Kyle Larson to race Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600
Kyle Larson talks hydration, preparation and the physical demands of the ‘Memorial Day Double’ race
In a career spanning nearly 30 years in motorsport, there’s not much that Catherine Legge hasn’t accomplished.
She raced for Ferrari in Bahrain and Audi in Germany. She drove in the A1 Grand Prix, Formula E, and IMSA Sports Car Championship.
She also competes in the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR Cup Series.
Later this month, the 45-year-old from England plans to do both on the same day.
Legge will be the first woman to attempt “The Double” when she competes in the Indy 500 and Charlotte’s Coca-Cola 600 on May 24th. She confirmed her plans in an exclusive interview with USA TODAY Sports this week.
“These are exciting times,” Legge told USA TODAY Sports. “This is another milestone that allows me to show the world that you can do anything if you put your mind to it, and that you can probably achieve things you never dreamed of before.”
Sponsoring her car at both events will be Elf Cosmetics, the first beauty brand to sponsor in motorsport when it began partnering with Legg several years ago.
“They changed the face of racing for me, which is really special because I never thought I could truly be myself and be successful as a woman in racing. I was always trying to fit in. Usually race car sponsors and partners don’t necessarily talk to women. That allows me to do things like The Double because they believe in me.”
Legge will pilot the No. 11 Chevrolet for HMD Motorsports with AJ Foyt Racing at the Indy 500 and will then take the wheel of the No. 78 Chevrolet at Live Fast Motorsports in Charlotte.
She started exploring the possibility of taking on The Double several years ago.
“Elves always want to do something groundbreaking, something newsworthy, something big and cool, right? They want to be disruptive,” Legge said. “Last year was when we really started planning and figuring out how to leverage all of our corporate channels. At the time, I wasn’t a NASCAR Cup driver, so I had to go to a lot of races to get my license before they would let me (race at the superspeedway). Then we worked hard to get the right partners and the right people to help.”
If Legg is able to compete in both races, she will become the sixth driver in motorsport history to attempt the double. John Andretti made his first attempt in 1996, followed by Robbie Gordon five times, Tony Stewart twice, Kurt Busch in 2014, and most recently Kyle Larson in 2024 and 2025.
Stewart was the most successful of the five drivers to date, finishing sixth at Indy and third at Charlotte in 2001.
It’s one of the toughest tests of endurance and skill in all of motorsport, as drivers attempting the Double attempt to cover more than 1,100 miles in one day with little recovery time between the two races.
“It requires a level of endurance and precision that few people have pursued in history,” Legge said. “I don’t know if it would drive me crazy to want to do that.”
But stamina challenges are nothing new for Legge. She was the first woman to compete in the Rolex 24 at Daytona and has also competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 12 Hours of Sebring.
This is Legge’s fifth time competing in the Indy 500, and she is the only woman in the field this year. Her best finish was 22nd place, and she holds the record for fastest qualifying time for a woman at the Indy 500.
“Especially on the Indy 500 side, we feel like we have a great team and a car that can finish well,” Legge said.
Legge made her NASCAR Cup Series debut last season, becoming the first woman to compete in the series since 2018. This will be Charlotte’s ninth time competing in a Cup race, her best finish being 17th at last year’s Brickyard 400.
In addition to the endurance challenges of attempting a double, there are also logistical hurdles that Ledge has to deal with. The Indy 500 starts at 12:45 PM ET and the green flag for the Coca-Cola 600 drops at 6 PM. She will take a helicopter from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to the airport, board a plane to Charlotte, and once she lands, she will take a helicopter to the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Legge will be fed and hydrated on the plane and will receive an intravenous drip to replenish his electrolytes.
I would go back and forth the day before. That Saturday, she must attend a drivers’ meeting in Indianapolis before heading to Charlotte to qualify for the NASCAR race.
“It was planned out to the minute. It was just a lot of left turns that day,” Legge said. “I hope the weather is okay. I’ll go anywhere.”
If Reggi is unable to reach Charlotte on time due to weather delays or other issues, her team will have a backup driver available to take the green flag and start the race.
Ledge’s historic attempt at the double also came 50 years after Janet Guthrie broke the motorsport barrier. She was the first woman to complete a practice lap at the Indianapolis 500, but failed to qualify for that year’s race.
Instead of throwing in the towel, Gasly quickly pivoted to NASCAR and went to Charlotte to qualify for the World 600. She finished 15th in the race, becoming the first woman to compete in the Cup Series at a superspeedway track. The following year, Gasly became the first woman to compete in the Indy 500 and Daytona 500.
Legge hopes her endeavor at The Double will get more young women interested in motorsport. Between Danica Patrick’s last NASCAR Cup race and Legge’s debut, more than seven years had passed without a single woman competing at that level.
She worries that NASCAR will suffer another drought without women at the Cup level.
“There doesn’t seem to be anyone waiting behind the scenes ready to take on that belief,” Legge said. “How many years will it take until the next me comes along? There are some girls in the Truck Series that I don’t think have what it takes to get there. We need to develop the next generation so they can pass the baton to me, so to speak. But unfortunately, there seems to be a big gap these days. And that’s on the IndyCar side, the open-wheel side, and the NASCAR side as well.”
Legge named Laney Buis as a promising driver in the ARCA Menards Series. The 19-year-old finished fifth at Kansas this season, but has a long road to the top level of NASCAR.
“Realistically, that’s probably four or five years away. And she’s only a year old, you know?” Legg said. “We need about five or six drivers. There are hundreds of good male drivers and only a handful make it. It’s just a numbers game. It’s just about increasing interest, increasing accessibility, increasing awareness, highlighting female talent and helping people understand that it’s possible.”
“You have to see it for that to be the case.”
