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Katherine Legge making NASCAR Cup Series debut at Phoenix with Live Fast Motorsports

JHby: Jonathan Howard03/03/25Jondean25
Katherine Legge NASCAR Cup Series debut
Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

How about this for a big announcement on a Monday? Katherine Legge is set to make her NASCAR Cup Series debut at Phoenix. She will race for Live Fast Motorsports in the No. 78 car. That is an open entry, Live Fast sold its charter to Spire Motorsports in 2023.

There won’t be more than 40 cars in the field at Phoenix. So, we will see Katherine Legge line up at Phoenix this Sunday. The British racer has competed in sports cars and IndyCar for most of her career.

At Daytona, Legge attempted to race in the ARCA Menards Series race. However, her day was ended short by a typical ARCA incident.

It is great to see a driver like Legge get this opportunity. She is also able to bring sponsorship to Live Fast who has raced a lot of black, empty space cars in the last two seasons.

Katherine Legge brings Droplight and Sherfick as sponsors this weekend. Looks like we are going to get a white and green paint scheme. A flat, one-mile track, Phoenix Raceway is going to be an interesting challenge.

Legge has been part of four IMSA wins and was on the runner-up team for the 2018 GTD season. In her early career, Legge made a name for herself in the Atlantic Championship, winning multiple races in 2005.

When she starts on Sunday at Phoenix, it will be the first time a woman has competed in the Cup Series since Danica Patrick and her final race in 2018 at Daytona.

Katherine Legge – Expectations for Phoenix Cup debut

Whenever a driver makes their Cup Series debut, it is always met with certain expectations. We saw that this past week in Texas with Connor Zilisch debuting at COTA. So, what about Katherine Legge?

Well, the good news is that there likely won’t be many expectations. At least not huge ones. Live Fast Motorsports was never a top-tier team in the Cup Series anyway. It is also interesting to see her debut at Phoenix on an oval versus a road course where she may feel more at home.

Given her sports car background, this Gen 7 Cup car should feel familiar in many ways. Still, there will be many things for Legge to learn. Good news, she has BJ McLeod and others at Live Fast who can help her out.

In 2023, Katherine Legge became the fastest woman in Indianapolis 500 qualifying history. She now has her eyes set on Phoenix in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Danica Patrick’s best finish at Phoenix in her career was P16 in 2015. It’d be quite a performance to even be in the top 25 in this Live Fast car for Legge. Low expectations could lead to high praise in a surprisingly strong performance.