AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Katherine Legge has raced in just about every series possible during her 25-year journey in professional motorsports, ranging from dirt tracks to IndyCar.
Even so, she doesn't mind admitting to being nervous about potentially rubbing fenders with the likes of Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and Christopher Bell in her first NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday at Phoenix Raceway.
Click to Gallery
FILE - Katherine Legge, of England, drives through the first turn during qualifications for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Saturday, May 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
FILE - Katherine Legge, of England, prepares to drive during practice for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
FILE - Katherine Legge, of England, prepares to drive during practice for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Thursday, May 25, 2023, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)
FILE - Katherine Legge, of England, looks at her time during qualifications for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Sunday, May 19, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)
“It's like if you're starting a new job,” the 44-year-old Legge said. “You're doing the job you've been doing a long time, but it's in a new environment. So you have to figure out who your coworkers are, make friends.”
Legge is scheduled to become the first woman in a NASCAR Cup Series race since Danica Patrick made her final start in the Daytona 500 seven years ago. She'll drive the No. 78 Chevrolet for Live Fast Motorsports.
It's been a whirlwind of preparation for the native of England, who said she found out about 10 days ago that she'd be racing in Phoenix. She has limited experience on oval tracks and has spent much of the last week in North Carolina working on a simulator.
“I feel super well supported and as prepared as I possibly can be, having never driven on an oval like this with a NextGen car,” Legge said. “I've done a handful of stock car races in my career, so I feel like I'm either going to sink or swim, but everyone's giving me the best opportunity possible to go out there and do a good job.”
Legge's resume is impressive — particularly in its variety — with five career starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, including one in 2023. She ran the ARCA race last month at Daytona International Speedway and had seven IndyCar Series starts last season.
She also has four career starts in the Indianapolis 500 and in 2023 set a record for fastest qualifying time by a woman.
On Sunday, her expectations at Phoenix are realistic given the challenging circumstances. The main goal is to learn a lot and earn more experiences in the Cup Series down the road.
“I want to finish all of the laps, I want to do a good job minimizing mistakes and I want to stay out of trouble, show respect and prove I belong,” Legge said, later adding. "If I finish anything but last, it'll be a win for us honestly. I don't have the experience that any of these guys have. I don't have the car, at the moment, that's capable of running up front.
“So hopefully we can develop me, the car, everything else and we can get there.”
Legge is well aware of her status as one of the few women in high-level racing. She said it's been “disappointing” that there has been a lull in female drivers since the 2000s and 2010s when several made their mark on the sport like Patrick, Sarah Fisher and Simona de Silvestro.
“When I stop racing, I'd love to bring up the next generation,” Legge said. “I think there's only a handful of us who have the shared, lived experiences. And I think my experience might be valuable in helping them navigate it.”
For now, her focus remains on the track and to soak in the moment. She said that several people have said that Phoenix is a great place to learn the nuances of NASCAR racing, thanks to its unique dogleg and wide track.
“I've had a hell of a life and a hell of a career so far,” Legge said. “Now I'm sitting here about to run a Cup race. I'm such a dork, I took a picture of the garage with my name on it. It's so cool.”
Legge is one of nine women to have raced in the Indy 500. She has four career victories in sports car racing, has participated in the Rolex 24 at Daytona and also competed in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
FILE - Katherine Legge, of England, drives through the first turn during qualifications for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Saturday, May 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
FILE - Katherine Legge, of England, prepares to drive during practice for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
FILE - Katherine Legge, of England, prepares to drive during practice for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Thursday, May 25, 2023, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)
FILE - Katherine Legge, of England, looks at her time during qualifications for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Sunday, May 19, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.
Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.
Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”
Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)
