‘It’s Worth So Much’: Katherine Legge Highlights What Full-Time NASCAR Drivers Have That Part-Timers Don’t

Xfinity Series driver Katherine Legge (32) speaks with fans before the race at Talladega Superspeedway.

After years of competing in various racing disciplines, 44-year-old Katherine Legge has now set herself the goal to become a full-time driver in the NASCAR Cup Series. She has been making sporadic starts in the Cup Series and the Xfinity Series this year with limited success. Notably, she finished her first premier-tier race last Sunday in Mexico City.

Ahead of the race, Legge spoke to SpeedFreaks and detailed the differences between drivers racing part-time and full-time in NASCAR. She admitted how she had initially thought that the mentality when taking on a road course and a traditional oval would be similar. But that hadn’t been the case and she reasoned why.

“The problem is that these guys are driving this car every weekend,” Legge said. “Every single weekend, right? So, for me to get back in it, having only driven it once at Phoenix, after driving the Xfinity car, which is kind of a bit of a mind-messing up… I just think that sort of subconscious frame of reference that they don’t even know that they have is worth so much.”

Legge continued to mention that she did not particularly remember the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, despite having raced at the circuit previously. Given her extensive experience and success on road courses, perhaps ovals will come just as naturally with more seat time.
While she is completely focused on making it as a full-timer in the Cup Series, Legge hasn’t ruled out racing in other disciplines. She has previously raced in the Indianapolis 500 on four occasions. She plans on doing so again in the future. “I still want to do the [Indianapolis] 500 next year,” she said. “I still want to do the 24 Hours of Daytona. There’s still a bunch of epic races that I want to continue to do.”
“Daytona and sports car racing is what I’m good at,” Legge laughed, adding, “I don’t know why I left. I want to be as good at this as I was at that.” Only time will tell if she can attract better teams and sponsors. With a slew of races lined up for her this year, the opportunity is certainly there.
Post Edited By: Abhishek Ramesh
Katherine Legge

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Gowtham Ramalingam

Gowtham is a NASCAR journalist at The SportsRush. Though his affinity for racing stems from Formula 1, he found himself drawn to NASCAR's unparalleled excitement over the years. As a result he has shared his insights and observations by authoring over 3000 articles on the sport. An avid fiction writer, you can find him lost in imaginary worlds when he is not immersed in racing. He hopes to continue savoring the thrill of every lap and race together with his readers for as long as he can.

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