Katherine Legge swerved from her high-side position to avoid a collision with Ryan Hunter-Reay but her Indianapolis 500 and attempt for the “double” with a Sunday night entry in the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 ended in a spinout.
Legge was uninjured in the incident and will travel to Charlotte to run in the NASCAR race. The British driver was making the sixth bid to complete both races on Memorial Day weekend before the 45-year-old ran into trouble in the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday afternoon.
Her Indy 500 experience lasted just 18 laps.
Coming out of Turn 2, Ryan Hunter-Reay lost control of his Chevrolet and bounced off the wall at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. As he tried to right himself, Legge said she couldn’t see much ahead of her because of smoke from Hunter-Reay’s car. When she finally saw the car, Legge had to take quick action to avoid him. After a sharp left turn, she wound up crashing into the infield fence, with her car sustaining significant damage.
Both drivers were out of the race and checked in the medical tent. No apparent injuries were sustained.
“He came back up the track, so last minute I had to go left. It just wasn’t enough time to avoid,” Legge said Sunday.
Legge was able to exit her No. 11 Chevrolet for HMD Motorsports with A.J. Foyt Racing without assistance. Hunter-Reay was also uninjured.
“Desperately frustrating,” Legge said of her mindset Sunday afternoon. “To be taken out by something not in your control, it would be slightly better to be taken out by something in your control … we were looking forward to a long day, 1,100 miles.”
Legge had only a few hours to switch her gear, her car and her mindset entering the Coca-Cola 600.
“I need to have an attitude adjustment, because right now I’m pissed,” Legge said. “And disappointed. I need to get on that plane and try and get into the right mindset.”
The “double” calls for a driver to compete in two premiere races, covering 1,100 miles with barely a moment to spare between the Indy and NASCAR Cup Series races. Five drivers previously have attempted the double since John Andretti hatched the idea in 1994 for AJ Foyt Racing. Andretti finished 10th at Indy but was knocked out after 220 laps at Charlotte due to engine trouble.
“Very few drivers ever get the opportunity to attempt the ‘double,’ and I do not take that opportunity lightly,” Legge said last week. “This challenge is about pushing through perceived limits … and trying to do something unique.”
Tony Stewart in 2001 is the lone driver to finish on the lead lap of both races on the same day.
–Field Level Media
