Running both the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400 is one of motorsports’ rarest feats, not because of physical endurance, but because of legacy as well. Only a handful of drivers have raced in both of Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s iconic events, and just one woman has ever pulled it off: Danica Patrick.

Now, seven years later, Katherine Legge is preparing to join the exclusive club. With a pair of NASCAR starts at IMS later this month, she is set to become the second woman to compete in both the Indy 500 and the Brickyard 400, a move that places her directly on Danica’s historic track.

Katherine Legge aims to pull off a double at the Indy track

Danica Patrick remains the only woman to compete in both the Indy 500 and the Brickyard 400, though she never ran both on the same day. Her open-wheel resume includes 8 starts at the Indy 500, with her final run in 2018, and a NASCAR stint that brought her to the Brickyard 400 starting in 2013 with Stewart-Haas Racing. But it was her 2005 Indy 500 debut that truly changed the game.

That afternoon, Patrick did more than just keep pace. After a spin on lap 155 while running eighth, which damaged her nose cone in contact with Tomas Enge, she made two quick pit stops to recover. Then, thanks to an alternate fuel strategy during a late race caution, Patrick and Bryan Herta stayed out while most of the leaders pitted.

The result? She inherited the lead on lap 172 and held it until 185, when Dan Wheldon made his move. Just five laps later, on the restart, Patrick stunned the crowd by taking the lead in Turn 1. Although Wheldon eventually passed again and won, Danica Patrick finished fourth, the highest ever finish by a woman in the race at that time. She became an overnight icon, landing on the cover of Sports Illustrated and dominating headlines far beyond the racing world.

Now, Katherine Legge is poised to walk that same historic path at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but on her own terms. Later this month, she will make her first stock car start at the same venue, running both the Pennzoil 250 Xfinity race on July 26 and the Brickyard 400 Cup race on July 27, making her just the second woman in history to compete in both the Indy 500 and Brickyard 400. The Brickyard double is part of the larger plan. Legge’s team has confirmed she will also take on Watkins Glen, August 10, and Las Vegas, October 12, in the Cup series. An expanded schedule that reflects her growing presence in the NASCAR garage.

In 2025, Katherine had already made four starts each in the Cup and Xfinity Series. Her most notable result came on the streets of Chicago, where she placed 19th in the Grant Park 165, the first time a woman has finished in the top 20 of a series race since Danica Patrick in 2017. She also broke a dry spell by simply starting a race earlier this year at Phoenix, something no woman has done since Patrick in 2018. She’ll have support from longtime sponsor e.l.f. Cosmetics, but for Brickyard weekend, her Chevrolet will be backed by Desnuda Organic Tequila and Indiana-based startup studio Droplight.

Legge said, “It’s an honor to drive at Indy, but having a chance to compete in both the Cup and Xfinity races thanks to Desnuda and Droplight, it’s going to be epic. After racing in the Indy 500 in 2023 and 2024, I definitely felt a void not being there this year. But adding races to my schedule is exactly what I’ve been working toward—competing in as many events as possible and logging as many laps as I can.”

The 45-year-old’s career spans more than 20 years and nearly every type of race car, from IndyCar to Formula E, sports cars, and touring championships. She was the first woman to win a major wheel race in North America and still holds the fastest qualifying time by a woman at the Indy 500.

But it’s NASCAR where her stories are currently unfolding. Her manager, Klint Briney, says the Brickyard weekend is just one part of a longer play. He added, “Katherine’s momentum this season is no accident; we’ve been intentional to align with the right opportunities and partners who believe in our vision. As we look to 2026, we’ve already exploring next steps in NASCAR and beyond, with the focus on securing strategic sponsorships that position her for marquee events and expanded opportunities.”

However, things have not come easily to Katherine. After her bump with Chase Elliott, she has made it very clear that she is here to run her race best. While Legge prepares for a career-defining weekend at Indianapolis, another driver is experiencing the burden of hype and expectations.

“It’ll come back around,” Kyle Petty on Kyle Larson’s slump post-failed double

Kyle Larson’s performance since his highly anticipated attempt, running both the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, has been under scrutiny. A 35th-place finish at Sonoma marked his fourth finish outside the top 10 in seven races since the ambitious day, raising concerns about the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team’s momentum.

NASCAR veteran Kyle Petty weighed in on Kyle Larson’s current form during an episode of Inside The Race with Alex Weaver and Todd Gordon. He says, “If we go back to everything that happened at Indianapolis and then come to Charlotte and everything, they’ve just not been where we expect the No. 5 team to be. And I think that’s the key, too.” He even compared the situation to the so-called “Jimmie Johnson syndrome,” where even top-five results were once seen as underwhelming because of the sky-high bar a driver has set. The consensus? Larson is being held to a standard he helped to create.

Petty emphasizes that form slumps like this are normal in a sport as demanding and unpredictable as NASCAR. “It’ll come back around. Todd knows it. We all know it. Racing is a cyclical sport, man. You are king of the hill for three races, and then that streak goes cold,” he said, pointing to Christopher Bell as a recent example. Bell was a dominant force early in the 2025 season, notching three wins in quick succession, only to cool off in the weeks that followed.

Todd Gordon, former crew chief and fellow panelist, added that the mid-season lull isn’t necessarily a red flag. Instead, he sees it as a motivator. He pointed out that even powerhouse teams like Team Penske have inconsistent summers but still find a way to peak in the postseason. In his view, the Larson camp has nothing to panic about just yet, especially if this current dip ends up fueling a stronger playoff push. But do you think he can do it? Let us know in the comments.