“We need personality in NASCAR”: Mark Martin points out the exact moment which made him Katherine Legge’s fan

Mark Martin has opened up about the moment when he became a fan of the British motorsports racing driver Katherine Legge. While Martin had been watching Legge race for years, he became a fan of her personality following a NASCAR interview.

Martin is a 66-year-old NASCAR legend best known for his Cup Series stint with Roush Racing (now RFK Racing). Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers, the Arkansas native won 96 races across the league's three national series, including 40 wins in the premier series.

In an X (formerly Twitter) post, Martin applauded Katherine Legge for swearing ahead of the latter's Cup Series debut at Phoenix Raceway.

"I’ve always respected her ability but when she said shi* in this interview @katherinelegge (Katherine Legge) made me a fan for life. We need personality in @NASCAR," he wrote.

During the interview, Legge said the Women's History Month wasn't at the back of her mind when she scheduled her first Cup race.

"I probably shouldn't use these words but I'm going to anyway. I said, 'I'm [going to] fly under the radar for my first Cup race.' Nobody's [going to] notice. We'll just be in the back, we will chill, we will get NASCAR's permission. And then somebody was like, 'You know it's International Women's Day on Saturday?'" the IndyCar driver shared during her media avail day.

"I thought, 'Oh shi*. There's no way I'm flying under the radar,'" she added.

Katherine Legge driving the No. 78 car during practice and qualifying at Phoenix Raceway - Source: Imagn

While some X users criticized Katherine Legge for swearing, Martin engaged with a post defending the 44-year-old driver. The post argued that swearing "makes you seem more authentic", to which Martin replied:

"I must be a genius 💯."

Driving the No. 78 Chevrolet Camaro for Live Fast Motorsports, Legge becomes the first female driver to start in the Cup Series since Danica Patrick in the 2018 Daytona 500. She is also now the 17th female driver to enter the premier series.

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Mark Martin shared his thoughts on Katherine Legge's NASCAR debut at Phoenix Raceway

Mark Martin hoped the best for Katherine Legge's NASCAR Cup Series debut at Phoenix Raceway. Martin, who won two races at the desert track, said debuting with an underdog team like Live Fast Motorsports is the "old school way".

The 66-year-old reflected on his starts at Phoenix Raceway before shouting out Legge, saying:

"I’m looking forward to a great race today @phoenixraceway on @FS1 I have lots of fun memories from there. I hope @katherinelegge (Katherine Legge) has a great day too. She is a great driver and very humble person. Making her first @NASCAR start with a underdog team the old school way," Martin posted on X.

Katherine Legge started the race at Phoenix Raceway 37th in a 37-car field.

Mark Martin's first Cup win at Phoenix Raceway was in 1993 driving the No. 6 Ford for Roush Racing. He started third and shortly took the lead when the first caution came out for Ken Schrader, who crashed after making contact with Dale Earnhardt Sr. After leading for 212 of 312 laps, the Ford pilot took the checkered flag.

The other Phoenix win came in 2009 when Martin drove for Hendrick Motorsports.