challenge of stock car racing. She made her NASCAR debut in 2018 in the Xfinity Series, securing a best finish of 14th at Road America while also gaining her first oval racing experience. In 2023, she returned to Xfinity for a one-off race with SS Green Light Racing at Road America, though her race was plagued by technical issues.
Undeterred, Legge continued to push boundaries. At the start of 2025, she made her debut on dirt, competing in a midget car for the first time at the Chili Bowl Nationals. In February, she entered the ARCA Menards Series, racing in the Ride the ‘Dente 200 at Daytona. Despite showing promising speed in practice, her race ended early due to an unavoidable accident.
Soon after, she faced her biggest stock car challenge yet: her NASCAR Cup Series debut.
Legge became the first woman to start a Cup Series race in seven years, following Danica Patrick’s last appearance at the 2018 Daytona 500. She also joined an exclusive group, becoming only the 21st woman to compete in NASCAR’s top series and the eighth in the modern era—following pioneers such as Janet Guthrie and Lella Lombardi, the only woman to score points in Formula 1.
While securing the opportunity was a historic achievement in itself, the challenge ahead was immense. Legge had never driven the NextGen Cup car before, nor had she ever raced at Phoenix Raceway.
Driving the #78 DROPLiGHT Chevrolet Camaro for Live Fast Motorsports, she had only a single practice session to learn both the car and the track before heading straight into qualifying. To prepare, she spent time on the simulator in the days leading up to the event, trying to understand the NextGen car’s behavior.
Once on track, however, Legge made steady progress in practice, running a fastest lap of 28.342 seconds—just 1.2 seconds off the leader and six-tenths from the car ahead, in one of the most difficult equipment on the field.
Qualifying was another small step forward, as she clocked a 28.060-second lap to secure P37 on the grid, just over two-tenths behind the next competitor.
With a focus on gaining experience, Legge lined up for the Shriners Children's 500 with the primary goal of learning as much as possible.
However, the opening laps proved difficult. Overnight setup changes made the car extremely difficult to handle, and she struggled with an unbalanced #78 machine. On lap 4, she spun on the front straight but avoided contact with the wall, bringing out the race’s first caution.
Legge pitted for fresh tyres and reported that the car was so tight that it became loose on corner exit. On the restart, she avoided another spinning car ahead of her and gained a position when Joey Logano was penalized for crossing the restart line. Settling into a rhythm, she ran consistently over the next 30 laps before beginning to deal with traffic.
Despite her best efforts, Legge continued to struggle with car balance and traction, making it difficult to put the power down. She completed the first stage in P37 and pitted on lap 63 for further adjustments.
The second stage resumed on lap 73, and Legge’s speed showed signs of improvement.
On lap 92, Michael McDowell hit the wall, triggering the second caution. Legge pitted under yellow, and shortly after, a major crash on the restart eliminated several cars, including Cole Custer, Brad Keselowski, Noah Gragson, Shane van Gisbergen, Justin Haley, Chase Briscoe, Carson Hocevar, and Riley Herbst. Legge avoided the chaos and gained several positions, moving up to P28.
At the restart, she regained a lap and continued pushing for improvements. While the car was far from optimal to drive, she focused on staying out of trouble and managing traffic.
Over the next laps, she showed again significant progress, running consistently in the 28.5-second range. By lap 150, she held onto P28, displaying increased confidence by the end of the second stage after multiple pit stops for adjustments.
As the final stage began, Legge remained determined to finish the race cleanly.
Unfortunately, on lap 210, as she was being lapped by Josh Berry, her car became unsettled, causing her to spin and hit the wall. Daniel Suárez, unable to avoid her, made contact, damaging her car’s toe link. She managed to limp back to pit road, where the team attempted repairs in hopes of returning to the track to gain more experience. However, the damage was too extensive, and her NASCAR Cup debut came to an early end on lap 210. She was classified P30.
Despite the rough outcome, Legge’s performance was commendable given the circumstances. With minimal preparation, an unfamiliar car, and a steep learning curve, she tackled one of her toughest challenges to date.
Beyond the final result, she can take pride in her progress through practice and qualifying, her determination to take on a new discipline, and her resilience in the face of adversity. If given another opportunity, she will undoubtedly return stronger, ready to take on the challenge once again.
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