Katherine Legge will attempt the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day this Sunday, May 25th, becoming the first woman and first non-American to run the 1,100-mile gauntlet. She’ll do both with Chevrolet power, racing with HMD Motorsports with AJ Foyt Racing at Indianapolis and Live Fast Motorsports at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Only five drivers in history have attempted both races in one day. Tony Stewart in 2001 is the only one to finish both. Robby Gordon tried five times, Stewart and Kyle Larson twice, and Kurt Busch once. The checkered flag for the Indy 500 falls roughly two hours and 45 minutes before the green for the Coca-Cola 600, which leaves no margin for delays.
Legge learned she was approved for the attempt only last week, in the midst of Indy 500 practice. “One of the blessings with this is that I don’t have time to worry,” she said. “I’ve got really great teams behind me on both sides. So as long as I go where I’m told to go, eat what I’m told to eat, and follow their instructions, it should be a good weekend.”
Her goal is to complete all 1,100 miles without issue. She will not hold anything back at Indianapolis for the sake of the second drive. “Any time you’re on the racetrack, you’re giving it 110 percent,” she said. “There’s not any part of you as a race car driver that says, ‘I’m not going to push it hard.’ It’s not how we’re wired.”
Chevrolet is the only manufacturer competing in both events. Legge has spent time at GM’s motorsports headquarters in Charlotte, driving practice laps in virtual simulators to prepare. The technical jump between the two cars is significant. An IndyCar is a lightweight, open-cockpit machine with a hybrid V-6 behind the driver and large aerodynamic wings. A NASCAR Cup car is a closed-cockpit sedan with a V-8 up front. The average speed at last year’s Indy 500 was 168.9 mph. At the Coca-Cola 600 it was 135.8 mph.
The biggest challenge, according to Legge, is not the driving. “The part that you have to think about consciously is things like pit stops and the rules around caution laps,” she said. “For me, driving the race car happens more instinctively.”
Legge will take a helicopter from Indianapolis Motor Speedway to the airport immediately after the Indy 500, then fly to Charlotte. e.l.f. Cosmetics will serve as primary sponsor for both entries. Being the first woman to attempt the double carries weight she acknowledges but does not dwell on. “I have always said that I just want to be the best racing driver I can be. Being female is irrelevant,” she said. “But I will say, I think it has relevance to the next generation.”
Whether she finishes both races Sunday will depend on clean execution, no mechanical failures, and the cooperation of 65 other drivers across two series. The margin for error is zero.
Source: Chevrolet. Images courtesy of Chevrolet.
