Katherine Legge will attempt ‘The Double’—finishing both the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 on the same Memorial Day weekend—this year at age 45. She’ll do it as the oldest driver to try the feat and the first non-American-born driver, sponsored b
When Katherine Legge lines up for the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday afternoon, the day won’t end when the checkered flag falls.
Hours later. she’ll be back on track at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600. chasing a rare accomplishment known as “The Double.” It’s an attempt that carries a new kind of pressure: she knows the history. she knows how often the plan collapses. and she’s stepping in anyway—because opportunities like this don’t line up on a schedule.
Legge, 45, will attempt “The Double” this weekend at the 2026 Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600. She is aware that no female has tried to finish both races on the same day before. but she frames the effort less as a milestone to claim and more as a chance to prove something about what can be done when preparation meets opportunity.
“It’s an exciting time,” Legge told USA TODAY Sports recently. “It’s another groundbreaking thing that I can showcase to the world really that, if you set your mind to things, you can do anything, and you can do things that maybe you never even dreamt of before.”
The obstacle isn’t just the distance or the speed—it’s what sits between them. Several drivers have wanted to match Legge’s goal and failed to do it for reasons that pile up: they couldn’t qualify or weather delayed the precise planning needed to make the logistics work. or they ran into mechanical problems or a wreck during one of the races.
The Double’s meaning has also changed with time. The feat wasn’t possible until 1992, when Charlotte Motor Speedway installed lights and the Coca-Cola 600 became NASCAR’s first annual night race.
Kyle Larson is the most recent driver to attempt “The Double. ” but he failed to finish either the Indianapolis 500 or the Coca-Cola 600 in 2025 due to wrecks. Last year’s attempt came after Larson tried in 2024. finishing 18th at the Indianapolis 500 and not racing the Coca-Cola 600 because of weather.
Legge, from England, is entering this test as an unusually positioned racer. She will be the oldest driver to attempt “The Double” and the first non-American-born driver to do it. She will also be sponsored by e.l.f. Cosmetics in both races.
“I don’t think of it as this huge thing I’m doing as a woman. I’ve always thought of myself as just a race car driver. ” Legge told NASCAR.com recently. “I had considered putting it off a year to get more NASCAR experience. and I hadn’t been in IndyCar in a while. but opportunities like this don’t necessarily come around ‘next year’ so if you’re going to do it. you need to do it.”.
The logistics are built into the name. “The Double” is the rare accomplishment of completing the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day over Memorial Day weekend. The Indianapolis 500 starts at 12:45 p.m. ET at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Coca-Cola 600 is set to begin at 6 p.m. ET at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Legge’s task involves completing 1,100 miles with little recovery time between the two races. Only five other drivers have attempted it before: John Andretti, Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon, Kurt Busch, and Larson.
That mix of rarity and risk shows up in the details of how Legge’s season and equipment line up.
Legge will be making her 20th career IndyCar appearance and her fifth career start in the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday afternoon. She made her NASCAR Cup Series debut last year as the first woman since Danica Patrick to race on NASCAR’s top circuit.
In Indianapolis, Legge’s history is pointed. She will be making fifth career start in the Indianapolis 500, with a career-best 22nd-place finish in her debut in 2012. She most recently raced at the Indy 500 in 2024. She finished 27th in qualifying for the 2026 race, which features a 33-car field. Legge will compete in the Indy 500 in the No. 11 e.l.f. Cosmetics Chevrolet for HMD Motorsports with AJ Foyt Racing.
Her NASCAR experience is newer but already substantial. The Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday night will be her ninth race on the NASCAR Cup Series after making her debut last year. Her best finish in eight NASCAR Cup Series races over the past two years was 17th at the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. She finished 35th earlier this month at Watkins Glen in her first NASCAR Cup Series race of the 2026 season.
This will be Legge’s first NASCAR Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but she also has 12 career appearances on the Xfinity Series. Her experience includes the 2025 Xfinity Series at Charlotte race in which Legge finished in 34th place.
The effort Legge is taking on has never been forgiving to anyone, and the prior attempts read like a list of narrow wins and sudden stops. Each try has been separated by a combination of timing, weather, and race-day chaos.
John Andretti attempted “The Double” in 1994, finishing 10th at the Indianapolis 500 and not finishing the Coca-Cola 600. Tony Stewart tried in 1999, finishing 9th at the Indianapolis 500 and 4th at the Coca-Cola 600. Robby Gordon attempted it in 2000, finishing 6th at the Indianapolis 500 and 35th at the Coca-Cola 600 (after taking over mid-race).
Stewart tried again in 2001, finishing 6th at the Indianapolis 500 and 3rd at the Coca-Cola 600. Gordon’s 2002 attempt ended with an 8th-place finish at Indianapolis and 16th at the Coca-Cola 600. In 2003, Gordon did not finish the Indianapolis 500 and was 17th at the Coca-Cola 600 in a rain-shortened race.
Gordon’s 2004 attempt followed the same harsh theme: he did not finish the Indianapolis 500 and was 20th at the Coca-Cola 600. Kurt Busch’s 2014 attempt produced a strong Indianapolis result—6th—but he did not finish the Coca-Cola 600. Larson’s 2024 attempt ended with 18th at the Indianapolis 500 and no Coca-Cola 600 start due to weather.
Larson’s 2025 attempt was even steeper: he did not finish the Indianapolis 500 and did not finish the Coca-Cola 600.
As Legge steps into her role this Memorial Day weekend, the stakes aren’t just the possibility of being first. It’s also the fact that the feat—defined by 1,100 miles and little recovery time—has repeatedly broken at the edges: qualifying failures, weather delays, mechanical problems, and wrecks.
For Legge, the timing is clear and the opportunity is singular. She enters Sunday’s Indianapolis start qualified 27th in a 33-car field. then immediately turns her attention to a Coca-Cola 600 that will start at 6 p.m. ET at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Sponsored by e.l.f. Cosmetics in both races. she’ll take on a day that only a handful have tried—and even fewer have managed to finish in one piece.
Katherine Legge The Double Indianapolis 500 Coca-Cola 600 Memorial Day weekend NASCAR Cup Series IndyCar HMD Motorsports with AJ Foyt Racing e.l.f. Cosmetics Kyle Larson Charlotte Motor Speedway Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Isn’t she like 45? That seems kinda crazy.
I don’t get why people chase dumb “records” like this. One crash and it’s over, right? Also Indy and NASCAR on the same weekend sounds impossible with travel alone.
Wait so she’s the oldest driver AND first non-American-born? So that means everyone else was born in the US and just refused to attempt it? Seems off. Like maybe someone did it before but the article just isn’t counting it.
Memorial Day weekend already feels packed with family stuff, and now she’s trying to do two huge races like it’s nothing. I saw something about NASCAR schedules being flexible, but Indy is like, strict strict, so how does she even manage if there’s rain or delays? Plus sponsorship stuff always makes me suspicious like “why now” you know? I kinda hope she makes it though.