Ever since NASCAR made the ridiculous decision to let Katherine Legge make her NASCAR Cup Series debut at Phoenix Raceway in March, less than one month after veteran Mike Wallace wasn't allowed to compete in the Daytona 500, there has been a boatload of criticism and even vitriol directed at Legge.
Legge did not help matters by spinning and then wrecking Daniel Suarez in that race, eliminating his bid for a potential much-needed top five finish.
She has not had the smoothest time in the Xfinity Series or ARCA Menards Series this year so far, either, posting five DNFs, two DNQs, and a single finish of 32nd place.
But the accomplished sports car driver had a career weekend on the streets of Chicago.
She was the pick of many, including myself, to miss the Grant Park 165, as for the first time since November 2018, the entry list for a non-Daytona 500 race featured more cars than available spots in the field.
Without debate, I think we can all accept the fact that, had 23XI Racing's Corey Heim not made contact with the wall during qualifying, Legge would have been the driver left out. But the cold, hard reality that Legge's critics need to face is the fact that Heim made a mistake while Legge didn't.
Heim is a driver whom many believe deserves a promotion to the Cup Series next year, given his success over the past four seasons in the Truck Series and the fact that he is this year's runaway points leader and clear championship favorite.
And he got straight-up beaten by a driver who supposedly can't drive.
Legge did have one minor issue in Sunday's race, but she was able to overcome it and walk away in 19th place, a 13-place improvement from her 32nd place finish in another relatively (and pleasantly) uneventful race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez three weeks prior. It was her best NASCAR finish of any kind since her 14th place effort in the 2018 Xfinity Series race at Road America.
And perhaps most significantly, it marked only the ninth time in the five-year history of Live Fast Motorsports that the No. 78 car has finished in the top 20, and she did it in only her third career start (and second career finish).
Like it or not, the former IMSA winner is the very type of driver this team needs for these kinds of races. Live Fast Motorsports have been a backmarker team since they entered the series in 2021, and now for the first time in team history, they have recorded back-to-back top 20 finishes, as team co-owner B.J. McLeod finished in 16th at Atlanta Motor Speedway the prior weekend.
Legge is set to return to the No. 78 Chevrolet for this coming Sunday afternoon's road course race at Sonoma Raceway as well, and she is set to return for the August races at Watkins Glen International (road course) and Richmond Raceway (short oval).
Will she continue her upward trajectory and manage to avoid more trouble?
Tune in to TNT Sports this Sunday, July 13 for the live broadcast of the Toyota/Save Mart 350 from Sonoma beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET.