Is NSACAR setting up the female drivers to be failures? In 2021, Jennifer Jo Cobb attempted to make her Cup  Series debut at Talladega, but NASCAR didn’t approve her participation, citing a lack of experience without the practice and qualifying. Not just to her, but to all the female racers battling to establish their place, the moment was a gut punch. Shawna Robinson was the first woman to win a top-tier NASCAR pole, but she left the sport years ago after facing harsh media attention and sponsor hostility.

Naturally, Danica Patrick, who is likely the most well-known woman in stock car history, endured more fan mockery during her last years in the sport than joy, with her name frequently trending for crashes rather than achievements. In addition to competing, these women had to bear the weight of representation on tracks that seldom ever gave them second chances. Moreover, their failures weren’t private when the spotlight turned harsh; rather, they were loud, public, and frequently cruel.

More than ten years later, Katherine Legge has entered the same searing spotlight, only to be swiftly engulfed in criticism. Things didn’t go as planned for her first major NASCAR moment at the Phoenix Raceway. It was difficult. Even brutal. The outcry was swift. Even faster are the misgivings. Daniel Suarez, who was caught up in an incident with Legge at Phoenix, didn’t hold back, “I hope girls make it in the sport. I hope. It’s nothing wrong with her. What is wrong is NASCAR. They cannot allow somebody with no experience to run in the Cup Series — plain and simple.”

The two drivers did get on a call and cleared any misunderstandings, but Suarez stood his ground, stating that NASCAR was responsible for setting up Legge for failure. From here on, it was just tough to see Legge make her comeback to NASCAR. But it looks like she’s on a mission to prove her doubters wrong.

Katherine Legge’s Strategic Move to Prove Her Place in NASCAR’s Elite Circles

The public’s perception quickly changed after Katherine Legge’s debut turned into a controversy. Online criticism portrayed her as unprepared and even unwanted. Some wondered if she should even be in a Cup vehicle. However, rather than fading into obscurity, she’s reappeared with a nonverbal message: her racing schedule for 2025. A daring 2025 NASCAR campaign featuring a few Cup and Xfinity Series races has been revealed by the 44-year-old British driver. The British driver will be featured in multiple Cup and Xfinity Series races across different racetracks. Interestingly, she doesn’t have an intermediate or a superspeedway event on her Cup schedule.

With Live Fast Motorsports, Legge will run a limited NASCAR Cup Series calendar in 2025 that includes five races: Watkins Glen, Sonoma, Chicago Street Race, Mexico City, and Richmond. She will compete on a wider variety of ovals and intermediates in the Xfinity Series, including Rockingham (April 19), Talladega, Texas, Charlotte, Nashville, Atlanta, and Indianapolis. The schedule shows a deliberate attempt to increase her adaptability on high-speed ovals, short tracks, and road courses.

Richmond is the only oval race on the Legge’s Cup Series schedule after the crash with Daniel Suarez in Phoenix. After the incident, she had to deal with criticism, which sparked debates about NASCAR’s approval process. Well, she is aware of the comments and sentiment of the racing community but is focused on moving forward in fulfilling her goals of being a NASCAR regular. “I licked my wounds for sure, but I haven’t been around in motorsports for 20 years professionally by giving up on anything.” Legge was quoted saying this via NBC Sports.

“I know Phoenix wasn’t my best work. I made a mistake, right? And then there was that one mistake that obviously ended Daniel’s race and cost me my reputation, which I intend to get back. But it was a mistake… So to be vilified on one mistake, I feel like was really unfair. I am a damn good race car driver, and I will come back and prove that was just a blip on the radar.” She added.

Sponsorship and funding are crucial elements for a driver to survive in any of the three series. But Legge comes prepared, as her Xfinity and Cup Series races will be sponsored by e.l.f Cosmetics, DROPLight, Sherfick Companies, and Desnuda Tequila. With these races under her belt, Katherine Legge will have good experience competing in NASCAR’s top series, but it looks like there might be more races lined up on her schedule.

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Legge wants to compete at the Intermediate and Superspeedway tracks

Now, when it comes to approval to compete in NASCAR Cup Series races, there’s no clear pathway or structure through which a non-NASCAR driver can make their bid. Sure, they’ve brought the Open Exemption Provisional that allows superstar drivers from other disciplines to compete in NASCAR, but we saw that also turned out to be controversial. Helio Castroneves booked his spot in the Daytona 500 using the OEP, but at the same time, Mike Wallace’s appeal was turned down.

When it comes to Legge, there was a lot of talk about her participation on mile-and-a-half and speedway racetracks. And it looks like NASCAR has taken notice of the outburst. And while Legge wants to run more races on such tracks, she needs to gain more experience to be able to compete in events like the Daytona 500 or the Brickyard 400. “This is what we need in order to get NASCAR permission to be able to run anywhere I want, whenever I want, which is the ultimate goal. I want to do everything I can to A, experience all the things and B, to be the best driver that I can be and leave a legacy and open the door for the next generation.”

There’s a possibility that we might see Katherine Legge and his team appeal for the OEP to compete in the Daytona 500 next year. But that spot isn’t guaranteed, and there could be multiple appeals coming in from different teams or decorated drivers.