INDIANAPOLIS — Katherine Legge missed Thursday’s Indianapolis 500 media day festivities because of a flight delay in New York.
Legge hopes it’s the only hiccup she has this week with a potentially historic Sunday ahead.
While the 45-year-old from England is trying to become the first female driver to attempt the one-day, two-race, 1,100-mile marathon known as “The Double” this weekend, her team has spent the past week fine-tuning her race-day plans while getting advice from the most recent driver to attempt the feat, reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports.
“Hopefully, we get all of the travel woes out of the way now before the weekend, and this weekend goes smoothly,” Legge told The Associated Press on Thursday. “My management has been speaking with Kyle’s management about how to get the logistics sorted out, how they did it, and we’re trying our best to copy and paste what they had, and they’re just keeping me in the loop.”
The difference between the five men who attempted to start and finish — on the same day — the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, and the first woman to try it? Those guys had months to fine-tune their race strategy, itineraries and contingency plans while also deciding which race to prioritize, if necessary.
Legge’s NASCAR team, BRANDed Management, only made its announcement last week.
They’ve already lined up a helicopter flight from the track to nearby Indianapolis International Airport and a private jet to take her from there to Charlotte on Sunday.
The rest of Legge’s schedule consists of being present for Friday’s final Indianapolis 500 practice, heading to Charlotte for Cup Series qualifying Saturday, then back to Indianapolis that night so she can rest before the scheduled start of the first race at 12:30 p.m. local time on Sunday. Whenever Legge’s day ends in Indianapolis, she’ll head back to Charlotte for a scheduled 6 p.m. start to what is annually NASCAR’s longest race.
That’s the plan, but Larson knows better than most how quickly things can change. A four-hour rain delay in 2024 cost him the chance to make the starting grid at the Coca-Cola 600 on time, and he crashed out of both races last year after rain forced the start in Indianapolis to be delayed for 47 minutes.
It could happen again. The forecast for Indianapolis calls for a 32% chance of isolated thunderstorms Sunday, though Legge has already decided to stay for the open-wheel race if she’s forced into an either-or decision because she’s not a full-time driver in IndyCar or the stock-car racing series.
“This is a lot, a lot to do in a short period of time,” she said. “But I’m very lucky that I’m surrounded by great people who have put in a lot of work, a lot of hours to make this possible. It wouldn’t be possible without e.l.f. Cosmetics and Chevrolet, who are providing the vehicles for us to do this, and obviously, both teams have been awesome and coordinated. So I’m just kind of lucky.”
Only one driver, three-time Cup Series champ Tony Stewart, has actually completed all 1,100 miles. This year is the 25th anniversary of the NASCAR Hall of Famer’s feat.
If Legge is going to expand that one-person club, she knows there’s not much margin for error. First she needs to qualify in Charlotte, then she must stay out of trouble after qualifying 26th on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 2.5-mile oval. The weather needs to cooperate and, of course, the flights need to be on time, too.
Larson’s advice: Savor the moment.
“He said to enjoy it and not to stress about it,” she said, even though the 33-year-old Californian acknowledged this week he considered the experience extremely stressful.
Still, Legge was eager to get back to Indianapolis. Sure, she may be scrambling a bit to make up for the time lost in New York, and, yes, she’ll be dealing with a challenging, compact schedule.
She’s also ready to make this a weekend she — and perhaps motorsports fans — will never forget.
“I’m beyond excited,” Legge said. “Like, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do either the Indy 500 or the Coca-Cola 600, but to be able to do both and do both on the same day is pretty special, and it’s an opportunity I don’t take lightly.
“It’s also very cool to be one of the few who have attempted it, and I’m looking forward to seeing how I feel Sunday night. Hopefully, I’ll be happy that I’ve completed all the laps, but we’ll see.”