Cody Ware

Ware was the majority pilot of his team's No. 51 Ford entry last season. He made 35 of the 36 events en route to just one Top-10 finish for the campaign. Ware would end up a distant 32nd-place in the final driver standings of last year and post a 27.8 average finish. At the time of this writing, there has been no confirmation that Ware will return in a full-time capacity to this team. The owner/driver has raced part-time in the past and could easily decide to revert to that status. Either way, part-time or full-time, this small team faces the uphill battles, equipment and personnel challenges of a small racing team. By a lot of measures and metrics Ware's campaign last season was his best performance-wise, and also an indicator of this team's high water mark in terms of potential.

Rick Ware Racing has hammered out a technical alliance with Stewart Haas Racing and that should help them with performance in 2022. Ware is coming off his first near-full season of Cup Series competition last year. In 32 starts he had some highlights and low lights, but generally a performance to build on going forward. Ware will pilot one of two full-time entries for RWR in the upcoming season. He'll be paired once again with veteran crew chief, Mike Hillman Sr., and the two will continue to build on their chemistry from 2021. Ware didn't manage any Top-20 finishes last year, but that could change in the upcoming season. The new technical alliance with SHR and the switch to Fords could pay some noticeable dividends right away. Still, he only has a 31.1 average finish from last season to build on, so anything will be an improvement.

Only made two starts between the Xfinity Series and Cup Series all of 2020. His 2021 plans have not been announced, but it could be another season of very light engagement in NASCAR's top two touring series with his family's Rick Ware Racing team.

Rick Ware Racing will field three full-time teams this season, so it looks like Ware could increase his involvement in NASCAR's top division. While he's yet to be named to one of the three rides, he could race roughly half the schedule in one of them. Last year's 13 starts netted just one Top-30 finish for this young driver. However, Ware got valuable seat time for his extended growth as a driver. The 24-year-old has a lot of room to grow and it looks like he could be upping his involvement at the Cup level this season. Ware will also do some racing in IMSA for Rick Ware's new venture into sports car racing. 2020 is shaping up to be a very busy season for this young driver, but he still has a lot to learn before he can improve.

Rick Ware Racing is gearing up for the 2019 season, and that means Ware will get full-time action in one of the team's two rides. It will likely be RWR's No. 52 Chevrolet that will be his seat. The 23-year-old driver made just four starts last season split between the team's two cars. It was a multi-driver lineup approach that saw several pilots in the team's Chevrolets. Ware registered two DNF's and 28th- and 38th-place finishes at Phoenix and Talladega. His racing activities have been ramping up over the past three seasons, but this will be his first full-time attempt in NASCAR's top division. For quickly growing, small race teams there is always a tremendous learning curve. We expect Ware and this race team to experience those growing pains in 2019.