“I’m telling you, if we could go test with this woman, she’d be bada– right off the trailer.” That crew radio quip from Katherine Legge’s No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports team after her gutsy run at Indianapolis isn’t just a throwaway line; it is the sound of NASCAR’s tide turning. Written off by skeptics after her Phoenix crash early in the season, the British Open wheel veteran has since silenced critics with steady, gritty performances on some of NASCAR’s toughest stages.

Among them? Kevin Harvick, once skeptical of Legge’s fit in NASCAR, the 2014 Cup champion, has now publicly reversed his stance and is calling her a prime example of how the sport’s testing restrictions stifle talent. Harvick didn’t hold back while venting about it on his podcast.

“Lose their job”: Kevin Harvick sounds the alarm on rookie Cup drivers’ lack of testing time

Katherine Legge’s first-ever NASCAR Cup Series race of 2025 was a baptism by fire. Entering the season with just a handful of stock car starts in her career, she rolled into Phoenix Raceway in March, an abrasive, technical mile-long oval, to make her debut for Live Fast Motorsports. The day didn’t go as planned. She got caught up in a multi-car wreck that collected several front-runners, sparking immediate backlash. However, that rough introduction laid bare the challenges faced by part-time drivers trying to adapt to NASCAR’s heavy cars and unique tracks without the benefit of year-round seat time.

And that’s the heart of the issue. Legge didn’t have the luxury of a full testing slate. Historically, NASCAR has allowed extensive preseason testing, including four days at Daytona and several in-season sessions at other tracks. A sweeping ban in 2008 removed all private testing at NASCAR-sanctioned venues, forcing teams to use unsanctioned tracks like Rockingham for practice.

Harvick sounds off on this issue on Happy Hour, clearly discontent with this NASCAR rule, “And I think this is Katherine Legge is a prime example of the flaws in our testing system and being able you see how hard it is to develop a Cup driver with how difficult the car is to drive. And I’d really like, you know, for the rookies and the younger drivers to be able to get on the racetrack more. I know that the teams don’t want to test, and they don’t want to do this.” 

From 2013 to 2016, limited testing was reintroduced. Each team was permitted up to four 2-day sessions at different race venues, with rookies receiving an extra allotted test. Currently, teams can participate in five organizational tests annually at select tracks (for example, Indianapolis, Watkins Glen, Chicagoland, and Homestead), but such permissions remain tightly restricted.

Moreover, Kevin Harvick even blamed the teams to a certain extent, saying, “The teams don’t want to do anything. They don’t want to do anything to spend money. And that’s a fact. And the teams are the biggest holdup in the progression of changing things, whether it be rules and things like that, because of the authority that they have through the charter agreements.” 

In addition, only Goodyear is exempt from these limits, conducting tire tests and choosing one team per manufacturer each season. The drivers with prior FIA experience or those returning from long absences can receive a single refresher test; the broader system remains inflexible, especially for part-time entrants and rookie Cup drivers like Katherine Legge, Riley Herbst, and Jesse Love, as Harvick points out.

A rulebook bulletin, released in April 2025, further tightened already existing restrictions. NASCAR Cup Series teams’ private testing remains strictly prohibited unless specifically authorized, and the language around tire testing at playoff tracks now limits playoff competitors to a single test occurrence at those venues. These changes are designed to contain costs and maintain parity, but have also sparked criticism that they throttle driver development.

The 2014 Cup Champion just leaves us with one thought, urging NASCAR to change the testing rules, saying, “I think it would be beneficial for the sport so that it doesn’t take three years to get your Cup driver developed. You’re just going out there and doing it by racing. And some of them lose their job before they even get started.”  But if anything is certain, it is clear to say that Kevin Harvick has joined the Katherine Legge club now after her recent performances at Chicago and the Brickyard 400. He even claims to see a little bit of his Kevin spirit in her. However, he isn’t the only one praising her.

Mark Martin showers his praise on Katherine Legge

Katherine Legge’s Cup Series comeback trail took a rocky turn earlier in 2025 when her Phoenix outing sparked backlash after she triggered a multi-car wreck that collected several front-runners. Critics were quick to pounce, citing her limited stock car experience and suggesting she was out of her depth in NASCAR’s highest tier. But in two months, she has flipped that narrative entirely, with two standout performances that earned praise from fans and legends alike.

At the Chicago Street course in July, Legge delivered what many called her most composed NASCAR drive yet. Navigating the narrow, temporary circuit with a veteran touch, she avoided the chaos that swallowed up several faster cars and brought her No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports machine home in 19th place. It was a greedy, mistake-free run on a track that punished the slightest error, and it set the stage for an even bigger breakthrough at Indianapolis.

When she arrived at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Brickyard 400, expectations were modest. She qualified 38th, second to the last on the grid, but spent the afternoon clawing her way through the field. By the time the checkered flag waved, she had fought her way to 17th, matching or outrunning drivers from far better-funded teams. Her claim was made even more impressive by the fact that she ran in the race with a development pit crew still learning the ropes, averaging 16-second four-tire stops, nearly 4 seconds slower than elite cup teams.

The effort didn’t go unnoticed. Then came the biggest not yet. NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin shared the post, adding his own stamp of approval, saying, “Respect.” For a driver once written off by the critics, it was a weekend that firmly suggested Katherine Legge isn’t just hanging on in NASCAR; she is proving she belongs.