Katherine Legge will attempt to become the first woman to complete the "double" by racing in the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.
Legge's agency, BRANDed Management, announced that she would add the May 24 NASCAR race -- competing in the No. 78 for Live Fast Motorsports -- to her entry in the Indy 500 with A.J. Foyt Motorsports' No. 11 car.
But Legge, 45, also doesn't seem eager to overplay her role as either the first woman or first non-American to make the effort.
"I don't want to be like the first woman, because at the end of the day, I always say I just want to be a race car driver," she said Wednesday. "It doesn't matter whether I'm Black, white, female, male, whatever it may be. I think I'm probably getting the opportunity to do this because I'm female, so that does not escape me and I'm very grateful for it.
"I think being the first to do anything is cool. Being one of the very few who gets to attempt to race at Indy and at Charlotte and then do both on the same day, like looking back in 10, 20 years, like yeah."
Legge is set to enter her fifth Indianapolis 500. Her best finish has been 22nd in 2012; she was 29th last year. She has appeared in eight NASCAR Cup races over the past two years and finished 35th last week at Watkins Glen.
She had been exploring the possibility of trying for the double for the past couple of years, she said.
"I knew that at some point it would be something we looked at doing, but I didn't anticipate it being this year," she said. "I think it's just a very cool opportunity that kind of came up. Obviously, Indianapolis was first, and when that domino fell, there was a lot of talk about it and we thought, why not?"
But nothing is certain. While Legge is one of 33 drivers trying to make the 33-car field in Indy (qualifying will focus on the pole), she will be one of 41 attempting to make the 40-car Coca-Cola 600 field. Yet she is willing to take her chance on making history.
"It might be the only opportunity I get," she said. "It might not be, but I might as well take it while the iron is hot, and it's one of those really cool things not many people get to do."
Five drivers have competed in both races since 1994, with Tony Stewart the only one to complete all 1,100 miles while finishing in the top six in both races in 2001.
In 1976, Janet Guthrie attempted to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 but failed. She then traveled to Charlotte and made her Cup Series debut in the World 600, which is now the Coca-Cola 600, becoming the first woman to compete on a NASCAR superspeedway. She would go on the next year to become the first woman to qualify and race in the Indy 500.
Kyle Larson was the most recent driver to attempt the double. He missed out on starting the NASCAR race in 2024 after the Indy 500 was delayed by rain then crashed out of both races in 2025.
NASCAR changed its guidelines on playoff waivers before the 2025 season, making it more difficult for a full-time driver to attempt the Indianapolis 500 in case they missed making it to the Coca-Cola 600.
