“These young kids are fast, but they haven’t made all the mistakes, and they’re not scared yet.” This savage comment from Katherine Legge underlined her attitude towards her NASCAR Cup Series debut season. The British motorsports athlete has a rich experience, having participated in endurance classics like the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. That is why Legge endured the ‘baptism of fire’ in the Cup Series with a solid approach.
A possible threat looming in her path was none other than Carson Hocevar. The 22-year-old sophomore driver has already ruffled the feathers of several Cup Series veterans this year. Katherine Legge may have been another one, but the 40-year-old racer handled it like an icon.
Katherine Legge shrugged at the rabble-rouser
Well, given Carson Hocevar’s record, this can be a difficult thing to do. Encountering the No. 77 Chevrolet up close has led to crashes for Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr this season. All of them swore to get back at the Spire Motorsports driver who was particularly nonchalant about his actions. In last Sunday’s Sonoma Raceway event, Hocevar crossed paths with Katherine Legge. The latter encountered a brake issue during qualifying, so she had to start last. During the race, her No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports crew had to warn her about Hocevar flying past her. “Watch the 77 here”, her crew chief said. Instead of dreading another rabble-rousing tactic, Legge had a smart response.
In a recent episode of ‘Rubbin is Racing’, Large, Quigs, and Moonhead were discussing Katherine Legge’s Sonoma race. Quigs at first highlighted the fact that stunned the NASCAR community recently. In four Cup races – Phoenix, Mexico City, Chicago, and Sonoma, Legge finished better than Carson Hocevar. Quigs said, “Katherine Legge has finished ahead of Carson Hocevar in all four Cup races she has qualified for.” Then he brought the spotlight to Legge’s savage radio response to seeing Hocevar in Sonoma. She said, “What is he doing? …Looking for somebody to give him a decking. I don’t think he wants to be the one starting a fight. I think even I could take him.”
Eventually, Katherine Legge wound up finishing 31st, one spot ahead of Carson Hocevar. Although her best finish so far has only been 19th at the Chicago Street Race (the first top 20 finish by a female racer since Danica Patrick in 2018), Quigs lauded Legge for her lighthearted banter. “She said this just totally joking around with her spotter, but I kind of like it. You know, at some point, she doored Chase Elliott because he was, I guess, you know, racing her a little bit aggressively. I really don’t care if Katherine Legge races again in the NASCAR Cup Series, but while she’s here, at least she’s having maybe a little bit of fun with it. So, congrats to her.”
Clearly, Katherine Legge is attaining the respect of the NASCAR community, one step at a time. Presently, she is ready to take on a new challenge.
Adding a new venue to her timeline
When Katherine Legge first formulated her NASCAR schedule, people had many doubts. She was the first woman to run a NASCAR race since Danica Patrick. She was even apprehensive about the e.l.f. brand adorning her car with a pink shade: “Oh god, that’s so cliché. Do we have to do a pink car?” Following her Phoenix start, Legge faced a backlash from fans for causing twin wrecks and ruining a rival’s day. Legge was not spared from vulgarity and death threats for her start. Despite this, Legge doubled down on her effort and persisted. In the Chicago Street Race, she beat Corey Heim at qualifying and clinched a remarkable 19th-place finish. So now, she is ready for the next challenge.
On Tuesday this week, the racer announced her plans to compete in the 2025 Brickyard 400. Katherine Legge already has experience at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, having run in the 2023 and 2024 Indy 500s. Now, she is excited to take it a notch further. “It’s always an honor to drive at Indy, but having the chance to compete in both the Cup and Xfinity races thanks to Desnuda and Droplight is going to be epic. After racing in the Indy 500 in ’23 and ’24, I definitely felt a void not being there this year.” She added, “But adding races to my schedule is exactly what I’ve been working toward. Competing in as many events as possible and logging as many laps as I can.”
Clearly, Katherine Legge’s iron will is enough to defy any rabble-rousing obstacles in her path. Let us see how the British racer performs in her next venture.
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