Katherine Legge's gets honest about IndyCar politics during Danica Patrick era: "They didn't want 2 girls"

Katherine Legge shone a light on the politics in IndyCar in the mid-2000s when fellow female racer Danica Patrick had become the face of the series. The Briton revealed that the series didn't want two female drivers then, which led to her exit.

In a recent appearance on the WTF1 podcast, Legge spoke about her two years (2006 and 2007) in Champ Car.

"My first season with PKV Racing when I went to Champ Car was great, as a rookie year. Then they (Champ Car) changed the car the following year, and I went to Dale Coyne. I never really found my stride that year," she said.

The Briton fared worse with Dale Coyne Racing in 2007, securing only two Top 10 finishes, compared to four in her rookie year with PKV Racing. In 2008, she left the series to race in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM).

In a shock revelation, Katherine Legge has shared that the reason for that move was the re-merging of Champ Car (formerly CART) and IndyCar (formerly IRL) to restore peace at the top of American open-wheel racing. The reunion meant that two female racers, Legge, from Champ Car, and Danica Patrick, from IndyCar, would race in the same series in a rare occurrence. However, Legge reveals that the series didn't want that to happen.

"And then I did DTM three years because they (Champ Car) merged with IndyCar, and so they had Danica, and they didn't want two girls back then. There wasn't (room) really for more than one (female driver) apparently," the 45-year-old said.

After a trying phase in DTM that she didn't enjoy, Katherine Legge returned to IndyCar in 2012, when Danica Patrick left for NASCAR. Patrick recorded many firsts for a woman in American open-wheel racing between 2005 and 2011, including winning a race, the Indy Japan 300 in 2008. She was also the IndyCar Series Most Popular Driver for six straight years from 2005 to 2010.

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Katherine Legge follows in Danica Patrick's footsteps with NASCAR move

Katherine Legge at the NASCAR Xfinity Series BetMGM 300 - Qualifying - Source: Getty

Katherine Legge moved from IndyCar to NASCAR in 2025, announcing a schedule including both Xfinity and Cup races this season. Her start in the stock car racing series was turbulent, and unfortunate crashes induced mass backlash. Fans questioned her worthiness to race in NASCAR.

However, she pushed through the criticism and finally made a breakthrough at the Grant Park 165 in early July. Driving for Live Fast Motorsports, she secured a P19 finish and became the first woman since Danica Patrick in 2017 to earn a Top 20 finish in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Legge bettered that result at the Brickyard 400, with a P17 finish in the Cup race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a track she raced on multiple times in the past, including four Indy 500 appearances.

Katherine Legge and Danica Patrick's worlds crossed over during their junior careers, including a short stint as teammates in 2000. While the latter retired from professional racing in 2018 and went on to become an F1 and IndyCar analyst, Legge continues her pursuit of making her racing career more illustrious.