Katherine Legge aims to become first woman to complete the most daunting task in motorsports
Katherine Legge will attempt to race her way into the history books later this month by becoming the first woman to complete the infamous NASCAR-IndyCar "Double."
For those who don't know, that's when a driver competes in both the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. Both events are held on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend.
Only five drivers have attempted "The Double," which includes running 1,100 miles in one day. Tony Stewart is the only one to complete all 1,100 miles, finishing sixth at Indy in 2001, and third at Charlotte.
John Andretti, Robbie Gordon, Kurt Busch and, most recently, Kyle Larson are the other four drivers to attempt it. Larson missed the start of the Coca-Cola 600 in 2024 because the Indy 500 was delayed due to rain. He crashed out of both events last season.
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Legge, 45, is no stranger to either series. She made her NASCAR Cup Series debut last season, with a season-best finish of 17th at the Brickyard 400. Legge made her eighth career Cup start last weekend at Watkins Glen, finishing 35th. She's finished 30th or worse in six of her eight races.
This will be her fifth Indy 500, with a career-best finish of 22nd in the 2012 race.
"It’s meticulously organized down to the minute," Legge told USA Today. "I just have to turn left a bunch of times that day. Hopefully there's no weather issues. We'll be all over the place."
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Legge's attempt at "The Double" comes 50 years after Janet Guthrie became the first woman to run practice laps at Indy. She failed to qualify for that year's event, but quickly turned her attention to the World 600, traveling to Charlotte and finishing 15th in the race.
The following year, she became the first woman to race in both the Daytona 500 and Indy 500.
Danica Patrick, of course, is the most recent — and most successful — woman to compete in both forms of racing. Patrick famously finished third in the 2009 Indy 500, and also started on the pole for the 2013 Daytona 500.
Patrick retired after the 2018 Daytona 500 and was the last woman to compete in the Cup Series until Legge made her debut last season. She never attempted "The Double."
"It seems like there's nobody waiting in the wings ready to take on that mantra," Legge continued. "How many years out are we from having the next me? There's a couple of girls in the Truck Series that I don't think have what it takes to get there. We need to develop the next generation so that I can hand over the baton, so to say.
"But unfortunately, there seems to be this big gap these days. And it's on the IndyCar side, the open-wheel side and on the NASCAR side."