Folks, why is Tony Stewart loved and respected so much? Well, yes, he won three championships as a driver in the Cup Series. But that’s not it. It’s his versatility, you name it, and he’s raced it. It’s the same thing with our upcoming Cup debutant, Katherine Legge. Her versatility in motorsports is unparalleled when you consider women in racing. Be it SportsCar, IndyCar, CART, Midgets, or Formula E, the list is long, and even the Xfinity Series is part of it. And after the Phoenix race, we can put the Cup Series in there, too. Moreover, with stock car racing, it’s not always been the smoothest journey for her. Still, she’s got the spirit to go for it.

Legge was part of the recent ARCA race at Daytona and was involved in a massive crash that caused a pile. And that was part of her limited experience running on ovals. The other one would be the 2018 Richmond race. With this limited experience, she’s diving headfirst into a one-mile high-speed race. That, too, in the next-gen car, something she’s never piloted before. Call this madness or just an itch of a driver craving versatility. Well, Katherine Legge has revealed how she’s so fearless.

Katherine Legge is entering uncharted territory with ease

We say unchartered territory because before this, she ran five Xfinity races, out of which four were road courses. Running on an oval and knowing which lines to run and how not to end up in the wall is an entirely different ball game. But Legge is ready for it, probably because she gets to tick off another form of racing from her to-do list.

She just loves doing it and wants to keep doing it her whole life. And no amount of crashes can stop her. And she’s had some big ones, folks. Like really nasty ones. That crazy flip at Champ Car in the 2006 Road America race raised eyebrows. Or her recent crash at the 2025 Chili Bowl, where her car literally flew in the air. It’s a miracle that she was unscathed after that. And yet she continues to choose to race over anything else.

In the pre-race press conference, Legge opened up about her love for racing. She said, “I don’t know where it comes from, but it’s definitely inherent in me. I grew up racing go karts. I wanted to be a Formula 1 driver, but then I ended up in open wheel and found a love for Sportscar racing.” 

Who knows? She could be the next Maria Teresa de Filippis, Lella Lombardi, and Desiré Wilson.

“I loved doing the Xfinity races I did and wanted to do more stock car racing. I got the opportunity to do the Chili Bowl, so I did it. It was really cool. It was a really cool experience. I figured the more things I do, the better I’ll become. Everything teaches you something, but I do feel I have one of the most diverse careers in racing. Literally, you name it, I’ve driven it. I’ve driven Formula E, I’ve driven prototypes, I’ve driven so many different forms of racing. I feel like this is the one I really wanted to do that’s eluded me,” she mentioned.

Legge is one of those rare breed drivers who are thrill seekers and don’t fear a challenge. This is why we can compare her to Tony Stewart. Look at him; he is in his early 50s and runs a Top Fuel Dragster, an 11,000 horsepower car. And that’s the thing about versatility. It makes drivers attempt new things and actually helps them adapt to the car like a duck to water. A year into Top Fuel, Tony is already Rookie of the Year.

And after all the simulator sessions Katherine Legge went through, she must have gotten the hang of things, too. And if not, her passion would not let her stop until she figured it out.

“I just love it. It’s in my blood. I think, you know how they say your job should not be your identity? Well, this is 100 percent my identity. I’m just a racing drive, I don’t know where I’d be without it. I love it so much,” mentioned Legge. The pure passion remains impressive.

She continued, “I love everything about it, I love the driving, I love the camaraderie, I love the competition with everybody else, I love the competition with yourself. I love the technical elements of it and figuring out what to do to make your race car go fast. I love the strategy. Literally, every aspect of it makes me want to get out of bed in the morning. I just love it,” Legge added.

Well, the good thing about this madness is that she races for herself and also to motivate the next generation of female drivers!

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Legge remains disappointed with the number of female race car drivers

Before Legge, there have been only 16 female drivers in NASCAR’s top division. 7 years ago, it was Danica Patrick. And no one in the sport’s history comes close to Patrick’s stats. It’s not a good thing. Patrick ran the Cup Series from 2012 to 2018, making 191 starts and bagging seven top 10s. And other than Patrick, only two other female drivers have made double-digit starts in the Cup Series. Janet Guthrie made 33, and Louise Smith had 11 starts. 10 drivers out of the 16 have only made between 1 and 2 starts. But that’s just the state of the female drivers in Motorsports.

And not just NASCAR, it’s the same everywhere. On the top of your head, can you think of just one female Formula One driver? No, right? Yes, we mentioned some names before, so Google them!

But, that is exactly what frustrates Legge: “It’s disappointing that there aren’t more women in INDYCAR, NASCAR, Cup. (In) Sportscars, there’s really been kind of a gap. There was Sarah Fisher, Danica (Patrick), me, Simona (de Silvestro), and a bunch of good drivers in that era. Then here’s been this gap, this lull.”

But after Legge retires, she plans to help change this. “So when I stop racing, or maybe alongside it but definitely focused when I want to stop racing, I’d love to bring up the next generation. I think there’s only a handful of us that have those shared, lived experiences, and I think that my experience might be valuable in helping them navigate it.”

The number of Cup starts Katherine Legge makes, beginning with Phoenix, will be crucial for inspiring young women in racing. Like Toni Breidinger is running the Truck Series this season, seeing Legge probably getting a top 10 or a top 15 at Phoenix would be a motivator. To eventually climb the ranks and do what’s never been done before. Maybe even become the first female driver to win a Cup Series race. So Legge’s got a huge responsibility on her shoulders heading into the race.

Where do you think Katherine Legge will finish? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.