Katherine Legge’s NASCAR Cup Series debut at Phoenix Raceway last Sunday ended with her spinning out after a tumultuous 215 laps in the Next Gen car. The 44-year-old’s struggles to navigate the vehicle drew a lot of flak against the governing body for letting her try it in the first place without much experience driving stock cars.
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Following Daniel Suarez, whom she wrecked, and Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson has joined the list of drivers who think NASCAR needs to redraw its driver approval process. The Hendrick Motorsports driver is in Las Vegas for the fifth race of the 2025 season and spoke to the press on Saturday.
A reporter asked if he would want to approve drivers more thoroughly in the High Limit Racing Series than NASCAR does in the Cup Series. He responded by pointing out how chaotic and crazy sprint car racing is. He noted with a laugh that no one would attempt it if they didn’t think they were capable of it.
In the Cup Series, however, Larson thought there needed to be a change. He said, “I think in NASCAR, I don’t know what the approval process is, so I can’t really speak on what needs to change. But it is surprising sometimes when some drivers are not allowed to run, and then others are. So yeah, I don’t know. Maybe there just needs to be a better something in place.”
NASCAR rookies are typically subjected to races in the ARCA Menards Series and the Xfinity Series before racing in the Cup Series. He pondered on the thought that such a similar requirement for drivers with little stock car experience would be the right way to go.
What was the issue that Legge faced in Phoenix?
Legge is an accomplished racer in many disciplines. However, stock car racing is the one avenue in which she does not have a lot of experience. The chance to race for Live Fast Motorsports in Phoenix came just ten days before the event, giving her little time to prepare. Simulators were the only means by which she could practice.
Clearly, they did not help her when she got into the car in person. She struggled to handle the complicated dynamics of the Next Gen car and spun out first on Lap 4. While she picked herself up and stumbled through the day, it became apparent that she might wreck at any moment. She eventually did on Lap 215 and collected Suarez with her.
She later told the press that her debut was a “baptism of fire.” It is notable that NASCAR did not allow former racer Mike Wallace to race in the Daytona 500 since he did not have experience driving stock cars in recent times. This is probably the reason behind Larson’s confusion about NASCAR’s questionable selectiveness.
