After top 20 finish in Chicago, this woman will race in 3 more NASCAR Cup Series events in 2025

Katherine Legge has raced at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway before, but never in a stockcar.

That’ll change later this month as Legge is set to compete in both the Xfinity and Cup Series races during NASCAR’s weekend at the Brickyard. On July 26, she’ll run in the Pennzoil 250, and then on July 27 she’ll race in the Brickyard 400.

In addition to her pair of races at the Brickyard, Legge’s team also announced that she’ll compete in Cup Series races at Watkins Glen on Aug. 10 and Las Vegas on Oct. 12.

Legge has ran in four Xfinity races this season and four Cup Series events. In March at the 2025 Shriners Children’s 500 in Phoenix, she became the first woman since Danica Patrick in 2018 to start a Cup Series race. Earlier this month on July 6 at the Grant Park 165 — the Chicago Street Course race — she finished 19th, logging the first top 20 finish by a woman in NASCAR’s highest touring circuit since Patrick in 2017.

This season, Legge, 45, is the only woman to qualify for and race in multiple events at the Xfinity and Cup Series levels. The only woman driving full-time in any of NASCAR’s top three touring circuits is Toni Breidinger, who competes in the Craftsman Truck Series.

Legge has often been supported this season in the Live Fast Motorsports No. 78 Chevrolet by e.l.f. Cosmetics, but will also be sponsored by Desnuda Organic Tequila and Indiana-based venture studio Droplight in the Brickyard races.

“It’s always an honor to drive at Indy, but having the chance to compete in both the Cup and Xfinity races thanks to Desnuda and Droplight is going to be epic,” Legge said in a statement. “After racing in the Indy 500 in (2023 and 2024), I definitely felt a void not being there this year. But adding races to my schedule is exactly what I’ve been working toward —competing in as many events as possible and logging as many laps as I can.”

Legge has been competing in NASCAR off-and-on since 2018. That season, she placed 14th in the Xfinity race at the Road America course, which still stands as her best finish in the sport. The native of Surrey, England has competed in many varieties of motorsports over the past two decades, from Indy Cars to Formula E, and from the A1 Grand Prix to the 24 Hours of Daytona. She still holds the record for the fastest qualifying time by a woman at the Indy 500 and was the first woman to win a major open-wheel race in North America.

But NASCAR seems to be the hill that Legge has set her sights on climbing next. Her manager Klint Briney says they’re already lining up opportunities for her in the 2026 season.

“Katherine’s momentum this season is no accident — we’ve been intentional to align with the right opportunities and partners who believe in our vision,” Briney said. “As we look toward 2026, we’re already exploring next steps in NASCAR and beyond, with a focus on securing strategic sponsorships that position her for marquee events and expanded opportunities ahead.”