2022 Season in Review: Rick Ware Racing

Drivers: Cody Ware (#51), Various (#15)

#51 Nurtec ODT Ford (Ware)

#15 Ford (various sponsors)

Engines: Roush-Yates

Crew Chief(s): Billy Plourde (#51), Jason Houghtaling (#15)

2022 Season Grade (Overall): C-

2022 Season Review (Cody Ware #51):

 2022 looked to be a landmark season for Rick Ware Racing and driver Cody Ware. Forging and alliance with Ford and Stewart-Haas Racing, as well as sponsor Nurtec ODT returning, the team was ready to take its next steps in the Cup Series.

The season started decently for the team, as Ware drove the purple #51 Ford to a 17th place finish in the Daytona 500 to kickstart the season. Following Daytona, performance started to slip, as Ware would struggle to break the Top 20 most races. The exception would again come in a rain-shortened second race at Daytona, where Ware would place his Ford a surprising 6th. Ware also drove to a 17th place finish in the second Bristol race. 

Then came the fall Texas race, where Ware bounced off the Turn 4 wall, and made hard contact with the pit road wall afterwards. While Ware was mostly ok, he did receive an ankle fracture that forced him to sit out the Charlotte ROVAL weekend. Fellow RWR driver J.J. Yeley took the wheel of the 51 that weekend, coming home 32nd.

The team also struggled mightily on the road courses in 2022, as the 51-car failed pre-race inspection four times in Sonoma, and was forced to start at the back, while also losing 20 driver and owner points. In Watkins Glen, crew chief Billy Plourde was suspended 4 races when the car lost a ballast. 

What started out as a season of improvement for the 51 team, quickly turned into another struggle throughout the ’22 campaign. By season’s end, Ware would place 32nd in the standings, with an average finish of 28th and 9 DNF’s.

2023 Outlook: While nothing has been announced as of yet, it is expected that Ware will return.

2022 Season Results: 

Various Drivers (#15):

While lacking sponsorship in 2022, the #15 Ford for Rick Ware Racing was the surprise of the season. Crew chief Jason Houghtaling squeezed everything he could from the 15, as the car (despite a constantly changing driver lineup), would frequently out-run his full-time teammates on the 51.

As was the case in previous years, the team saw a revolving door of drivers which included David Ragan, Garrett Smithley, J.J. Yeley, Joey Hand, Parker Kligerman, and Ryan Preece all get seat time. Ragan, who is known for his prowess on superspeedways was the strongest performer, scoring Top 10 finishes in both Daytona races.

Hand, a road course specialist, was chosen to run the road course events, but was not quite able to replicate Ragan’s superspeedway success, despite some occasional strong runs. Hand did however finish 20th in Sonoma, and 21st at Road America.

The remaining races on the schedule were filled in by veteran Yeley, Garrett Smithley, and SHR stand-by driver Ryan Preece. Parker Kligerman made his one-off attempt in the #15 Ford at Gateway, coming home 31st.

Full results for the season can be found below.

2023 Outlook: No plans have been announced, but this car is likely to return in 2023. 

2022 Season Results by Track: