“She didn't deserve that so soon”: NASCAR fans defend Katherine Legge after unruly fan’s disrespectful question during meet and greet

On March 9, 2025, Katherine Legge made her debut in the Cup Series at the Shriners Children's 500 at Phoenix Raceway. However, her first run in the series didn't go as planned, and she faced the fans' wrath for spinning out during the race.

The 44-year-old motorsports driver competed for the BJ and Jessica McLeod-owned team, Live Fast Motorsports, in the 312-lap race. She drove the DROPLiGHT Studio-sponsored #78 Chevy Camaro ZL1 in her debut. She was the first woman to compete in the Cup Series since Danica Patrick left the sport in 2018.

The 312-mile race was "a dream come true" for Katherine Legge. Her goal was to learn and finish the race, but she failed to do so, and with 98 laps to go, she spun out, collecting Trackhouse Racing driver Daniel Suarez.

Later on, Legge experienced a strange incident at Phoenix Raceway while she was signing autographs, as a fan asked her:

“What lap are you going to crash on?” (via Racer.com)

Reacting to the comment, some fans online defended the new Cup Series driver and wrote:

"She didn’t deserve that so soon. That’s the type of question you ask Ricky Wreckhouse because he deserves it!"

NASCAR reporter Ben Schneider also came to the support of Katherine Legge and wrote:

"To all race fans privileged enough to have access to autograph sessions: it costs nothing to be kind. Suarez's approach was the correct one. This so-called fan's was not. Be better than this."

Here are some more fan reactions to the incident:

"Keep in mind this person went out of their way to greet this person and disrespect them to their face," a user wrote.

"NASCAR can be a true contender in viewership but that won’t happen till they let THAT side of the fan base go away…" another user stated.

"I hate it when people who don't race are rude to those who do make the effort to compete. But she really was out of her league. Maybe more practice would help?" a user suggested

"As if it cost something to be unkind 💀" a fan commented.

Before entering the Cup Series, Legge competed in the Xfinity Series, IndyCar Series, United SportsCar Championship, IMSA SportsCar, Formula E, European Le Mans Series, and ARCA Series. In her ARCA Series debut, the #78 Chevy driver finished 9th at Sigma Performance Services.

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"I was trying my best to stay out of trouble”: Katherine Legge on her accident involving Daniel Suarez

After their on-track collision at Phoenix Raceway, Katherine Legge revealed that she spoke with Trackhouse Racing driver Daniel Suarez. She shared that the #99 Chevy Camaro ZL1 driver held no grudges against her.

Legge noted that Suarez didn't criticize her for the incident and stated:

"Daniel was very sweet, actually, very kind and understanding. He said, ‘Listen, I don’t blame you. Of course, what happened was less than ideal for me.’ I replied, ‘Listen, it wasn’t intentional. I know that doesn’t make it any better, but I was trying my best to stay out of trouble, and it was just a mistake."

Meanwhile, Trackhouse Racing driver Daniel Suarez criticized NASCAR, saying:

"There's nothing wrong with her [Katherine Legge]. What is wrong is NASCAR. They cannot allow somebody with no experience to run in the Cup Series. Plain and simple."

The Live Fast Motorsports driver also competed in the Indy 500 last year, marking her fourth start in the race. She secured a P29 finish, and her career-best finish came in 2012 while competing for Dragon Racing, where she achieved a P22 finish.