KATHERINE LEGGE Makes NASCAR History with 19th Place at Grant Park 165

July 7, 2025

GRRL! SUMMARY:

KATHERINE LEGGE pulled off what we’ve been waiting seven years to see—a woman finishing in the top 20 of a NASCAR Cup Series race. Her 19th place at the Grant Park 165 broke Danica Patrick’s streak as the last woman to crack the top 20 back in 2017. The 44-year-old Brit had to qualify on speed just to make the field, edging out 23XI Racing’s Corey Heim by less than a tenth of a second despite bouncing off walls during her qualifying run.
The real story was LEGGE’s race IQ. While others got caught up in the Chicago street circuit chaos, she hung back early to find her groove, then made strategic moves when the carnage opened opportunities. Her smart positioning and self-made strategic calls proved that experience in open-wheel racing translates when you’ve got the mental game locked down. This was her first lead-lap finish in Cup Series and marked a massive improvement over disappointing runs at Phoenix and Mexico City earlier this season.
Racing part-time for Live Fast Motorsports, LEGGE showed exactly why women belong in these cars when given proper seat time. Her calm approach to the high-pressure qualifying situation and ability to capitalize on race-day opportunities demonstrates what we could see more of if teams gave women consistent chances. At 44, she’s proving it’s never too late to break barriers, and with more time behind the wheel, we might finally see that elusive first Cup Series win by a woman that’s been decades in the making.