INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Katherine Legge missed the Indianapolis 500 media day festivities Thursday because of a flight delay in New York.
She’s hoping it’s the only hiccup she has on a potentially historic week.
While Legge is trying to become the first female driver to attempt the one-day, two-race, 1,100-mile marathon known as the “double” on Sunday, her team has spent the past week fine-tuning her race-day plans while getting advice from the most recent driver to attempt the feat, Kyle Larson.
“Hopefully, we get all of the travel woes out of the way now before the weekend, and this weekend goes smoothly,” Legge told The Associated Press on Thursday. “My management has been speaking with Kyle’s management about how to get the logistics sorted out, how they did it and we’re trying our best to copy and paste what they had and they’re just keeping me in the loop.”
The difference between the five men who attempted to start and finish the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 and the first woman to try it is those guys had months to fine-tune their race strategy, itineraries, contingency plans and which race to prioritize if necessary.
Legge’s NASCAR team, BRANDed Management, only made its announcement last week.
The English driver’s team already has lined up a helicopter ride from the track to nearby Indianapolis International Airport and a private jet to take her from Indy to Charlotte on Sunday.
The rest Legge’s schedule consists of being in Indy for Friday’s final 500 practice, heading to Charlotte for Saturday’s qualifications and back to Indy on Saturday night so she can rest before the scheduled start of the first race at 12:30 p.m. local time. Whenever Legge’s day ends in Indy, she’ll head back to Charlotte for that race’s scheduled 6 p.m. start.
But Larson knows better than most how quickly things can change. A four-hour rain delay in 2024 cost him the chance to make the starting grid in Charlotte on time, and he crashed out of both races last year after rain forced Indy’s start to be delayed for 47 minutes.
It could happen again. Indy’s forecast calls for a 32% chance of isolated thunderstorms Sunday, though Legge has already decided to stay for the 500 if she’s forced into an either-or decision since she’s not a full-time driver in either series.
“This is a lot, a lot to do in a short period of time,” she said. “But I’m very lucky that I’m surrounded by great people who have put in a lot of work, a lot of hours to make this possible. It wouldn’t be possible without e.l.f. Cosmetics and Chevrolet, who are providing the vehicles for us to do this and, obviously, both teams have been awesome and coordinated. So I’m just kind of lucky.”
Only one driver, three-time Cup champ Tony Stewart, has actually completed all 1,100 miles. This year is the 25th anniversary of his feat.
If Legge is going to expand that one-person club, she knows there’s not much margin for error. First she needs to qualify in Charlotte, then she must stay out of trouble after qualifying 26th on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 2.5-mile oval. The weather needs to cooperate and, of course, the flights need to be on time, too.
Larson’s advice: Savor the moment.
“He said to enjoy it and not to stress about it,” she said, even though Larson acknowledged this week he considered the experience extremely stressful.
Will Power, the 2018 race winner and two-time IndyCar Series champion, also missed media day because of a family commitment. Graham Rahal and Indy rookie Mick Schumacher were the final drivers to appear because they were playing in Rahal’s annual golf tournament.
Still, Legge is eager to get back to town. Sure, she may be scrambling a bit to make up for the time lost in New York, and, yes, she’ll be dealing with a challenging, compact schedule. But she’s also ready to make this a weekend she — and perhaps race fans — will never forget.
“I’m beyond excited,” Legge said. “Like it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do either the Indy 500 or the Coca-Cola 600 but to be able to do both and do both on the same day is pretty special, and it’s an opportunity I don’t take lightly. It’s also very cool to be one of the few who have attempted it, and I’m looking forward to seeing how I feel Sunday night. Hopefully, I’ll be happy that I’ve completed all the laps but we’ll see.”
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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing