Katherine Legge needs to “tie” the IndyCar and NASCAR worlds collectively in 2026. The Briton is in talks with an IndyCar staff for a seat to compete on the a hundred and tenth Indianapolis 500 in 2026, and likewise with a NASCAR staff to proceed racing within the inventory automobile collection.
Earlier this yr, Legge had expressed how upset she was after not getting a aggressive entry for the 109th Indy 500. The 33-car subject for this yr’s Indy 500 was already packed earlier than the season began. In March, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing introduced two-time winner Takuma Sato as its fourth entry, and the sphere’s thirty fourth.
Legge had the sponsorship facet sorted out. She had e.l.f. Cosmetics, her major sponsor for the 2024 Indy 500, by her facet. However due to the absence of a aggressive entry, she switched disciplines to announce a transfer to NASCAR.
In a current revelation on her podcast Throttle Remedy, Katherine Legge shared that she needs to race in each disciplines subsequent yr, with a possible Indy 500 return on the playing cards.
“Working actually arduous on subsequent yr,” mentioned Legge [12:55 onwards]. “Attempting to determine the sponsorship and staff side. You recognize, I am speaking to 2 groups – one for the (Indy) 500 and one for NASCAR stuff subsequent yr, and I am type of actually hoping and praying that it really works out. Feeling very anxious about it as a result of I actually desire a good automobile. I really need an opportunity to point out what I am able to. I need to tie all of the worlds collectively and have it’s profitable.”
Legge’s 2025 NASCAR schedule concluded in August after the 90-lap Cup Collection race at Watkins Glen Worldwide. Nevertheless, the 45-year-old introduced a one-off return with Dwell Quick Motorsports, the staff she ran all her Cup Collection races with, for the South Level 400 on the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 13. She secured a P31 end in Vegas.
Katherine Legge felt IndyCar “missed out tremendously” by not having her race on the 2025 Indy 500
Earlier than 2025, Katherine Legge had 4 Indy 500 appearances below her belt – twice consecutively in 2012 and 2013, and once more in 2023 (with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing) and 2024 (Dale Coyne Racing). In her newest entry in 2024, Legge revolutionized the fan expertise with an immersive activation by her sponsor e.l.f. Cosmetics.
Sadly, the celebs did not align in IndyCar once more this yr, pushing her in the direction of NASCAR. Katherine Legge felt that her absence could be an enormous loss for the premier American open-wheel racing collection to not have her race on the large stage.
“That is in all probability not gonna go down effectively, however I’m gonna say it anyway. I believe the pivot we’ll discuss now that we’re doing to NASCAR this yr and never having the ability to get a automobile for the (Indy) 500… as a result of we had been planning on going again (to the Indy 500), we wished to return, we wished to do it. I believe Indy have missed out tremendously on not having us there,” Legge mentioned on her podcast in April.
“It isn’t about me. It is about us, it is about that unity, and it is about saying there was anybody… now there aren’t gonna be any (ladies drivers) on the monitor this yr. We have gone elsewhere as a result of we needed to, and I do not know methods to say it, however they’re gonna get a whole lot of stick from a whole lot of followers, they usually’re gonna assume that they missed out. Hopefully, we could be again subsequent yr, and they’ll notice that.”
Katherine Legge’s finest end result on the Indy 500 has been a P22 end, which she achieved on her debut in 2012 with the now-defunct Dragon Racing. It stays to be seen which staff she’ll drive for in 2026.
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Edited by Yash Kotak
