Katherine Legge set for second NASCAR Cup Series start in Mexico City

In a career in racing that spans more than 25 years, Katherine Legge has driven in dozens of races in all types of different machines.

Pick a car, any car, and the 44-year-old native of Surrey, England, has probably pressed her foot on that pedal as hard as she can. She’s maneuvered it around speedways and short tracks and road courses at dizzying speeds.

The Indianapolis 500? Check.

24 Hours of Daytona? Check.

Ferraris in Bahrain? Check.

Audis in Germany? Check.

How about the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, or the A1 Grand Prix, or Formula E, or the IMSA SportsCar Championship, or the 12 Hours of Sebring? Check, check, check, check, check.

Legge holds the record for the fastest qualifying time by a woman at the Indy 500 and was the first woman to win a major open-wheel race in North America. She’s broken barriers, smashed ceilings and won a whole lot of races in a whole lot of places.

But in this stage of her career, the mountain that she has set her sights on climbing is in NASCAR, the stockcar competition birthed nearly 80 years ago in the hills of North Carolina as moonshiners settled who had the fastest machine to outrun revenuers. She caught the stockcar bug in 2018 when she competed in a handful of second-tier Xfinity Series races, even placing 14th at the Road America course in Wisconsin.

Now, she’s all-in on NASCAR.

“I’ve raced in open wheel, I’ve raced in sports cars, and I hadn’t done much in stockcars. I did a few in 2018 and I loved it and I wanted to do more. I just didn’t know how to break into it,” Legge told SB Nation earlier this week. “In terms of numbers of really good drivers, it’s the most competitive championship in the world. When the opportunity arose, I jumped on it and grabbed it with both hands.”

Back in March, Legge became the first woman since Danica Patrick in 2018 to compete in a NASCAR Cup Series race when she drove her No. 78 Chevrolet in the Shriners Children’s 500 in Phoenix.

Now, thanks to a sponsorship with e.l.f., she’s planning to compete in stockcars much more often. This weekend, she’ll make her second Cup Series start as NASCAR goes to Mexico City for a road race. It’s the first points race in the Cup Series that has been held outside of the U.S. since 1958.

Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images

Legge’s relationship with e.l.f. began more than two years ago. Last year, they were her primary sponsor for the Indy 500, marking the fourth time she’s driven in what is often referred to as the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. The cosmetics company was supposed to partner with Legge again this year for the Indy 500, but they couldn’t secure a car. So they pivoted after Legge called e.l.f. and asked, what about NASCAR?

“It’s a different market. It’s definitely a different demographic. And I think that demographic would really appreciate the activation,” Legge said. “It’s a very powerful thing to have a company like that backing you. It just gives it so much credibility and it makes it very real for all the women in the stands as well.”

A survey last year found that 41 percent of NASCAR fans are women. Earlier this season, Alex Bowman drove a car in Miami with a paint scheme that promoted Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 professional women’s basketball league co-founded by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier. At North Wilkesboro in May, Carson Hocevar’s Chevy featured the Indiana Fever and promoted the WNBA All-Star Game.

For Legge, her partnership with e.l.f. is paving the way for her to race in more NASCAR races than she ever has before in a single season. She’s driven in four Xfinity Series races this year and plans to do at least two more, in addition to at least five Cup Series races. A particular one that she’s looking forward to is the road race at Watkins Glen in August.

Legge says e.l.f. will be her primary sponsor for most of those races, but she’s also working with the solutions-driven company DropLight and Desnuda Tequila.

“It’s allowing me to do all the things this year,” Legge said of her partnership with e.l.f. “They are a cult brand. Every woman knows who they are. They have a really, really good reputation. So, I’m proud to represent them… I’ve loved it so much because I’ve been trying to encourage more women into racing and do the whole — not to sound cliche — girl power thing. It’s one of the only sports where we can compete equally.”

Currently, 25-year-old Toni Breidenger is the only woman racing full-time in one of NASCAR’s top three touring circuits, driving in the Craftsman Truck Series. But more women seem to be climbing the ranks and competing in some of the lower tiers of the sport. 20-year-old Isabella Robusto placed third at Talladega in the ARCA Menards Series in April, marking the best finish ever by a woman at the superspeedway. Lanie Buice, 18, has five top-10 finishes this season across ARCA and the CARS Tour.

In a sport still largely dominated by straight white men, Legge does think that diversity is trending in the right direction in NASCAR.

“I think it’s improving in an authentic way. Like, people aren’t being hired and racing because of their gender or their race — people in racing are being hired because that’s the best person for the job. And now I think people are more open to the best person for the job being different, right? And so, that makes my heart happy,” Legge says. “But I think that it’s still a challenge. It is still very much a boys club, but that’s because nobody’s come in and proved themselves yet… To be the best, you have to beat the best.”

Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images

Legge witnessed the worst side of misogyny in racing earlier this year after being involved in a wreck in an Xfinity Series race in Rockingham, North Carolina. William Sawalich bumped into Legge’s rear which sent her car spinning, knocking into Kasey Khane. Following the race, Legge said she received death threats.

“I feel like it wasn’t deserved, because Rockingham was not my fault,” Legge says. “It just makes you realize how toxic social media can be sometimes where people feel emblazoned because they’re hiding behind a keyboard… The ones that were brought to my attention, we kind of laughed about, honestly. I have developed a real thick skin being the only woman in a male dominated sport. But if it was 18-year-old Katherine, it would have bothered me. So, I think it has to be addressed. It has to be stopped.”

The veteran driver says she isn’t fueled by those hateful messages and remains unbothered by them. Somewhat surprisingly, she saw a silver lining in all of it too.

“Honestly, I mean, it’s great that the NASCAR fans are so passionate. I think the death threats went a bit far,” Legge said with a laugh. “The more it does get called out, the more people will feel absolutely ridiculous for the things that they say. It’s pathetic, honestly.”

In five NASCAR races so far this season, between the Cup and Xfinity levels, Legge has yet to finish better than 30th.

She’s hoping that her familiarity with the course in Mexico City — the iconic Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez circuit — will help, because it’s a place where Legge has won. She took the checkered flag at the Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY race there in 2019. And road racing is arguably what Legge does best.

Whether she finishes first or 30th though, she knows that more reps in stockcars will only help her improve in the long run.

“Road racing is my background. It’s what I’ve been doing for the last two decades. So, it will feel more natural to me,” Legge said. “But again, the car is completely different… It’s big and burly, and you have to muscle that thing around. The more experience I get in NASCAR, the better. I’m not against racing whatever, however, to make me a better driver.”