INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Katherine Legge hopes to become the first woman to attempt "The Double” in racing — even if she's reluctant to claim the title.
She's not terribly interested in being the first non-American to try it, either.
Just hours after her NASCAR team, BRANDed Management, announced that the 45-year-old British driver had added the Coca-Cola 600 to a May 24 schedule that already included the Indianapolis 500, Legge told reporters she welcomed
the opportunity more than the milestone.
“I don't want to be like the first woman because at the end of the day, I always say I just want to be a race car driver,” she said. “It doesn't matter whether I'm Black, white, female, male, whatever it may be. I think I'm probably getting the opportunity to do this because I'm female, so that does not escape me and I'm very grateful for it. I think being the first to do anything is cool. Being one of the very few who gets to attempt to race at Indy and at Charlotte and then do both on the same day, like looking back in 10, 20 years, like yeah."
Legge's feat also comes on the 50th anniversary of Janet Guthrie making her first appearance on Indianapolis Motor Speedway's historic 2.5-mile oval.
Guthrie did not make Indy's starting grid in 1976 but still traveled to North Carolina and made her NASCAR Cup Series debut by starting the World 600 in Charlotte. That was the previous version of today's Coca-Cola 600.
Now, like then, A.J. Foyt is playing a role in this gender-breaking attempt.
In 1976, Foyt let Guthrie use a backup car in her attempt to make the field. This weekend, Legge will be one of 33 drivers trying to qualify for the 500, and she'll driving the No. 11 Chevrolet for HMD Motorsports with A.J. Foyt Racing. In 1977, Guthrie returned to Indy, becoming the first woman to start the 500 on the same day that Foyt became the first four-time race winner.
Foyt also cast aside his longtime rivalry with the Andrettis in 1994 when he put the late John Andretti in an IndyCar as Andretti became the first driver to attempt "The Double.”
And Legge has gotten a crash course in that history as she also prepares to qualify in the No. 78 for Live Fast Motorsports at Charlotte. She's the only female driver in Indianapolis this month.
“He's been awesome, Larry (Foyt) has been awesome, too,” Legge said, referring to the 91-year-old team owner and his grandson, who is running the team's day-to-day operations. “Actually, there's a few idiosyncrasies we weren't aware of until this came up. So it's like weird, serendipitous things, neat little facts."
Five drivers have competed in both the 500 and 600, but three-time Cup champ and Indiana native Tony Stewart remains the only one to complete all 1,100 miles in one day.
Defending Cup champion Kyle Larson attempted “The Double” each of the past two years but failed to complete it. He missed the Coca-Cola 600 start in 2024 after the Indy 500 ran late because of rain, and he crashed in both races last year.
Larson's attempts will be featured in a Prime Video documentary titled “Kyle Larson vs. The Double,” which is set to premiere in Indianapolis next week.
The difference between Legge and others who tried "The Double” is logistics. Their plans were made months in advance while Legge's became a reality only recently.
“I knew that at some point, it would be something we looked at doing, but I didn't anticipate it being this year,” she said. “I think it's just a very cool opportunity that kind of came up. Obviously, Indianapolis was first, and when that domino fell there was a lot of talk about it and we thought, why not?"
Legge certainly has experience on her side.
She'll attempt to qualify for her fifth Indy start on Saturday and Sunday after finishing 29th last May. Her best 500 finish was 22nd in 2012. Over the past two years, she has competed in eight Cup races, including last week's 35th-place finish at Watkins Glen.
Legge also has competed in Ferraris in Bahrain and Audis in Germany, as well on the A1 Grand Prix, Formula E and the IMSA SportsCar circuits during her career, though she's never run the Coca-Cola 600.
But nothing is certain. While Legge is one of 33 drivers trying to make the 33-car field in Indy (qualifying will focus on the pole), she'll be one of 41 attempting to make the 40-car Coca-Cola 600 field. And yet she's willing to take her chance on making history.
“It might be the only opportunity I get,” she said. “It might not be, but I might as well take it while the iron is hot and it's one of those really cool things not many people get to do.”
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AP Sports Writer Steve Reed in Charlotte, North Carolina, contributed to this report.
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