AVONDALE, Ariz. — Multiple NASCAR teams have helped Katherine Legge prepare for her first Cup start this weekend at Phoenix Raceway.
“Everybody has given me the best opportunity to go out there and do a good job,” Legge said Friday.
The 44-year-old driver from England will become the first woman to compete in a NASCAR Cup race since Danica Patrick drove in the 2018 Daytona 500. Legge will pilot the No. 78 for Live Fast Motorsports, which is running a limited Cup schedule this season.
The list of women who have raced NASCAR Cup with Katherine Legge set to become the latest
She will make her premier series debut at Phoenix Raceway with Live Fast Motorsports.
Legge’s Cup debut came together quickly. She talked to NASCAR two weeks ago at Atlanta on what she needed to do to compete in a Cup race. She was told that a road course or short track was where she needed to start.
Legge said not everything could be put together fast enough for her to make her debut last weekend at Circuit of the Americas, so Phoenix became the next best option.
“It’s been a very intense lead-up,” Legge said.
She has been busy this week.
Richard Childress Racing provided a static sim for her to run laps on the Phoenix track. Chevrolet gave her time in one its Driver-in-the-Loop simulators. She worked on pit stops by driving the car for Hendrick Motorsports’ pit practice. Kaulig Racing also has provided support, she said, along with AJ Allmendinger and former Cup driver Andy Lally, the president of the Trans Am Series.
“I feel super well-supported and as prepared as I possibly can be, having never, never driven on an oval like this (with) a Next Gen car,” Legge said.
Phoenix weekend schedule, TV info for NASCAR Cup and Xfinity series
In a preview of the championship, the 1-mile oval will play host to the top two national circuits.
Legge, who has won in IMSA and competed in four Indianapolis 500s, is realistic about the challenges she faces this weekend.
“I don’t think that we have any expectation that we’re going to go out and be competitive,” Legge said. “I think if I finish anything but last, it would be a win for us, honestly, because I don’t have the experience that any of these guys have. I don’t have the car at the moment that’s capable of going and running up in front, so hopefully we can develop me and the car and everything else at the same time and we can get there.”
Legge said her goals for Sunday are simple.
“Basically finish all of the laps,” she said. “I want to do a good job and minimizing mistakes because everybody makes mistakes, but I really want to minimize them. I want to stay out of trouble and show respect and prove that I belong. I think if I do those things, I think I will get the opportunity to do more.”
