INDIANAPOLIS -- Katherine Legge's attempt to become the first woman to complete "The Double" -- racing 1,100 miles spread out over two tracks on one day -- ended quickly Sunday when she crashed out in the Indianapolis 500.
The English driver completed just 17 of the scheduled 200 laps at Indianapolis Motor Speedway's iconic 2.5-mile oval. Ryan Hunter-Reay started spinning in the second turn and braked hard to keep his car off the wall, and the trailing Legge, trying to maneuver through smoke, steered inside to try to avoid the 2014 Indy 500 winner and hit the inside wall.
"I'm fine, just gutted more than anything," Legge said after being checked and released at the track's infield medical center. "Ryan spun in front of me. I think he was battling his car for a minute. I was just chilling, trying to save fuel, and he spun down the track and started coming up the track, so I tried to go low and just didn't make it."
Legge is the sixth driver ever to attempt the Double, paring the Indy 500 with NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 in North Carolina, but the only one to complete it is three-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart in 2001.
It's been a week full of bad luck for Legge. Her flight from New York to Indianapolis was delayed, causing her to miss Indy's annual media day. Then she had communications trouble in Friday's final 500 practice, and after flying to Charlotte on Saturday, Coca-Cola 600 qualifying was rained out.
Her fortunes briefly looked like they might have changed when the speedway dodged the predicted prerace rain, allowing the race to begin on time. Then came the tangle with Hunter-Reay, who also was checked and released by IndyCar's medical team.
"It was super tough out there," Hunter-Reay said. "The whole time I was trying to keep it off the wall. Just super disappointing. That's the busiest I've been around here in 16 years. I was trying to keep it off the wall the whole time, and finally, one of those wiggles didn't come back in Turn 2."
Crashes and bad weather at the 500 have been a theme in each of the past three Double attempts. A rain-delayed Indy start prevented two-time NASCAR champion Kyle Larson from making it to Charlotte in time for the start in 2024, and Larson crashed out of both races last year after another rain-delayed start in Indy.
But Legge was hoping to avoid all of it.
The English driver started from the No. 26 spot, the middle of the ninth row, at Indy, where she drove for HMD Motorsports with A.J. Foyt Racing team. She still plans to head to North Carolina, where she will start 37th for Live Fast Motorsports after Saturday's rainout.
The early forecast looked good for the start of Sunday's race in Charlotte, but the chance of rain is expected to increase throughout the night.
The other five drivers who previously tried the Double had months to prepare, but Legge's teams didn't announce her attempt until last week. Since then, those behind the scenes helped Legge line up the helicopter ride she planned to take from the speedway to Indianapolis International Airport and the private jet that will take her to Charlotte for the second race of the day.
