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April 18, 2024 12 mins
Follow her on social media @katherineracing
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(00:00):
You're here. It's women we love, and someone breaking barriers is f one
racer, the fastest woman to everqualify for the Indy five hundred, Catherine
leg We're celebrating and encouraging the vitalrole of women in American history. Hi
Ellen, how are you? I'mgreat. I cannot wait to meet you
in person. You're here in SoCalfor the Accura Grand Prix, and you're

(00:22):
also the first woman to be inductedinto the Long Beach Walk of Fame with
your own star. Way to go. Thank you. I mean, it's
so cool. I have to pinchmyself because I look at the names up
there, and they are some ofthe world's most renowned racing drivers, right

(00:42):
like they're the people that I lookedup to a lot of them when I
was growing up. A lot ofthem are young and came up with me
as well. But I feel likean ambustor a little bit because I see
my name there and I'm like,wow that it doesn't feel like I'm one
of But I am extremely honest andI love so cal I love the Long

(01:04):
Beach GP. It's what put mycareer on the map back in two thousand
and five when I won the Atlantic'sRace, which is a long time ago.
Now, well, no, mabby, look at you. You've just
accomplished so much. It's like everyrace there's another, you know, first,
this first, that first female?Do. Did Brad Pitt call you
to be a consultant on the Fone film? You know what? No?

(01:27):
And I'm kind of bummed about it, like you should have. I
saw him in Daytona though. Theywere filming in Daytona where we raced twenty
four there, and it looks likethey have a lot of consultants, so
I'm sure they're in't good? Hid? No? Okay, Well, I
know everyone was saying, oh mygosh, he's so ripped and cut.
And I know that part of racingis being in top physical form. So

(01:49):
what is your routine like physically?I was thinking that this morning. So
I was running down down the beachin Long Beach this morning and I was
thinking, when do I get tonot do this anymore? Form? Unhappy?
Yeah, I work really hard,honestly, I am mostly well.

(02:13):
Four times a week, I doto A days or I call them too
A days, where I do cardio, mostly running, but I also cycle
and swim a little bit too.But only in the summer. Is because
I live on a lake and it'scold in the winter, and I'm a
bit of a wimp. Although Ido copland and then I do I do
gym work with a weight because Iknow everybody thinks that being a racing driver

(02:35):
is not being an athlete. Butlet me tell you. When you get
behind the wheel of an Indy caror something like that, it is hard.
Like you can't turn the wheel.It's nothing like driving your regular car.
Right, Forget everything you know aboutdriving, put it out the window.
It's physically it's like it's hot.It's brutal. It's like driving a
one hundred and thirty degree washing machinewhile being in a Phytogeen, that's what

(03:00):
it's like. Alan. You've beenin a car, you know what it's
like. I have been in acar, but I've never been in an
F one, and I've never goneat speeds that you've gone. I've been
in the in the Accuras, youknow, at the Long Beach, but
I have not. You know,I trained a Yeah, tomorrow, I'm
getting in with you. So whatdo I have to look forward to?

(03:23):
So, especially in the car withDownforth, obviously you have a lot of
grip because the wings are like airplanewings, but up the other way right,
So instead of lifting you off theground, they push you into the
ground, which gives you a lotof grip, which means you can go
fast around the corner. When wecall that downforce, so you have to
be able to take a lot moreg four through your body, through your

(03:43):
neck because you're getting to ron arounda lot more. It also helps you
to break and accelerate, so youhave like a lot more breaking pressure.
You won't believe how efficiently and effectivelythese things break. I mean, you'll
you'll have to brace yourself, butyou will. I'll get out of the
car and I expect that's the firstthing you say is I cannot believe the

(04:03):
breaking capacity of this thing, likeit's until you've experienced it, you can't
really explain what it's like. Youknow, if you put your brake on
as hard as you can, likein an emergency stop situation, imagine that
time's like fifty Oh my gosh,wait, so I'm getting in that you're
driving, and I'm getting in andwe're doing that. I don't know if

(04:26):
I'm driving, Yeah, let medrive. But normally they have allocated two
seated drivers who are especially scary forthe guests, you know, so they
do it all the sideways just toscale them me day like that, I
mean, I can't wait. Iwould imagine you would have to be very
strong. What's your workout regimen?Like? Hm, you do? You

(04:46):
do have to be really strong.And actually I was talking to the guys
about it yesterday when we went tovisit the Honda and Accurate headquarters. I
said, Okay, these cars comparedto the cars that I drove around Long
Beach, like the camp cars thatdidn't have any power steering and like big
and burly and even more kind ofmuftily to get around the track. And

(05:10):
they said, no, it's notany worse because driving on an oval in
an Indy car like I did lastyear and like I'm doing this year,
it's not the same as driving ona road course. You have a lot
more force through the wheel on aroad course or a street course like Long
Beach, and so you have tobe able to do that hundreds of times
as well. So it's not outrightstrength. I mean, if I had
a bench press competition where the guyssaid take my butt, right, But

(05:34):
even though they're a little wiry,they would still keep my butt if I
have to do a medium weight sixhundred times, like I got this,
Like I'm okay. So we dolots of reps. We do heavyweights.
If you see my arms, it'skind of embarrassing because they're very very mustly

(05:56):
and your core because you have tohold yourself in the car. But I
I do like a typical training schedulewhere I'll do legs twice a week and
then I'll do cool once a weekand I'll do apple body once a week.
But then I also do a lotof hit kind of kal to me.
Yeah, just because you are yourheart rate. So for example,

(06:16):
even in the endurance races, becauseit's so hot one hundred and thirty degrees
in the car, you are inthat car for like two hours, stay
right, and your heart rate.My heart rate even at my own is
in the one eighties for two hours, So you have to be able to
sustain that in that heat, whichI don't think people grasp how hard though.

(06:36):
Yeah, right, when when yourfellow drivers are driving past you,
I know you can communicate with yourteam, you know, in a headset,
but are you talking crap? Tothem and about them as they drive
past you, or like, areyou speaking out loud as you drive like
you little wiry thing. I mean, I don't know that I would admit
to that publicly, okay, becauseeverybody can listen to your radio. But

(07:00):
yeah, I mean there's a certainamount of that that goes on in your
own head, right, And thenthere are things that you can kind of
ask the team, Like in IndyCarracing, you know who's in which car
and it's the same person in thecar. But in endurance racing, you
don't know who's in the car becauseit could be the pro or the AM
and there's two pros and you don'tknow which pros in the car, and
so you can be like, who'sin the ninety six car? Please?

(07:26):
Guys? Aha, Well, you'reback at the Indy five hundred next month
and for the fourth time that thisis the first time ever a beauty brand
has served as a sponsor for yourcar, Elf Cosmetics, and that's another
breakthrough, yet another first for you. Catherine leg How did you guys meet?

(07:47):
I'm so I am incredibly honored tohave Elf on the car and it
is so special to me and sospecial to the fans and all the women
in racing and women outside of racingas well. So so you don't even
have an interest in racing to seea brand such as ELF, like a
global, well respected, well likedbrand like Elf that every woman on the

(08:11):
planet knows off because they're everywhere,right, Like, you go into every
supermarket or CBS, whatever it maybe, so you know what it is,
and you see them sort of supportingwomen in male dominated fields and just
life in general, and it makesyou feel good about them. And it
makes me feel incredible about them thatthey would jump on board and put their

(08:33):
name to you know, the onlyfemale in the race, because there's a
certain amount of like, ooh,well she do well, well she not
do well, we're taking a risk, I don't know, you know,
but they are all in on femaleempowerment, and I think it's testament to
how the world is changing and howwomen are marketed to right, Like,

(08:58):
they never would have put any femalesproducts on a race public books. They'd
have been like, oh no,it's all the guys like watching it,
and there's no women who like racing, and that's rush. Well, there
are way more women who like racingthan people think, So why not put
ELF on the side of the car. And honestly, racing fans is so

(09:18):
loyal. Yeah, I can't tellyou how many people have been like I
am switching to ELF now. Well, there's no doubt about it. Women
in sports it's red hot right now. You're like the Caitlin Clark is to
the WNBA. You are to Fone and to racing. And then even
as what Taylor Swift is to music, I mean, there's all these first
and these broken records, and youknow, and you just keep on punching

(09:41):
through and you're such a great example, you know, for us, for
young girls who might want to dreamof racing just like you did when you
were little. Thank you. That'svery kind of you to say. I
hope so. But also young boys, you know, if they see that
women are doing it as well,then it's not unusual to them and it
just becomes the norm. And Ireally hope that for one day that it's

(10:03):
not different, it's not a gimmick, and that women are given the same
opportunities as men in this in thisspace, and women's sports are looked on
the same as the guys. Andyou know, anything that I can do
to help that process along. It'snot by design. I would like to
say that, yeah, I'm areally good person because that's what I wanted

(10:24):
to do, but it's not,you know, like it was all about
me and me trying to make itin racing because I love racing and I
really wanted to be a race cutdriver and this has kind of been a
byproduct of it. But it's somethingthat I'm so passionate about and I get
behind so much because you see thelittle girl's faces like up when they get
to the track. They have somebodythat they can support. They have a

(10:46):
brand like else that they can getbehind. And it's not just like I
don't know a boy brand that allthe guys are supporting it. It's like,
oh, there's a girl drive awayand the support her and real girl
power, kind of positive female movement, and I love it, honestly,
I too. Is your car reallypink? It's cool. It's not like

(11:11):
it's not like gimmicky pink. It'slike red onmbre into pink and it looks
so cool. Is there replicas wecan buy? Yeah, we're yeah,
we're working on that. Actually,Because you're not the first person to say
that. Oh that's amazing. Ilove my Lfray suit. On the back

(11:33):
it says change your lip oil.And so are you wearing that tomorrow?
Oh yeah, I'm wearing it todayand tomorrow. I'm going to wear it
all the time. I'll wear itto Indy as well. We'll be in
Indie to watch it. Yes,so cool. Only nine women in one
hundred and eight years have competed inthe Indy five hundred. You're the only
one this year. I know this. Yeah, keep doing until somebody else

(12:00):
comes along. Well, Catherine Legg, we were in awe of you.
Thank you so much for coming onwith us. We'll see you, and
congratulations on your long beach Walk ofFame. Congrats on the Indy five hundred
and all the great stuff you're doing. Thank you. I cannot wait to
meet you in person, and Iappreciate your support. And yeah, see

(12:22):
you soon.
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