In one week, the NASCAR Cup Series teams will unload at Daytona International Speedway and hit the track. Practice and qualifying for the Daytona 500 will take place, setting the lineups for the Duels. There are only a handful of teams left to cover. Hitting the bottom of last year’s owner points, 7 Days to Daytona will be covering the Rick Ware Racing #51 team.
The #51 Team
Driver: Cody Ware
Crew Chief: Billy Plourde
Sponsors: Jacob Companies, American Red Cross
2024 Statistics: 9 Starts, 1 Top-5, 1 Top-10, 21.0 Average Finish
2025 Season Preview
Night & Day Difference
Heading into last season, Rick Ware Racing looked to have a promising future. Justin Haley was piloting the 51 while a pair of young drivers were sharing the 15, along with Cody Ware. Plus, the alliance with RFK Racing looked to help progress the team out of the back marker status. However, this year sees Rick Ware Racing taking a step backward. Haley left in a late season trade with Spire Motorsports. Meanwhile, RWR is leasing the 15 charter to RFK. For 2025, Cody Ware will be the lone fulltime driver with the 15 making sporadic starts.
Charter Confiscation
For the fourth consecutive season, Rick Ware Racing’s chartered entries have finished in the bottom third of owner points. Per the previous charter agreement, NASCAR could technically take RWR’s charters due to this ineptitude. Based on progression, NASCAR decided to not enforce the rule. However, will another season of significantly lagging behind the other teams justify retaining the charter? Based on The Clash, it looks as if the 51 will struggle to finish inside the Top-30 most weekends. How will NASCAR feel about a charter finishing bottom third for a fifth straight season?
Superspeedway Cinderella
During the NextGen era, superspeedways have usually offered one surprise winner per season. Last year, it was the ultimate Cinderella story at Daytona as Harrison Burton pulled off the upset. In that same race, Cody Ware picked up his lone Top-5 of his career. Although Rick Ware Racing struggles at every other track, superspeedways have been their best races. If there were to be a surprise winner, why not Cody Ware?
Daytona 500 Outlook
As mentioned earlier, Cody Ware is coming off a Top-5 at Daytona International Speedway. Granted, it was in the summer race rather than the Daytona 500. However, the last time Ware ran the 500, he managed to finish inside the Top-15. In fact, Ware has yet to finish outside the Top-20 in his 4 NextGen starts at Daytona. Does that mean he will be a serious threat for a Top-5 again? Probably not, but if the race does turn into one of survival, Ware could be one of the last cars on the lead lap. Under that circumstance, maybe there is a Cinderella story to win the Daytona 500 for the first time since Trevor Bayne.
Days to Daytona Countdown
40 Days: Team Penske #22; 39 Days: Team Penske #12; 38 Days: Hendrick #24;
37 Days: 23XI Racing #45; 36 Days: Joe Gibbs Racing #20;
35 Days: Hendrick Motorsports #5; 34 Days: Hendrick Motorsports #9;
33 Days: Joe Gibbs Racing #11, 32 Days: Henrick Motorsports #48;
31 Days: Joe Gibbs Racing #19; 30 Days: Team Penske #2;
29 Days: Trackhouse Racing #99; 28 Days: RFK Racing #6;
27 Days: Trackhouse Racing #88; 26 Days: Joe Gibbs Racing #54;
25 Days: Wood Brothers Racing #21; 24 Days: RFK Racing #17;
23 Days: 23XI Racing #23; 22 Days: Trackhouse Racing #1;
21 Days: Richard Childress Racing #8; 20 Days: Spire Motorsports #77;
19 Days: Front Row Motorsports #38; 18 Days: Front Row Motorsports #34
17 Days: Front Row Motorsports #4; 16 Days: Hyak Motorsports #47;
15 Days: Haas Factory Team #35; 14 Days: 23XI Racing #35; 13 Days: Kaulig Racing #16
12 Days: Legacy Motor Club #43; 11 Days: Kaulig Racing #10;
10 Days: Spire Motorsports #71; 9 Days: Spire Motorsports #7;
8 Days: Richard Childress Racing #3
