A new year brings a fresh opportunity for Katherine Legge. The NASCAR star did not just leave the 2024 Indianapolis 500 with memories; she left with momentum. That month of May with Dale Coyne Racing reignited something bigger, allowing her to turn IndyCar exposure into a NASCAR opportunity this year. Now, with sponsor support behind her, Legge is not hiding what sits next on her wish list.

She wants back in the Indy 500, and this time she wants a real shot.

“Indy’s in your blood,” Legge said, while speaking to the RACER. “I want to be able to do it and have a shot. When I drove for Sam Schmidt in 2013, I had a good car. Really good car. And I had a shot. But I messed it up… And the same with Dale Coyne last year… we struggled. So I want to go back and have a shot with a car and a team at the right time. All of these teams have been good; I just missed the timing of it.”

The timing didn’t quite line up earlier this year. Conversations happened, and ideas were floated, but nothing materialized in time to add her name to the entry list.

With the clock no longer working against her, Legge is ready to add a fifth start to her resume, and she is not subtle about why.

Her 2025 Indy 500 run brought e.l.f. Cosmetics to the speedway with a big bang, with bold branding, fan activations, and a presence that turned heads up and down.

That visibility raised her profile, attracted new partners, and helped open the door to her NASCAR program last season, proving that Indy still moves the needle like few races can.

Legge knows her stats don’t yet reflect what she believes she is capable of. The best finish of 22nd from her 2012 debut doesn’t sit right with her, and that unfinished business is what keeps pulling her back.

“I would love the opportunity to see where I end up. With Sam Schmidt, I had a car that was capable of winning, or at least a top 10, and I know I can run there again. No race evokes the same emotion as Indy,” she said, placing it alongside Daytona, Le Mans, Bathurst, and the Rolex 24, the races drivers never truly stopped chasing.

And if the stars align, she’d happily double down, eyeing a Phoenix weekend that could see her race in the car and NASCAR in the same breath.

“As long as you’re in with a shot and you feel like you’ve still got it, and I feel like I’ve still got it, I want to race again at Indy. And I’d love to do Phoenix as well and do the Cup weekend with IndyCar and maybe be the only driver who goes there to do both,” the 45-year-old driver added. 

Legge hasn’t wasted any time turning this into reality either; she strung together a great 2025 run, and the Briton may just set herself up for a fabulous 2026 season.

A look at Katherine Legge’s 2025 NASCAR season

Katherine Legge’s 2025 NASCAR season marked a defining shift in her career. She made her Cup Series debut at Phoenix Raceway with Live Fast Motorsports, becoming the first woman to start a Cup race since Danica Patrick in 2018.

The move signaled that her NASCAR ambitions were more than experimental, as she committed to a part-time schedule while continuing to learn the new answers of stock car racing at the sport’s highest level.

Results have understandably come with growing pains, but the 45-year-old driver has shown steady progress. Her standout performance arrived at the Brickyard 400, where she secured a 17th-place finish, one of her strongest cup results to date.

She also impressed on the Chicago Street course, delivering a solid top 20 run on a circuit that demanded precision and adaptability, qualities that have defined her racing career across disciplines.

Beyond the Cup Series, Legge expanded her NASCAR footprint with additional Xfinity starts and challenging appearances on diverse tracks, including international venues.

Each outing added to her experience, reinforcing her reputation as one of motorsport’s most versatile drivers.

Rather than a short cameo, 2025 has positioned her NASCAR stint as a serious, evolving chapter, one that could shape her opportunities on American ovals for years to come. And one can expect her back in 2026.