Katherine Legge to race NASCAR Cup at Phoenix

Katherine Legge will make her NASCAR Cup Series debut with Live Fast Motorsports at Phoenix, becoming the first woman to race in the top NASCAR series since 2018.

Photo credits: James Gilbert/NASCAR

British racing star Katherine Legge is set to become the first woman in seven years to race in NASCAR Cup as she joins Live Fast Motorsports for the upcoming Phoenix round.

Driving the #78 DROPLiGHT Chevy Camaro, Legge will make her debut in the top class of NASCAR racing, having previously competed in five one-off appearances in the NASCAR Xfinity Series from 2018 and 2023 - as well as the season opener of this year's ARCA Menards Series, to reacclimate herself to stock car racing ahead of her Cup debut.

A driver with an extensive experience in some of the most prestigious championships in the world, spanning from F1 testing, ChampCar, DTM, IndyCar, IMSA, Formula E, FIA WEC - Legge has become one of the most accomplished female racing drivers, with a vice-champion title in the GTD class of the premier North America's Sports Car championship, as well as the record of fastest ever female qualifier at the Indianapolis 500.

The British driver made her NASCAR debut in the Xfinity Series in 2018 at Mid-Ohio, followed by a start at Road America—where she secured a 14th-place finish—and her first oval race at Richmond Raceway. In 2024, she returned to Xfinity with a one-off appearance at Road America with SS Green Light Racing.

Back behind the wheel of a stock car for the ARCA season opener a few weeks ago, Legge raced the #23 Chevy for Sigma Performance Services in the Ride the 'Dente 200 at Daytona, the flagship event of the series. While she showed very encouraging speed in the test and practice, she was unfortunately collected in a crash not of her own making just four laps into the race.

She will now have the opportunity to bounce back from that disappointment with her entry in the Shriners Children's 500 race at Phoenix, where she will become the first woman to take the start in NASCAR Cup since Danica Patrick last raced in 2018.