Katherine Legge Receives Death Threats Post-Rockingham

Katherine Legge has had her fair share of bad luck lately, starting with her debut run with the NASCAR Cup Series in the Shriners Children’s 500. The 44-year-old spun out twice at Phoenix Raceway, collecting Daniel Suárez just 210 laps into the race, ending her bid early and relegating Suárez to P23. Last weekend, during her first  Xfinity Series start since 2023 in Rockingham, she failed to qualify for the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 in the No. 32 for Jordan Anderson Racing.

Little did Legge know that an unlikely gesture from part-time Cup driver J.J. Yeley would answer her prayers. Yeley, who drives the No. 53 for Joey Gase Motorsports, qualified P31, narrowly missing the start cutoff. Yet, he decided to give up his spot to Legge because he wanted her to have a chance to redeem herself post-Phoenix. However, her saving grace would be short-lived into lap 53 when she was hit from behind by William Sawalich, running her into the wall and Kasey Kahne.

Kahne, who returned with Richard Childress Racing, in the No. 33 for Richard Childress Racing, finished P15. Katherine Legge ended the race early, failing to place, and William Sawalich finished outside the top twenty in P25. Post-Rockingham, the British Motorsports standout has been heavily criticized and blamed for wrecking Kasey Kahne. However, this time it comes from fans and not fellow drivers. She’s since spoken out, revealing that she’s received death threats, hate mail, and inappropriate comments across social media.

Katherine Legge Fights for her Voice

Since the North Carolina Education Lottery 250, Katherine Legge has been grappling with wrecking and failing to place for a second time. The harsh rapport from the NASCAR fan base has been a lot to bear, but she’s refusing to give up. In a recent episode of her podcast, Throttle Therapy with Katherine Legge, she touched on the heavy scrutiny and hate she’s encountered daily.

She noted that she takes pride in being a woman in NASCAR and understands that adversity is part of that equation. Still, she feels that the threats that she has been receiving are unacceptable, and a line is being crossed that shouldn’t be. Katherine Legge is considered an inspiration for women who are afraid to step into the world of motorsports due to the very adversities she has faced recently.

She’s the first woman since Danica Patrick in 2018 to run in the sport, and she certainly won’t be the last. This fuels her spirit to continue racing, and she understands that NASCAR is a sport where fans can become hot-headed, but she will not continue to tolerate personal attacks. She also mentioned that she wants to be recognized for being more than a woman in motorsports, but rather a world-class racer.

“Let me be very clear, I’m here to race and I’m here to compete, and I won’t tolerate any of these threats to my safety or my dignity, whether that’s on track or off of it,” Legge said of her harsh criticism post-Rockingham.

“Racing is a passionate sport, and I understand that fans have strong opinions. And honestly, I love that, and I respect that about our sport. Constructive criticism is part of the game. I am always open to learning and improving. I promise that I will always take accountability for mistakes that I make,” she added.

Recap of Phoenix and Rockingham

During Katherine Legge’s memorable debut at the Shriners Children’s 500 in the Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet, she finished P37. Considering she had less than two weeks to prepare for this, it wasn’t bad, but she struggled from start to finish. Until the notorious lap 215 crash into AM Racing’s Josh Berry, who also caught up with Daniel Suárez. Post-Phoenix, Suárez had hard feelings against Legge for a short while because he had a solid top ten start and hoped to end that way. Despite being unable to finish the race successfully, she was awarded a P30 finish.

Rockingham was seemingly more of the same after William Sawalich made contact with her JGM No. 53 in the race’s second stage. Kasey Kahne was caught in the crossfire, attempting an Xfinity Series comeback after a 7-year hiatus. This weekend, in Talladega, she’s hoping for her third shot at redemption in the Ag-Pro 300. The only downside is that there is no qualifying session. Therefore, she will go straight from qualifying to the track for Saturday’s race. Regardless, with support from her team at Jordan Anderson Racing, Katherine Legge is ready to saddle up and go head-to-head with the field of 41.

Final Thoughts

Katherine Legge has faced harsh criticism post-Rockingham for wrecking a returning Kasey Kahne and even threats to her life. Still, she refuses to let her third chance at redemption in the Xfinity Series Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway disappear. She plans to spend more time behind the wheel, splitting time between the Xfinity and Cup Series for a combined 12 races. This means that NASCAR hasn’t seen the last of Legge and won’t for a long time.