SportsCar and Open Wheel Veteran Making NASCAR Cup Series Debut at Phoenix

What’s Happening?

IMSA and IndyCar veteran Katherine Legge is set to make her NASCAR Cup Series debut this weekend at Phoenix Raceway. The native of Guilford, England, will be behind the wheel of the No. 78 car for B.J. McLeod’s Live Fast Motorsports. When she takes the green flag on Sunday, Legge will become the first female driver to compete in a Cup Series race since Danica Patrick in 2018

• Though she is a multi-time winner in the IMSA SportsCar Championship time in the series, Legge has made multiple open-wheel starts in the past two seasons. This includes seven starts in the NTT IndyCar Series last season and entries in the Indianapolis 500 in back-to-back seasons.
• The 44-year-old has five NASCAR National Series races under her belt, all in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. However, this will be her second career National Series start on an oval. Her only other start on an oval came in 2017 with JD Motorsports at Richmond; Legge Started 32nd and finished 28th.
• Though her last Xfinity Series start came in 2023, Legge has had a recent start in a stock car. Earlier this season, she participated in the ARCA race at Daytona, which featured notable drivers such as Cleetus McFarland and Hélio Castroneves.
• Live Fast Motorsports, owned by owner-driver B.J. McLeod, is a fan-favorite underdog open team in the NASCAR Cup Series. They typically enter races at drafting tracks. However, this will be a rare short track start for the unchartered team.

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