“It got me a lot of negative attention”: Katherine Legge makes a startling admission about her NASCAR Cup debut ‘mistake’

Katherine Legge has reflected on her controversial NASCAR Cup Series debut at the Phoenix Raceway. The British motorsports driver collaborated with Live Fast Motorsports to pilot the #78 Chevrolet Camaro on Phoenix's 1-mile oval but garnered the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

After getting NASCAR's nod to showcase her prowess on a short track before running on behemoths like Daytona International Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, and more, Legge had two options regarding where she could race -Circuit of The Americas or Phoenix.

However, due to the scarcity of time to prepare a custom NextGen ride for the 44-year-old, the decision was made to battle with the drivers in Phoenix. She struggled to tame the Camaro, getting loose and spinning out twice. Though Katherine Legge escaped the first disaster unscathed, her next misjudgment proved costly, resulting in Daniel Suarez crashing his Trackhouse Racing Chevy into her ride.

Despite her inexperience in the Cup Series, NASCAR allowed her to compete in the pinnacle of stock car racing, something many in the sport voiced against. Nearly a week after the turmoil, Legge came clean, revealing how her pursuit of making room and giving 'respect' to rivals ultimately became the reason for her misery.

"I take everything seriously and I definitely took this seriously. My goal was to finish and that didn't happen, and I don't like not achieving things that I set out to achieve. I was embarrassed by the way that it ended because I made a mistake and nobody likes to make mistakes. It was not my best work," Katherine Legge told NASCAR insider Kelly Crandall (4:05).

"I was definitely under the spotlight and I was trying my best not to make mistakes. I was giving everybody so much room and so much respect, trying to do everything right, and that mistake obviously got me a lot of negative attention," she added.

Nonetheless, Legge has expressed her desire to compete in more Cup Series races and could be seen again as the only active female Cup driver on the track.

Daniel Suarez blasted NASCAR for permitting Katherine Legge to race in the Cup Series

Daniel Suarez had a poor start to the 2025 Cup Series season and aimed to improve his rank in Phoenix. However, Katherine Legge's Lap 216 spin shunted the Trackhouse Racing driver's odds of a promising outcome.

After two back-to-back DNFs at Atlanta Motor Speedway and the Circuit of The Americas, and a rear-of-the-field start, Suarez showed signs of pulling himself up from despair in Phoneix, running in sixth position. However, as he was about to lap Legge, the Live Fast Motorsports' debutant spun, instigating a collision between them.

Thus, Suarez finished 23rd. The Mexican driver was infuriated by the incident and pulled no punches on NASCAR. Though Suarez clarified 'nothing wrong' on Legge's part, he didn't hold back his emotions about the sanctioning body's decision to let her race.

"There's nothing wrong with her. What is wrong is NASCAR. They cannot allow somebody with no experience to run in the Cup Series. Plain and simple. You go to Las Vegas, to a fast track, it's freaking dangerous. You cannot do that," Suarez said via Steven Taranto on X.

Katherine Legge had a private phone call with Suarez and revealed the Trackhouse driver's supportive words.