Helicopters, rain, faith: Legge and her ‘military operation’ attempt The Double
Katherine Legge will attempt to make some substantial motorsports history on Sunday, when she runs in the Indy 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and then the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the same day.
She’ll be the first woman to compete in both races, for one.
For another, if she completes both, she’ll be only the second competitor to run all 1,100 miles. Tony Stewart remains the sole finisher of both races on the same day when he did so in 2001.
But ask Legge about the feat, and you’ll notice that the hardest part to predict about this weekend isn’t the racing. It’s not about the art of transitioning between motorsport disciplines, of the mental challenges of the day, of the physical stresses of the weekend.
It’s more like:
How will she get from one place to another?
How, logistically, will all of this work?
To such questions, which have been ringing on for the past two weeks, Legge smiles and shrugs.
“I think we kind of got it all under control,” Legge told The Charlotte Observer on Wednesday. “I think it was bonkers in the beginning because we needed to make lists upon lists of things that we needed to do, and logistics that we needed to do. And now we’re just focused on getting stuff done and looking at the schedule, and trying to get through.”
That schedule is pretty intense, for what it’s worth. In fact, according to Legge’s manager, Klint Briney, it’ll “look more like a military operation than a normal race day.”
The first part of Sunday is accounted for. Legge and all her competitors will receive the “Drivers, to your cars!” command delivered by Caitlin Clark at 12:29 p.m. The engine on Legge’s No. 11 Chevy she’s driving for HMD Motorsports will fire at 12:38 p.m., and the green flag will drop at 12:45 p.m.
The race takes approximately three hours. Then, around 3:45 p.m., Legge will bring the car back to “Gasoline Alley” — the garage and paddock area in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway infield — and then begin “transfer mode,” Briney said. She’ll jump onto a golf cart, transfer to an SUV and head directly to a helicopter staging area within IMS. That helicopter will take her to a private airport where a jet will be waiting for Legge and her team.
Then she’ll fly directly to the Concord airport — about an hour-long flight — where another helicopter transfer is planned to help bypass race-day traffic and get her into Charlotte Motor Speedway. Then, it’s another golf cart straight into NASCAR driver introductions, which are slated for 5:25 p.m., according to the Charlotte Motor Speedway website.
“There’s almost no margin for delay anywhere in the schedule,” Briney wrote in an email to The Observer. “And that’s what makes The Double one of the last truly impossible things left in motorsports and why simply attempting it carries so much respect within the sport.”
Weather at Charlotte, Indianapolis venues could wreak havoc
This is all in the ideal situation, of course.
And the ideal simply might not happen — with rain being the culprit.
According to AccuWeather.com, as of Wednesday afternoon, there’s a 61% probability of precipitation on Sunday morning and a 60% chance of precipitation on Sunday afternoon. Apple Weather predicts that chances of rain dip right around the start of the Indianapolis 500, and return around 3 p.m., meaning that part of the race could start, but a delay at the tail end of the day is possible.
Now, Concord has a high likelihood of rain as well, and could delay the Coke 600 — which could aid in Legge’s efforts. AccuWeather forecasts show that there’s a 55% probability of precipitation on Sunday afternoon. Apple Weather shows that there’s a 30% chance of rain, specifically, at 6 p.m.
It’s still early, of course. Short-term weather forecasts — one to three days out — are considered “highly accurate,” according to Climavision.com; they can predict precisely when rain arrives and how much is expected to pour.
But the weather, no doubt, will be a factor this weekend. The problem: Planning for such alternatives might be a futile exercise, particularly this far out.
That goes for everything — including who will drive Legge’s stock car (the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevy) if she doesn’t make it to the Coke 600 by the race’s green flag.
“There are contingency plans in place on the NASCAR side, and everybody involved has been collaborative and supportive throughout the process,” Briney wrote. “But honestly, if we start getting into every hypothetical scenario publicly, I’m pretty sure I’ll accidentally end up driving the ‘e.l.f Cosmetics’ car myself by the end of the week.
“At this point we’re staying focused on executing Plan A — which is Katherine competing in all 1,100 miles.”
Similarities and differences to Kyle Larson
You might be reading this and wonder how this all compares to Kyle Larson’s preparations at The Double. The reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion, after all, tried the last two seasons to complete the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 in the same day — but couldn’t finish all 1,100 miles in either try.
The first year, in 2024, was a disaster of circumstances with rain. That year’s Indy 500 was delayed thoroughly because of a washed-out track, and by the time Larson finished his duties in Indianapolis and rushed to Charlotte Motor Speedway, the rain was pouring at Charlotte and the race was called.
The next year, in 2025, he wrecked out of Indy on Lap 91 and then wrecked out of Charlotte on Lap 245.
Larson told reporters after his 2025 attempt that The Double is “logistically too tough” for him to try again. The window of time is too tight, he said, and that if he didn’t wreck in the Indy 500, he probably wouldn’t have made it to the Concord racetrack in time.
Those are some powerful words from a driver who works for Hendrick Motorsports — one of the largest organizations in American motorsports, with its own planes, its own helicopters, its own IndyCar and NASCAR programs that Larson could be plugged-in on.
Legge, meanwhile, is neither full-time in IndyCar nor NASCAR. She has a good partnership with Live Fast Motorsports and co-owner BJ McLeod, and she ran in seven Cup races in 2025 and one earlier this season at Watkins Glen. As for the IndyCar side? It’s an effort that requires a mix of people to pull off, she said.
“For us, we’re kind of the little team that can,” Legge said.
She expounded: “We’re not Hendrick, you know? We don’t have planes. We don’t have helicopters. And by the way, Hendrick has been wonderful helping us, and so have Kyle and his people. Their management and PR and everybody have been helping us navigate it. But we don’t have the hundreds of people working on this that Kyle would’ve had. We don’t have the Indy-side team that Kyle had. We put the IndyCar program together with a mix of (organizations).
“It’s not like this program has been established before. And it’s done on a lot less budget. It’s just — we are the little guys.”
‘People understand this moment’
This all merely scratches the surface of what Sunday might hold for Legge and her team — a day that was a dream two years ago and was kickstarted into action earlier this month, after dominoes fell into place during Watkins Glen weekend May 10.
No time to focus much on the history Legge might make, building on the shoulders of women racers like Janet Guthrie and Danica Patrick and others.
No time to dwell on any unproductive anxiety about the rain.
No time, really, to focus on what Briney will need to do during the race, either — because he has sponsor-entertainment responsibilities while Legge is driving, too.
And any extra time you do have? It should be spent soaking the chaos in and being gracious for it.
“The most challenging part is that there’s effectively no margin for error,” Briney said. “You’re trying to synchronize two of the biggest events in motorsports across two states, multiple sanctioning bodies, aviation teams, race teams, media schedules, weather, traffic and timing windows that don’t really care how ambitious your plan is.”
But, Briney added, that the most humbling part has been watching “how many people across the industry have rallied behind the idea.” And not just behind the scenes.
“So many drivers have reached out personally,” he said. “There’s a real sense that people understand this moment means something beyond just one race weekend or one driver.
“The best advice we’ve gotten actually came from Kyle Larson. He told Katherine to make sure she takes time to enjoy it. It’s easy to get consumed by the logistics and the chaos surrounding something this ambitious. So honestly, I’m trying to take that advice to heart too.”
Legge certainly is.
She’s made peace with all the planning her and her team have done. She’s just ready to race, she said.
“We know what we’re doing,” she said. “I hope.”
This story was originally published May 21, 2026 at 3:45 AM with the headline "Helicopters, rain, faith: Legge and her ‘military operation’ attempt The Double."
