INDIANAPOLIS — Katherine Legge didn’t know she’d have a shot at the Indianapolis 500 until it was time to qualify, when Schmidt Peterson Motorsports decided to put her in its second car at the last second.

Pippa Mann chatted with tire makers, dropped in on the folks from the television networks and even tried to get cozy with engine maker Honda in the hopes of landing a ride.

Both of them have overcome long odds to join Ana Beatriz and Simona de Silvestro in Sunday’s 33-car field, matching the record of four women starters. But in their minds, just starting the race is no longer a story: The next big story will be win a woman finally wins.

“Until somebody is competitive on a regular basis, and winning races, and then probably more than one, it’s still going to be a bit of a novelty,” Legge said Thursday. “And it stinks in a way, because there’s no reason for it.”

Especially given the history of women at the Brickyard.

Janet Guthrie was a pioneer when she qualified for the first time in 1977, eventually making three starts at Indianapolis. She finished ninth in 1978, and even put to rest much of the remaining machismo when she revealed that she had driven with a broken wrist.