Some people like their racing predictable—fast cars, big teams, same faces week in and week out. And then there’s Katherine Legge, who has built an entire career on showing up in unlikely places and driving the wheels off whatever she’s given. Now, she’s bringing that fearless approach to the NASCAR Cup Series, making her debut with Live Fast Motorsports at Phoenix Raceway this Sunday.
This isn’t just another driver taking a shot at NASCAR’s top level. Legge is a motorsports Swiss Army knife, slicing through IndyCar, IMSA, Xfinity, Formula E, and even Pikes Peak over the years. She’s won races, shattered records, and generally made a habit of proving people wrong. Now, she’s climbing into a Next Gen Cup car—the stock car equivalent of a bar fight on four wheels—and taking on one of the toughest grids in motorsports.
“Entering the NASCAR Cup Series is a dream come true,” said Legge. “I’m excited to team up with Live Fast Motorsports for Phoenix, and to represent our sponsors DROPLiGHT and Sherfick Companies. Racing stockcars has been an incredibly fun and new challenge that’s given me a renewed sense of vigor for this sport. As always, I’m grateful for the opportunity to do what I love and am inspired by all of the effort, preparation and behind the scenes work it takes to get here.”
Legge herself is under no illusions about what’s ahead. She calls stock car racing a fun and new challenge, which is a polite way of saying it’s like jumping into a fistfight with a crash helmet on. Her team owner, Jessica McLeod, is equally excited about the opportunity, recognizing that Legge’s versatility and experience bring something unique to the Cup Series.
“We’re happy to partner with Katherine for this race,” McLeod said. “The opportunity to have such a versatile and dynamic championship winning driver join our program is exciting for everyone on our team. This partnership reflects our commitment to providing opportunities for drivers making their way into the NASCAR Cup series in the Next Gen era.”
This is the first time in a decade that a female driver and a female team owner have teamed up in the NASCAR Cup Series, the last instance being Danica Patrick’s run with Kelley Earnhardt Miller in 2010. That’s a significant moment, but Legge isn’t here just to make history—she’s here to compete.
Her resume makes it clear she belongs. She’s one of only nine women to have raced in the Indianapolis 500, and in 2023, she set the fastest qualifying run by a woman in the event’s history. She was the first woman to win a major open-wheel race in North America. She’s stood on sports car podiums in IMSA, tackled endurance classics, and taken on the Xfinity Series. She doesn’t just try different forms of racing—she masters them.
Phoenix Raceway is a short, flat one-mile track that rewards racecraft, aggression, and tire management. There’s nowhere to hide, and the competition isn’t exactly known for playing nice. This won’t be a quiet Sunday drive. It’ll be loud, messy, and unpredictable—the perfect setting for a driver who thrives in the unexpected.
When the green flag drops, all the talk about versatility, history, and resumes won’t matter. It’ll just be Legge, her car, and 35 other drivers who don’t give an inch. She wouldn’t want it any other way.
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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