JD Motorsports announced Friday that IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship veteran Katherine Legge will make her XFINITY Series debut in the team’s No. 15 Chevrolet at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. In addition, Legge will also race at Road America.
Sponsorship for Legge’s effort is being provided by Airtec Inc., a Maryland-based aviation and technology outfit. According to its website, Airtec specializes in maritime radar surveillance, range safety and airborne telemetry.
“To say that I’m looking forward to making my NASCAR debut in the XFINITY Series would be a massive understatement, and I can’t thank Steve and Eileen Bildman at Airtec enough for helping to provide me with this opportunity,” Legge said. “Racing a stock car will be a massive adjustment for me from the types of cars I usually race, even on road courses, but I’m eager to take on the challenge. Thanks to Johnny Davis, Gary Keller, and everyone at JD Motorsports for all their hard work to make this happen.”
Legge is currently second in GT Daytona points, 10 points behind Paul Miller Racing teammates Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow. She went into the season with only a part-time ride in the Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian No. 86 Acura NSX GT3. A victory with Mario Farnbacher at Belle Isle Park in June boosted her season, but she also has second-place finishes at Daytona and Sebring. The good performances allowed MSR to acquire the necessary sponsorship to boost the No. 86 Acura’s effort from a part-time schedule to a full-time campaign. Neither of Legge’s XFINITY races conflict with her IMSA schedule.
Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the site's FREE e-mail newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the site's Sports Car racing editor.
Outside of Frontstretch, Phil is the press officer for Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. He covers all the action on the high-banked dirt track from regular DIRTcar Modified racing to occasional visits from touring series such as the Super DIRTcar Series.
Would’ve been interesting to see what happened if she had been given Danica Patrick’s opportunities.