KATHERINE LEGGE’s Best NASCAR Finish Shows Why We Need More Track Time

July 31, 2025

by Demian Malcher // from www.yardbarker.com

• KATHERINE LEGGE delivered her best NASCAR Cup Series finish with 17th at the Brickyard 400, proving that track familiarity is everything. Her success at Indianapolis and earlier 19th-place finish at Chicago Street Course isn’t coincidence – she’s got Indy 500 attempts under her belt and years of sports car experience on street circuits that most NASCAR drivers simply don’t have.
• While critics have jumped on LEGGE for some rookie mistakes this season (that Kahne incident was rough, we’ll give them that), her top-20 finishes with Live Fast Motorsports – one of the most underfunded teams in the field – would have been impossible just 15 years ago. The Next Gen car has created opportunities, but it’s also created a learning curve that’s hitting everyone from seasoned pros to promising rookies.
• Here’s the real issue: NASCAR’s limited practice and testing schedule is setting drivers up to fail. LEGGE and other drivers are trying to master a completely different car while simultaneously competing for points and paychecks. The Next Gen is so different from its Xfinity predecessor that even successful lower-series champions like Ty Gibbs and Austin Cindric have struggled to adapt without adequate seat time to figure out the nuances.

brickyard 400, live fast motorsports, nascar cup series, next gen car