Who is Katherine Legge and What is the Double?
The business of speed is now playable
On May 24, Katherine Legge will attempt something only five other drivers have ever tried.
She’ll start the Indianapolis 500 at noon. Race 500 miles around the two-and-a-half-mile oval. Board a private jet to Charlotte. Take the green flag at the Coca-Cola 600 that evening. One thousand, one hundred miles. Two races. One day.
That’s The Double.
History of The Double
John Andretti ran the first one in 1994, finishing 10th at Indianapolis and 36th at Charlotte. Tony Stewart is the most famous name in the history of the attempt. In 2001, he completed all 1,100 miles, finishing sixth at Indy and third in the 600, a feat that remains the benchmark for anyone who’s tried since. Kyle Larson took two shots at it, in 2024 and 2025, and came away empty both times.
Five drivers have attempted the feat, starting with John Andretti on May 29, 1994. In 2001, Tony Stewart became the first and only driver to date to complete all 1,100 miles of both races in the same day. Robby Gordon has tried five times, Stewart and Kyle Larson twice, and Kurt Busch once. No driver has won either race while attempting the feat. Stewart’s 2001 effort stands as the best combined result: sixth at Indianapolis and third at Charlotte. Larson attempted it in 2024-2025.
Katherine Legge will become the first woman to attempt the effort.
Who is Katherine Legge?
She’s 45, from England, and has been racing go-karts with her father since she was 9. Her résumé spans nearly every category in American motorsport. Forty-seven career IndyCar starts. Nineteen NASCAR national series starts. Four victories as an Acura factory driver in sports cars. Stints in Formula E, touring cars, and Pikes Peak Hill Climb.
The Indy 500 is where she’s made her mark on the oval circuit. In 2023, she set the fastest single-lap qualification speed by any woman in the event’s history: 231.627 mph. Her four-lap average of 231.070 mph went with it. Records that still stand.
For this year’s race, she qualified 27th, driving the No. 11 for HMD Motorsports in partnership with AJ Foyt Racing.
The 600 side comes through Live Fast Motorsports. Legge is 39th of 39 entrants, driving the No. 78. No charter. No guaranteed field spot. A small entry list cleared that problem for her.
The Brand Behind the Entries
e.l.f. Cosmetics is sponsoring both entries.
That deserves more than a sentence. This is year four of the partnership between Legge and e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE: ELF). In 2024, e.l.f. became the first beauty brand in American motorsport history to serve as the primary sponsor of an Indianapolis 500 entry. Now they’re funding both halves of the most operationally demanding single-day feat the sport has. The No. 11 at Indianapolis and the No. 78 at Charlotte both carry e.l.f. colors.
The campaign is called “eyes.lips.fuel.” Patrick O’Keefe, e.l.f.’s Chief Integrated Marketing Officer, described it plainly: “eyes.lips.fuel. is a commitment to every eye, lip, and face watching who needs to see that they belong.”
Legge’s own framing of the partnership tells you something about how four years feels from the inside: “e.l.f. has been more than a sponsor. They’ve been my voice, my platform, and my fuel.”
e.l.f. has built a deliberate portfolio in women’s sports over the past three years, and Legge is the anchor of it.
Their current roster: the Professional Women’s Hockey League, the Billie Jean King Cup, the National Women’s Soccer League, and the iHeart Women’s Sports Audio Network. Paralympic swimmer Anastasia Pagonis is an Individual Athlete Partner. And Legge across IndyCar and NASCAR.
Chief Marketing Officer Kory Marchisotto has stated publicly that the brand won’t do “logo slap” sponsorships. That means every activation needs a story attached.
The statistics e.l.f. cites about women in motorsport make the brief explicit: women receive 1% of all sports sponsorships. Women account for 4% of drivers on track. Women are twice as likely to leave racing in their first five years. The brand is not citing those numbers to create guilt. They’re citing them to identify an underserved market and position themselves inside it before the competition.
For a company trading on the NYSE, this is a commercial thesis, not an awareness campaign.
The broader pattern of brands spending record levels in motorsport is mostly about audience scale and corporate hospitality. e.l.f.’s approach is different: they’re building cultural ownership around a specific idea. A beauty brand that shows up where beauty brands don’t. An audience that wasn’t being spoken to by the category.
What This Weekend Means
The Double is a long shot regardless of who’s driving. Kyle Larson had Hendrick Motorsports infrastructure and still couldn’t complete it. Legge is running a non-charter team in the 600 after a 27th-place grid position at Indianapolis.
Finishing is the goal.
Either way, e.l.f. owns the story of the first woman to attempt The Double, and if she completes both races, that has a shelf life that extends well past the race broadcast. Four years of consistent investment become a punchline that actually pays off.
Motorsport sponsorship rarely works this way. Most brands buy reach and then wait. e.l.f. has been building toward a specific historical moment with a specific driver for four consecutive years.
Regardless of outcome, Legge is a hell of a racer, and e.l.f. is a hell of a brand taking big swings in playgrounds not traditionally dominated by women.
I’ll be rooting for them.
Formula 1 lends its IP to Hasbro’s Monopoly
Growing up, I loved Monopoly. It taught me about business and managing money, and how to get out of jail (just kidding).
But now, two of my loves, board games and Formula 1, come together in an epic remix of one of the most iconic games of all time.
Formula 1 has partnered with Hasbro to release a special-edition Monopoly, available from July 15.
The F1-themed edition of the game will have players racing around the board with the 24 locations on the real calendar, taking the place of the regular properties.
Emily Prazer, chief commercial officer of Formula 1, said: “Monopoly is one of the most iconic and best-loved board games in the world, so we’re thrilled to bring a Formula 1 twist to such a classic. This edition captures the excitement and competitiveness of the sport in a fun, accessible way, and we’re confident fans of all ages will love going head-to-head with their friends and family when they take to the grid and compete in the Monopoly Grand Prix.”
Billy Lagor, president of toy & games at Hasbro, said: “Formula 1 is one of the most iconic sports in the world, and we’re excited to bring the adrenaline of race day - roaring engines, pitlane drama, and split-second strategy - into a game night experience.”
A big thanks to all of our subscribers, especially our Founding Members, for their continued support.
Founding Members: Andy Amendola, Web Smith, Alex Nunez, Hannah Elliot, Mark Boudreau, John LePore, Josh Felber, Marshall Pruett, Blake Plumley
Corporate Members: T-Mobile for Business, Electranet Inc., Bloomfield AI, HYTON
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Nine cars, helmets, trophies, a full immersive installation, and it’s the first time the exhibition has ever come to America.
We sat down with him at the Concours Club during Miami GP week. Go listen.