Katherine Legge will be first woman since 2018 to race in NASCAR Cup Series

Legge has five NASCAR Xfinity Series starts to her credit, and ran the ARCA Menards Series season-opener at Daytona on Feb. 15. 

Her relative lack of experience in a stock car doesn't mean she's unqualified, however. Legge boasts accolades in various racing disciplines. She has 19 NTT IndyCar Series starts to her name, including four starts in the Indianapolis 500. 

Legge has also won four races in the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship. In 2018, Legge finished second in the series' points standings with an average finish of 3.4. 

Her path to NASCAR's premier division hasn't exactly been conventional, but it's not the first time female drivers have come to NASCAR from other racing disciplines. The aforementioned Patrick was a race winner in IndyCar before venturing to NASCAR. 

Janet Guthrie ran 33 NASCAR Cup Series races from 1976-80, and became the first woman to lead a lap in a NASCAR Cup Series race. Like Legge, Guthrie competed in several Indy 500s, making three starts in the race from 1977-79. 

Patty Moise began her career in the aforementioned IMSA series before beginning a NASCAR Busch (now Xfinity) Series career that spanned 133 races. Moise ran her final Busch Series race in 1998. 

Legge's NASCAR Cup Series debut on Sunday will carry on the history of women competing at NASCAR's highest level, and her unconventional road to Phoenix shows her ability to compete in a plethora of racing disciplines. It's not guaranteed that a driver seeking to make their Cup Series debut will get approved to run in the race - especially if they lack stock-car experience - but Legge's start on Sunday proves that she possesses the talent necessary to compete with the best drivers in the world.