“I’m intimidated and obsessed”: NASCAR Cup debutant Katherine Legge reveals admiration for Hendrick Motorsports superstar

IndyCar driver Katherine Legge will be making her NASCAR Cup Series debut at the 2025 Shriners Children's 500 at the Phoenix Raceway. Legge appeared in an interview with Speed Freaks before her debut NASCAR weekend and revealed her admiration for Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson.

Legge has raced in a variety of series in her racing career, including IndyCar and endurance racing. Larson will be participating in the Indy 500 this year and is known for being quick in multiple disciplines across racing, whether on tarmac or dirt.

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Keeping this in mind, the host questioned Legge about the Hendrick Motorsports superstar. He mentioned how Larson will be stepping into an IndyCar again this May and asked Katherine whether she is fascinated by Larson's talent and the fact that he competes in different series. She said,

“Absolutely. I'm intimidated and obsessed. I saw him drive at the Chili bowl, and I'm like, ‘you are my hero.’ He's just one of those drivers with, like, an innate sense of being able to do it. Like, it's just a talent. Some of us learned it more,” said Legge (11:46 onwards)

Legge then detailed the differences between a naturally talented driver and a driver who learns the sport. She gave examples of Damon Hill and David Coulthard as drivers who learned the sport and highlighted Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost as ones who were naturally talented.

She suggested that Kyle Larson is one of those who is naturally talented and has worked on top of that talent to learn various disciplines. She added,

“It's just a range of how much is natural talent and how much of it is learned. And I think a certain amount of it can be learned if you work hard enough at it. But if you have his level of natural ability and you work at it, then you're special. I mean, he has the same initials as me, you know, I just want, like, a tenth of his talent,” she added [12:40 onwards]

Legge raced a part-time entry for Dale Coyne Racing during the 2024 IndyCar season and is under speculation for a possible return to the 2025 Indy 500.

“One of the most diverse careers in motorsports”: Katherine Legge shared a clear opinion about her racing experience ahead of the NASCAR debut

Katherine Legge will be racing for Live Fast Motorsports’ No.78 Chevrolet as a part-time entry. Investment strategy firm DROPLiGHT comes in as the title sponsor for the entry, with Sherfick Companies coming in as associate sponsor.

Legge uploaded a story on her Instagram in the lead-up to her NASCAR debut, where she detailed her prior racing experience and how it would help her at the Phoenix Raceway. She said,

“My 20 year career has spanned pretty much every other discipline in racing. I have probably one of the most diverse careers in motorsports. I've driven open wheel, I've driven prototypes, GT cars, electric cars. You name it, I've raced it.”

Katherine Legge will start the 2025 Shriners Children's 500 in P37 behind John Hunter Nemechek.