There is a record in American motorsports that has stood for over two decades, and the man who set it did not even win either race that day. In 2001, Tony Stewart climbed out of his IndyCar at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, boarded a chartered flight to Charlotte, slid into a stock car, and drove 600 more miles, finishing P6 at the Indy 500 and P3 in the Coca-Cola 600. No driver has since completed that same Double Duty. Not Kurt Busch. Not John Andretti. Not Kyle Larson.

But now Katherine Legge believes she is the next person to chase it. Legge did not hesitate when asked about her ambitions:
“Yes. I think it would be awesome, right? I think a lot of people have mentioned that, and I think it would definitely be something that ELF would be willing to do because they want to do all the groundbreaking, glass ceiling-breaking, really cool stuff. So, I hope that I get that opportunity one day down the road.”

The confidence behind those words is not misplaced. The 45-year-old Guildford-born driver is arguably the most versatile female racing driver alive. She has competed at the highest levels of IndyCar, NASCAR Cup, IMSA SportsCar, Formula E, and even Pikes Peak. And holds the record for the fastest qualifying effort by a woman in Indianapolis 500 history, clocking 231.07 mph in 2023, and in 2005 became the first woman to win a major open-wheel race in North America.

So, one of only 17 women ever to start a NASCAR Cup Series race and the most recent among them, Legge has spent her career collecting firsts. The Double Duty would be the biggest one yet. But before any Double Duty conversation becomes reality, Legge has to do what she has spent the past year proving she can belong. And right now, the evidence is compelling.

Katherine Legge’s Cup Return at Watkins Glen

This weekend, Legge returns to the Cup Series for the first time in 2026, piloting the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet at Watkins Glen International, backed once again by e.l.f. Cosmetics in a white, pink, and red livery. It is her first Cup start since the South Point 400 at Las Vegas last October, and she is treating Watkins Glen as the ideal launchpad. After all, it’s a circuit where she won the GTD class at the Six Hours of The Glen in IMSA in 2017 and one she knows intimately.

“This track has always been a favorite of mine—it’s fast, technical, and unforgiving. To be back here in the Cup car, especially with e.l.f. on board again this year, makes it really special. It’s a great way to bring together my road course roots with my newfound love for stock car racing.”

Her weekend, though, did not begin without friction. The No. 78 team failed NASCAR tech inspection on their second attempt, resulting in the car chief being ejected from the speedway and the loss of pit selection before clearing on the third try. Still, none of that has dimmed her confidence heading into race day.

That confidence is rooted in a genuine arc of growth across seven Cup starts in 2025. What began with a difficult debut at Phoenix, where some critics questioned the wisdom of handing a driver their first laps in NASCAR’s Next Gen car on an oval, evolved into something far more compelling race by race.

Meanwhile, Legge has been characteristically direct about what the Next Gen machine actually demands: “A lot of people say that the Next Gen car drives like a GT3 car. It doesn’t, at all. I guess that’s a perception of, like, what it was like before the Next Gen car. To me, it’s totally different. Obviously, we have a lot more downforce in the GT car. Center pressure’s a lot lower, it moves around a lot less, tire is very different.”

Once she adapted, the results followed. A 19th-place finish at the Chicago Street Course, the first top-20 finish by a woman in the series since Danica Patrick’s 17th place at Texas Motor Speedway in 2017. This was followed by a career-best 17th at the Brickyard 400, where she worked from 38th on the grid to finish comfortably on the lead lap. That result stands as Live Fast Motorsports’ best-ever finish at a non-drafting track, and that was not accidental.

“I have this newfound passion for NASCAR,” she said ahead of Watkins Glen. “It’s the thing that makes me want to get up in the morning, and it motivates me, and it’s so fun, and it’s such a challenge. I feel like I haven’t shown my potential yet, and I want to, and I want to make a success in stock cars… there’s nothing cooler than NASCAR Cup, right?”

That progression matters directly to the Double Duty conversation. Completing Stewart’s record requires a Cup team confident enough to put a driver in the car on the same day, knowing they will be exhausted and switching machinery mid-afternoon. The stronger Legge’s NASCAR résumé grows, the more realistic that conversation becomes.

And the fact that e.l.f. Cosmetics already spans both her Cup and IndyCar programs is precisely the kind of unified sponsorship structure that makes a Double Duty attempt logistically and commercially viable.

After Watkins Glen, Legge heads directly to Indianapolis for her fifth Indy 500 start, the 110th running of the race, driving the No. 11 e.l.f. Cosmetics Chevrolet Dallara. Her best finish at Indianapolis is 22nd place, set in her very first start in 2012, when she became the ninth woman ever to qualify for the race.

Across both paddocks, the most recent driver to attempt the Double has already offered his blessing.

Speaking ahead of the Watkins Glen weekend, Larson was candid about what makes the Double so brutally unpredictable: “The challenges, which everybody is aware of, including mine, are just the weather. So yeah, I mean, the driving and whatnot are a challenge of their own, but ultimately it’s the weather, and it kind of can put a damper on things if you get any bit of delay. So yeah, if anybody does do ‘The Double’ in the future, I hope it goes smoother than it did for me and they can enjoy the great race day that it is supposed to be.”

If Legge completes the 1,100 miles, she would become the first and only female driver to do so, adding yet another first to a career that already includes being the first woman to receive the BRDC’s Rising Star accolade. In a sport where female representation at the very top remains frustratingly thin, that would be a defining moment for the sport. Stewart’s record has waited 25 years. Legge intends to make it wait no longer.

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