PEOPLE and e.l.f. Cosmetics joined forces yet again for another exciting occasion!

On Friday, May 23, PEOPLE and e.l.f. Cosmetics hosted a kickoff party celebrating Katherine Legge, who was the only woman to compete in the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ BetMGM 300 Saturday, and is the only woman currently competing in the NASCAR Cup & NASCAR Xfinity Series.

The party, held at Folia in Charlotte, North Carolina, was co-hosted by PEOPLE’s Dory Jackson and NASCAR host Carla Metts.

Thanks to e.l.f. Cosmetics, Legge’s primary sponsor, guests got to take cute photos in a PEOPLE-inspired photo booth. They also snacked on an array of small bites, from shrimp to empanadas, and sipped on drinks from the open bar.

There was also a charm bracelet and necklace-making station, courtesy of The Link Lab.

Guests left the party with some e.l.f. swag, including e.l.f.’s Power Grip Primer and e.l.f.’s Suntouchable Invisi-Stick SPF 50.

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Legge had some starry names in attendance to help her celebrate the special occasion. Yellowstone alum Kelsey Asbille, The Summer I Turned Pretty‘s Rain Spencer and journalist Alicia Quarles were present for the gathering.

Barstool personalities Kelly Trotta, Maddie Schrader and Rae Reichert were there for the day, taking photos “behind the wheel” in e.l.f.’s racecar-themed photobooth. Additionally, several NFL cheerleaders made their way down as well.

After being properly introduced by the event’s co-hosts, as well as Patrick O’Keefe, e.l.f. Cosmetics Chief Integrated Marketing Officer, Legge addressed the attendees with an inspiring message.

“I feel quite emotional now. Tear in my eye,” Legge said as she greeted guests. “Honestly, super, super grateful and super proud to be here and to represent e.l.f. and to chat with all the wonderful PEOPLE people. It is a big weekend for us, it’s a big year for us, and when e.l.f. says that they stand for empowering women, like, that is no s—, people.”

“Like literally, I’ve never felt so empowered because this year we had a big pivot and this year I’m doing something that is making me uncomfortable and I’m getting comfortable being uncomfortable again because it’s totally new to me,” she continued. “Even though I probably have one of the most diverse careers in racing, I haven’t really experienced that much stock car racing.” 

Legge noted that she is “beyond grateful and beyond proud to represent e.l.f. and to have met so many amazing humans.”

“I think that this only happens once in your lifetime and so it’s my responsibility to do you all proud and so I am giving you 110%. I am trying my best, y’all. Like, I am not watching races from last year and, I will absolutely try and represent you the very best that I can. I got this!”

INDIANAPOLIS — In the most recent NASCAR Cup Series points race, Kyle Larson led 83 percent of the laps, won his third race of the still-young season and took over the series points lead heading into his Memorial Day weekend “Double” attempt.

Given his frequent success, Larson’s NASCAR rivals would have every reason not to like him. But among his peers, seemingly no one feels that way.

And after he’s won 26 Cup Series races since the start of 2021, they would also have every reason to cheer against him. But when the NASCAR drivers watch Larson in Sunday’s Indianapolis 500, awaiting their turn to race against him in Charlotte’s 600-mile race that night, many will be doing the opposite.

“Yeah, I root for him,” two-time NASCAR champion Kyle Busch said. “I wish him well in that endeavor. You hope one of your fellow guys goes out there and can show the world the NASCAR guys can do it as good as the IndyCar guys.

“I hope he does really well,” Larson’s NASCAR teammate Alex Bowman said. “He’s one of the greatest of our generation, certainly up there as far as the greatest have been.”

It would be easy to fill the rest of this story with similar quotes from Larson’s peers. “Just a badass,” former open-wheel driver and current NASCAR driver AJ Allmendinger said. “One of the best to do it,” Bubba Wallace said.

You get the point.

But some of the racing world thinks differently. Europeans scoffed last year when Larson declared he was a better all-around driver than F1 world champion Max Verstappen, whom many consider to be the best driver on the planet. Verstappen shrugged off the comment, but F1 fans — who tend to look down on American racers — had a field day with Larson’s remark.

Kyle Larson, during practice Friday at the Indy 500. Last year, in his first attempt at IndyCar’s crown jewel, he finished 18th. (Mark J. Rebilas / Imagn Images)

In the time since, Larson’s words have become the topic of ridicule every time he makes a mistake or crashes — and, in a game of telephone, turned into a belief Larson actually said he was the world’s best driver.

“People act like I’m the one who said I am the greatest race car driver in the world,” Larson told The Athletic. “I never said that. I just said I’m a better all-around driver than Max Verstappen. And they took that as I said, ‘I’m the greatest in the world.’”

Arguably, though, Larson’s claim is correct. Verstappen has dominated F1 and shown otherworldly talent; he is unquestionably one of the great racing drivers of all time. But Larson, at least to this point, has a vastly more diverse and successful racing resume.

He is a NASCAR champion in stock cars, won the 24 Hours of Daytona sports car race, has won the world’s biggest dirt sprint car race (Knoxville Nationals), the biggest dirt midget car race (Chili Bowl) and one of the biggest dirt late model races (Prairie Dirt Classic).

One of his teammates in the 24 Hours of Daytona, Tony Kanaan, is now the team principal of the Arrow McLaren outfit that fields Larson’s Indy 500 car. And the speed is obvious to Kanaan, a former Indy 500 winner.

“To me, he’s one of the biggest talents we’ve ever seen around the world,” Kanaan said.

That’s why this Indianapolis 500 attempt and the “Double” (which consists of running both Indy and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 on the same day in an 1,100-mile gantlet) is so important to Larson’s legacy. This is his final planned Indy 500, at least for now. If he truly wants to be in the conversation among the all-time greats, Larson could use a special moment Sunday on his resume.

Maybe that consists of simply completing all the laps. Maybe it’s a top-10 finish at Indy and then winning in Charlotte. Maybe, in what would be both highly improbable and one of the great American racing stories in history, it’s winning both.

At the top of the short list of the American racing GOATs is Mario Andretti, the only driver in history to win the Formula One world championship, the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500. But last year, Andretti said sweeping the Sunday “Double” would put Larson “in a space where he’ll probably be alone” among the greats.

“If he wins this and then goes to Charlotte and maybe even wins that?” Andretti told The Athletic. “Oh, my goodness! That would go down in history.”

Larson qualified fifth for last year’s Indy 500 — his only other attempt so far — but finished 18th after he made an error and was caught speeding on pit road. This year hasn’t gone as smoothly; he crashed twice in practice and qualified 21st — bumped up to 19th after the Team Penske penalties — for Sunday’s race.

It immediately sparked the “told you so” posts on social media from Larson’s detractors.

“I know he got grief for wrecking in practice, but it’s like, ‘How many (IndyCar) regulars are there who have wrecked in practice?’” former NASCAR champion Ryan Blaney said. “It’s just typical people, where when things go poorly, they like to s— on that person. When things go good, they don’t really give it any second thought.”

Five drivers have attempted the Double, which requires completing all 500 miles in Indianapolis and then flying to Charlotte for the start of the 600-mile NASCAR race. (And that’s after flying from Indiana to North Carolina the day before to qualify for the NASCAR race and then returning to Indy. Saturday, Larson qualified second for the Coke 600.) Only one has completed every mile: Tony Stewart in 2001, when he got top-10s in both races.

Kyle Larson hustles down the grid Saturday during qualifying for NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600. He’ll try Sunday to complete all 1,100 miles of the famed “Double.” (Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images)

Last year, a rain delay at Indianapolis made Larson late for the NASCAR race; he never got a chance to run the second part of the doubleheader, as rain also brought a halt to the Charlotte race before he could get in the car. This year could be his lone chance.

He has flown under the radar much more this time around, which is how he likes it. Not because Larson doesn’t want the attention, he said, but because he hates taking attention away from other drivers.

Though the hype has died down, Larson is now more experienced with an IndyCar — a vehicle that has far more tools inside the cockpit for drivers to use than in NASCAR.

“Last year I was just scared to do anything (with the tools),” he said. “I didn’t know how sensitive everything was going to be. This year, I’ve definitely played around with it a lot more. I’ve gotten way more comfortable with doing those things.”

It’s all part of the challenge of getting up to speed in an unfamiliar car, which is a major reason Larson’s “all-around” best claim has many believers. Few drivers in the world can jump between vehicles and get up to speed quickly; some refuse to even try.

Will Buxton, who will call the Indianapolis 500 for Fox Sports, was criticized by F1 fans in February when he declared many F1 drivers are “scared” to even attempt the Indy 500. But the “Drive to Survive” commentator and longtime F1 media mainstay insisted that is actually the case, citing conversations he’s had with drivers such as Daniel Ricciardo, Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas — who told him they didn’t want to race IndyCar because of the dangerous ovals (F1 is all on road courses and street circuits).

It doesn’t help that former F1 world champion Fernando Alonso failed to qualify for the race when he came over from F1 six years ago.

“Deep down, in places they don’t talk about very often, respect for (Indy 500) drivers is probably far higher than they ever publicly state, because they recognize there is risk involved here,” Buxton said of F1 drivers. “They realize these guys are at a very unique level you don’t find anywhere else in open-wheel racing.”

Verstappen himself has said he would never attempt the Indy 500, telling ESPN in 2022: “I don’t need to risk my life there.”

In the meantime, Larson just keeps adding to his resume. The 32-year-old isn’t just sticking to one series or type of race car; he’s not only driven a variety of vehicles but also has won in every single one of them.

Except IndyCar, at least so far. Could Larson actually win Sunday, sealing his legacy as one of the all-time greats?

“That race is special, and you want the best in the world to be there,” Allmendinger said. “And he’s definitely one of them.”

(Illustration: Demetrius Robinson / The Athletic; photos: Bob Goshert / For IndyStar / USA Today Network via Imagn Images, Brandon Badraoui / Lumen via Getty Images)

CONCORD, N.C. — Kyle Larson is doubling down when it comes to attempting “The Double” and has a much better idea of what to expect this time around.

While it may not be any less challenging than last year, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion who drives for Hendrick Motorsports is optimistic about the rare opportunity to make motorsports history by joining an exclusive club.

Larson is set to drive in two long races Sunday that will require some air time in between to travel from Indiana to North Carolina: IndyCar’s Indianapolis 500 and the Cup Series’ Coca-Cola 600. Competing in the famed open-wheel race and the longest race of the year on the stock-car circuit was a task he set out to accomplish last May but never had a chance to complete after weather disrupted the plan.

Rain delayed the start of the Indy 500, putting Larson well behind schedule in his quest. He finished 18th at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, then didn’t make it to Charlotte Motor Speedway until 249 laps had been completed on the 1.5-mile oval in Concord, North Carolina. He was set to jump in the Hendrick No. 5 Chevrolet and take over for replacement driver Justin Allgaier, but lightning and heavy rains forced officials to call the race.

Larson never turned a lap at Charlotte.

While the 32-year-old Californian is used to a hectic schedule — he often competes in sprint cars at dirt tracks between NASCAR obligations — the point of all that is, well, to race.

“Last year wasn’t as fun and exciting as people might think,” Larson said. “I was super bummed because I knew I wasn’t going to be able to race in both. I didn’t get to enjoy the pre-race stuff or anything, but hopefully this year it goes better with the weather and I can just enjoy the whole experience.”

The forecast for Sunday at both race sites looks a little more promising, although there’s still a small chance of rain at Indianapolis (Fox coverage begins at 12:30 p.m.) and the possibility of a thunderstorm at Charlotte (Amazon Prime Video’s first foray into NASCAR is set for 6).

If rain were to delay the start of the Indy 500 again, Larson’s attempt might be all but over.

Winning a Cup Series race essentially locks up a spot for the playoffs, and Larson already has three victories this year with the regular season just past its midpoint. However, NASCAR rules also stipulate that drivers must take part in every points race to reach the postseason.

Larson received a waiver from NASCAR last year due to missing the Coca-Cola 600, but the process was a bit drawn out because waivers into the playoffs have normally been granted for reasons such as absence due to illness or injury. Hendrick Motorsports has made clear this year that the Cup Series race is the priority for Larson, with the team unwilling to risk the possibility of missing out on a title shot for one of the favorites.

Jeff Gordon, the NASCAR Hall of Fame driver who is now a vice chairman at Hendrick, said the team has a “concrete plan” to have Larson at Charlotte in time for driver introductions, about 45 minutes before the race.

“He will be here by 5:45 p.m.,” Gordon said emphatically.

“I feel like the Hendrick aviation side does a really good job with logistics and working with motorsports to make sure all the timing’s right on everything and everything operates smoothly,” Larson said. “Yeah, we had the weather delay for the Indy 500 last year, but aside from that, the travel side of it was all smooth. So as far as I know, nothing is different this year.”

At the Indy 500, he will start on the seventh row at 19th overall in 33-car field, driving the Chevy-powered Arrow McLaren No. 17 car through an alliance with Hendrick. At the Coca-Cola 600, provided he makes it on time, Larson will be in much better position after qualifying second Saturday at Charlotte to join pole-sitter Chase Briscoe of Joe Gibbs Racing on the front row.

Only a handful of elite drivers have dared to take on the epic motorsports crossover. Tony Stewart set the standard for “The Double” in 2001, when he finished sixth at the Indy 500 and third at the Coca-Cola 600, becoming the first driver to ever complete all 1,100 miles.

Stewart remains the only member of the club, but Larson will make at least one more attempt to join him, a feat that could require more than eight hours in a race car Sunday.

“I love to race,” said Larson who won the Coca-Cola 600 in 2021 on his way to the Cup Series championship. “I love to compete in big events, and I love to try new things to challenge myself. I try to stay focused on making this the best experience I can and getting my car to drive the best it can while also enjoying the moment.”

Easier said than done, but Larson knows that better than most.

INDIANAPOLIS – NASCAR star Kyle Larson will be taking another shot at “the Double,” one of the most grueling feats in all of motorsports, when he tries to complete every lap of the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday.

Tony Stewart is the only driver to have successfully pulled it off, and that was nearly 25 years ago.

But while attempts have been scarce since John Andretti first tried it in 1994, that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of ambitious drivers interested. Defending Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden, Team Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin and reigning IndyCar series champion Alex Palou all expressed some desire to give it a go this week.

“Gosh, we could have a huge laundry list of people that should do it,” said Newgarden, who is aiming for an unprecedented third straight Indy 500 win. “You could ask the majority of the field (and they) would want to do the double. It’s so much fun.”

Yet it’s also a massive undertaking, which is why Stewart still stands alone, and not just on the driver who has to complete 1,100 miles around Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway — tracks some 550 miles apart. It also takes some serious financial support, the backing of teams in both IndyCar and NASCAR, tremendous logistical help, and plenty of luck that the weather cooperates, cars hold up mechanically and the driver is able to avoid any wrecks.

Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, whose brother Kurt completed the Indy 500 in 2014 but failed to finish the Coca-Cola 600, is among those who have tried to put together a deal to attempt “the Double” but haven’t quite pulled it off.

“It’s just very difficult to get that lined up,” Newgarden said. “Doing what Kyle (Larson) is doing right now, it’s harder than it looks. What I mean by that is just putting the program together. You would have a lot of people doing it if it was simple, I can promise you that. I think Kyle Busch has spoken publicly about trying to get something off the ground. That’s Kyle Busch. It should seem like it’s pretty likely for him to put a program together. It was quite difficult.”

So who else could be in line to try?

Ryan Blaney has contemplated it, and he presumably would have plenty of synergistic support given that Team Penske has established NASCAR and IndyCar programs. But it would take the convincing of team owner Roger Penske, who also owns the IndyCar Series, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500 — a race he has won a record 20 times.

“I would love to see Blaney do it at some point,” Newgarden said.

Six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon, who drives for Chip Ganassi Racing, was close to a deal years ago when that team still had a NASCAR program. Dixon pointed out that there are also conflicts of interest to overcome, such as when an IndyCar driver whose team is powered by Honda has the chance to drive a Cup Series car that might have a Chevrolet engine.

“It’s not an easy thing to do,” Dixon said. “Really admire the people that do it.”

Dixon paused, before telling Palou sitting next to him: “Alex, you should do it.”

“I would love to do it,” he replied. “I would do it.”

McLaughlin, another Team Penske driver with extensive stock car experience, was asked about trying to tackle both Memorial Day weekend races. Before jumping to IndyCar, McLaughlin was one of the most dominant drivers in the history of the Supercar Series in Australia and New Zealand, winning 56 races and three series championships.

Those races take place on road courses, though, and the Coca-Cola 600 is on the Charlotte oval. So, McLaughlin said, all those years of stock car experience Down Under might not translate so easily to a Cup Series car.

“The only reason you’d think that is is if it was road course-to-road course,” he said. “But I think the oval is a completely different kettle of fish. If I was to do ‘the Double,’ I would like to do an (oval) race before Charlotte.”

Larson’s attempt is once again a joint effort of Hendrick Motorsports on the NASCAR side and Arrow McLaren on the IndyCar side.

He had high hopes of completing all 1,100 miles last year, but rain wreaked havoc with his schedule. Larson managed to finish the rain-delayed Indy 500, then do the entire helicopter-plane-helicopter trip to Charlotte, only to be greeted there by more rain upon his arrival. It ultimately washed out the rest of the NASCAR race before he ever got a chance to turn a lap.

The forecast for Sunday? A bit chilly but most likely dry.

“I feel like the Hendrick aviation side does a really good job with logistics and working with motorsports to make sure all the timing’s right on everything and everything operates smoothly,” Larson said. “Yeah, we had the weather delay for the Indy 500 last year, but aside from that, the travel side of it was all smooth. So, as far as I know, nothing is different this year.”

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Jimmie Johnson will complete his 700th NASCAR Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Coca-Cola 600 Sunday, the racetrack that was the site of his series debut in 2001.

Johnson will start 17th in his No. 84 Carvana Toyota, becoming the 21st driver in NASCAR history to start 700 premier series races.

“It’s wild how my first start just coincidentally comes the same place as my 700th start,” Johnson said. “It means a ton to me. I’m a numbers guy, and to have these numbers play out – literally on their own, is really special.”

Johnson, the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, is competing in just his second start of 2025.

The 49-year-old driver has participated in select races since 2023, earning a third-place in the Daytona 500 this year as his highest finish in his part-time NASCAR racing era.

Johnson confirmed to the media Saturday at Charlotte the milestone start will not be his final NASCAR race.

No driver has ever won in their 700th start.

Richard Petty was the first driver to reach the milestone start in 1976, starting first and finishing fourth at Michigan.

Jeff Gordon’s third-place finish at Darlington in 2013 is the highest a driver has scored in start No. 700.

Prior to Johnson, Kyle Busch was the most-recent driver to hit the seven-century mark, finishing 25th at Indianapolis in 2024.

Denny Hamlin is set to be the next driver to make his 700th start, which will happen next week at Nashville Superspeedway.

The Coca-Cola 600 is scheduled for Sunday, May 25, at 6 p.m. ET.

Dominic Aragon is currently the editor-in-chief for The Racing Experts.

From Grants, New Mexico, USA, Aragon started watching NASCAR in 2004 and has been covering the sport since 2009. Aragon is a 2012 graduate of Grants High School and a May 2016 graduate of the University of New Mexico with a B.A. in Mass Communications & Journalism. Aragon has worked in local and national media, as a musician, and an educator. He is co-author of the 2024 book “All of It: Daytona 500 Champion Tells the Rest of the Story” with racer Geoff Bodine.

Aragon, his wife Feliz, and son Christopher currently reside in Grants, New Mexico, USA.

You can reach Dominic at daragon@theracingexperts.net.

Driving the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Chase Briscoe has collected yet another pole position in a NASCAR crown jewel event. He already earned pole for the season-opening Daytona 500, and now he’ll lead the field of 40 for the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday.

“I haven’t seen it yet, (but) I felt okay kind of everywhere,” Briscoe told NASCAR on Prime. “I felt like it wasn’t the most perfect lap by any means, but it was good enough. Just super excited to get the results on Saturday. I feel like we deserve it with Bass Pro Shops Toyota. This is obviously a great opportunity to lead the field to the green for 600 miles … Looking forward tomorrow and seeing if we can keep it up there.”

Watch: Chase Briscoe captures second pole of 2025 at Charlotte

Briscoe is just the tenth driver to earn pole position for both the 600 and the Daytona 500 in the same year, saying of the achievement: “It’s pretty wild to be honest, just thinking back – I never thought I would get to run a single Truck race, not only to be able to now lead the field to two crown jewel events. It is pretty special. Daytona was really, really neat. I don’t know if I quite savored the moment as much, because it was absolute chaos on that Sunday, but tomorrow will be really, really special, just being able to take it all on it a little bit more, just knowing what to expect. I’m excited.

“This is a race I’ve watched ever since I was a little kid, and to be able to start on the front row and lead the field to green is cool. Honestly, for me, being such an Indy 500 diehard, it’s pretty neat that the guy that I’m starting beside is racing the Indy 500 on Sunday. It is definitely a cool day for sure.”

Larson near the front

Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Photo by: James Gilbert / Getty Images

Kyle Larson will join Briscoe on the front row, missing out on pole position by just 0.020s. Larson will be attempting the rare ‘Double’ on Sunday, starting 19th in the Indy 500 before he heads to Charlotte to try and complete 1,100 miles of racing in a single day.

William Byron will start third, Chris Buescher fourth, and A.J. Allmendinger fifth. John Hunter Nemechek, Ty Gibbs, Noah Gragson, Alex Bowman, and Christopher Bell filled out the remainder of top ten.

Making his 700th career start, NASCAR legend and four-time Coke 600 winner Jimmie Johnson will start 17th.

In the session, Carson Hocevar spun exiting Turn 4, putting him at the back of the field for the race. He had shown speed in practice, posting the fastest single-lap speed. Tyler Reddick also had a brush with the wall on his qualifying lap. 

Ross Chastain, who crashed in practice after cutting a left-rear tire, did not make an attempt and will start 40th (last) on the grid.

Photos from Charlotte – Practice & Qualifying