Katherine Legge continues NASCAR progress with impressive Indy run
SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Katherine Legge garnered praise from the likes of Denny Hamlin and others after an impressive run in Sunday’s Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Katherine Legge stayed on the lead lap most of the day and finished 17th in double overtime of one of the crown jewel races of NASCAR.
“Very noteworthy. I mean, I just feel as though — wow — she is getting a lot out of that car,” Hamlin said on his podcast, ‘Actions Detrimental’.
“Now, in practice, I would’ve said, ‘Whoa. Holy cow. Danger, danger’ you know? ’78 car’,” Hamlin added.
Legge practiced 4.3 seconds off the pace and qualifying 7.8 seconds off.
In Legge’s only other oval Cup race, her series debut at Phoenix Raceway, she had to learn the Cup car and an unfamiliar track on the fly with minimal practice. As a result, Legge spun multiple times and raised questions from the same people who began to worry after seeing her struggle in Brickyard 400 practice and qualifying.
Fortunately, Legge did much better in the race. In fact, she stayed on the lead lap throughout the race. She even led briefly before pitting late in the race.
After pitting, Legge stayed on the lead lap. Although she went a lap down, she fought hard for the free pass and received it during a caution for rain with a few laps to go.
After the timely caution, Legge geared up for overtime. During the second overtime attempt, she raced and passed drivers who usually outpace her, like Shane van Gisbergen and Chase Briscoe.
Ultimately, Legge finished 17th.
Legge earned her best career finish in the NASCAR Cup Series and B.J. McLeod his best non-superspeedway oval lead-lap finish as a Cup team owner. McLeod’s previous-best was 22nd, at Auto Club Speedway in February 2022 and Texas Motor Speedway in September 2023.
“They don’t have any testing or data or anything like that so when they hit the racetrack for the very first time, who knows where their travels are at? Are they hitting the track? Are they not? They’re one of those teams that [has to] put their thumb in the air and is like, ‘I think we need to be here this weekend.’,” Hamlin said.
Hamlin heaped praise on Legge for her run with the car.
“It can’t be stated how impressive she’s been. Staying on the lead lap, it’s not like she’s been getting five lucky dogs and squeaking out finishes. She’s staying on the lead lap at these race tracks and battling some of our better drivers with that car,” Hamlin said.
More impressive yet, Legge revealed on social media she did it all with a failed cool suit. In essence, she had warm, near-scalding water hanging on her — yet she finished 11 positions better than her average Cup finish coming into Indy.
Katherine Legge reflected on the race on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
B.J. McLeod will have Legge in more races later this season.
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com