Acknowledging it will be both historically and personally significant, Katherine Legge insisted Friday that her upcoming attempt at the Memorial Day “Double” — competing in both the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 on May 24 — was more about accomplishing a longtime goal than creating headlines as the first woman to do so — even if the history is unmistakable.
There’s no question the 1,100 miles of competition provide one of the most daunting single-day sporting challenges in auto racing, and the 45-year-old Brit is excited, prepared and motivated to take on the challenge — attempting to become only the sixth driver ever to compete in both of the day’s celebrated races.
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The Double takes place in different states, in vastly different cars and on two grids filled with the world’s best race car drivers. And only John Andretti, Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon, Kurt Busch and Kyle Larson have ever previously accomplished the intimidating bid. The reigning and two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Larson was the most recent to do so, attempting both the Indy 500 and Charlotte 600-miler in 2024 and 2025.
“A lot of excitement, a lot of thoughts bouncing around, a lot of logistics and planning to get done,” said Legge, who formally announced her plans for the Double only two days ago. Someone asked me whether I was ‘panic training’ to get in good enough shape … but I train year-round and I’ve done a lot of endurance racing. Mentally, I think it will be a struggle just switching gears from one discipline to the next. But it’s going to be more the auxiliary type things you worry about … not the actual driving. Lots to think about, lots to plan for, lots of media. It was a much bigger announcement than I anticipated, and that’s cool.
“It will be an opportunity of a lifetime,” she added. “I’m excited.”
As are so many in the racing world who have long watched Legge compete in everything from sports cars to open-wheel cars to sedans and stock cars.
Legge said she’s already spoken with Larson about her plans and said he’s been incredibly encouraging. “One thing Kyle said was, ‘enjoy it, don’t get stressed about it,'” she said.
Having just made a bid so recently, Larson has been a key sounding board for Legge.
“I’m really excited for her,” Larson said. “I think she’s an amazing ambassador for the sport and especially women in racing, so I wish her all the best.
“I think with her experience, she will handle it all very well, and I’m looking forward to catching up with her to see what she thinks of it all after she accomplishes the completion of both [races].”
Legge will drive the No. 11 HMD Motorsports Chevrolet with AJ Foyt Racing at Indianapolis. And coincidentally, her crew chief for the effort, Andy O’Gara, is married to another of the Indy 500’s most celebrated female competitors, Sarah Fisher, who raced in nine Indianapolis 500s.
Legge is the ninth woman to make the famed 33-car Indy field, and in 2023 while driving for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, she turned in the fastest qualifying effort ever for a woman.
In contrast, this will mark Legge’s NASCAR debut on the 1.5-mile Charlotte Motor Speedway. She’ll drive the same No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevy that she’s piloted in all eight of her NASCAR Cup Series starts over the last two years, earning a career-best showing of 17th place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. She made her 2026 season debut last week at Watkins Glen International.
Legge is widely regarded as one of the sport’s most diversely talented drivers — having won in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Series, raced full-time in IndyCar and earned positions on the starting grid eight times in NASCAR’s premier series.
Despite the challenges of the Double, Legge is confident in her bid, and so are others.
“She’s the most fit I’ve seen her,” said Hall of Fame driver Lyn St. James, who competed in seven Indy 500s and earned a career-best 11th-place finish in her 1992 Indy debut. “Her skills and confidence are at an all-time high. Her sponsor e.l.f. continues to support her. That’s a trifecta opportunity for success.
“It’s so difficult to put a full-season program together with the right equipment and the right team for either IndyCar or NASCAR, so it’s smart to take advantage of what elements she can put together to make something happen. Never any guarantees, but this is a chance to do something big.”
Legge is well aware that she is the first woman to try the legendary Double and that she will be the only woman competing at Indianapolis and in the Charlotte race this year. But being a woman has nothing to do with her desire to compete, she says. Her competitive desire lies in sportsmanship and the quest to be part of a historical sports chapter.
“I don’t think of it as this huge thing I’m doing as a woman, I’ve always thought of myself as just a race car driver,” Legge said. “I had considered putting it off a year to get more NASCAR experience, and I hadn’t been in IndyCar in a while, but opportunities like this don’t necessarily come around ‘next year’ so if you’re going to do it, you need to do it.
“Who would turn it down? You’d be crazy. … I will make the best of it and hope to be successful. I think it’s really cool that we can show all these young people, not just young women, that barriers can just be in your head and you can do it. If you want something enough, you’ll find a way to make it happen.”