Legge raced at Phoenix in the No. 78 Chevrolet for Live Fast Motorsports.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. β British race car driver Katherine Legge can now add theΒ NASCAR Cup SeriesΒ on her resume, adding to her long list of racing experience.
Legge raced the No. 78 Chevrolet for Live Fast Motorsports at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday and finished 30th. She’s the first woman to compete at NASCAR’s biggest level since Danica Patrick raced in the 2018 Daytona 500.
Legge ran as high as 28th before making contact with Josh Berry and spinning out on lap 218. Daniel SuΓ‘rez was collected in her spin, forcing her out of the race. She was credited with 30th in the 37-car field.
Before Sunday’s race, Legge told the Motor Racing Network that she was nervous but ready to show what she can do on the track. The concept of being the first female racer in “X” number of years was not something she put much thought into.
“I always try to… do a solid professional job as a race car driver whether it be male or female,” Legge said. “I don’t have a frame of reference to what it’s like to be anybody but me. I’m just going to go out there and do the best job that I can do.”
Legge has competed in numerous racing disciplines, including IMSA, Champ Car, and Formula E, among others. She’s found her most success in the SportsCar racing in IMSA where she has four wins in the GT Daytona class and finished second in that series’s standings in 2018. Legge has four Indianapolis 500 starts with a best finish of 22nd in 2012.
Sunday was not Legge’s first NASCAR start, though. She has five starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, with a best finish of 14th at Road America in 2018 for JD Motorsports.
Live Fast Motorsports is a part-time team owned by racer B.J. McLeod located in Mooresville. The single-car operation is typically a backmarker but has fielded cars for multiple drivers hoping to get track time at NASCAR’s biggest level. Sheldon Creed, Josh Williams, and Josh Bilicki are among the drivers besides McLeod who have made starts for the team.Β
Legge is the 17th woman to make a start in the NASCAR Cup Series. It’s unknown if she plans any further starts.
Notable female racers
Danica Patrick’s 191 starts are the most by any woman in the series. She had seven top 10s in her career and won the pole for the 2013 Daytona 500.Β
Janet Guthrie’s 23rd place finish in the 1977 points standings is the best for a woman in modern NASCAR history. She ran 19 of the 30 races that season and scored four top 10s. Guthrie’s open-wheel racing efforts are more well known.
Sara Christian competed in the first NASCAR Cup Series race on June 19, 1949 at Charlotte Speedway. Christian finished 14th in that race and scored a fifth place finish at Pittsburgh later that year, the best finish for a woman in a Cup Series race.
Shawna Robinson, Patty Moise, and Louise Smith are among the other women to compete in the NASCAR Cup Series.
In the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Toni Breidinger drives the No. 5 Toyota full-time for Tricon Garage. Breidinger is in her rookie season and has a best career finish of 15th. She has four top fives and 27 top 10s in 65 ARCA starts.
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