Ware returned to the Truck Series in 2017, driving the No. 12 for RWR on a part-time basis.[17] He attempted but failed to qualify for the 2018 season opener at Daytona with Mike Harmon Racing.[12]
He joined RWR's Cup Series program, driving the No. 51 part-time in 2017.[19] He made his Cup debut in the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta, driving the No. 51 with sponsorship from Spoonful of Music and Bubba Burger.[20] Ware started and finished 39th, retiring from the race on lap 74 with steering problems.[21] At Dover and Pocono, Ware's No. 51 acquired sponsorship from East Carolina University and Clemson University, respectively, with the latter also featuring logos celebrating the football team's 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship win earlier in the year.[22][23] During the Dover race, Ware withdrew from the event after 283 of 406 laps after developing back pain. A week later at Pocono, he left the race after completing 35 laps, again for back problems.[24] He was scheduled to drive at Michigan but Ware decided to stay out of the car for the race and the team did not find a replacement driver in time.
He returned to the No. 51 for Darlington's Bojangles' Southern 500, where he drove a car painted like Tom Cruise character Cole Trickle's Mello Yello vehicle of the same number in the film Days of Thunder; Ware's No. 51 featured logos saying "Pray for Texas", with RWR producing merchandise of the car and donating all proceeds to Hurricane Harvey relief efforts.[25] On lap 157, Ware was involved in a wreck with Matt DiBenedetto and A. J. Allmendinger; after the race, Ware and DiBenedetto argued on Twitter over responsibility for the wreck. When DiBenedetto faulted Ware for the incident, the latter replied by falsely accusing him of infidelity, causing a firestorm that led to Ware deleting his social media for the rest of the season and up through 2018.[26] A few months later, in February 2018, Ware restarted his Facebook profile and announced his Asperger's diagnosis in May. Ware later revealed in a January 2019 interview that the incident with DiBenedetto was one of his "biggest setbacks ever", but acknowledged "hitting rock bottom (after that) was the best thing that happened to me because that really gave me the wake-up call of 'hey, this is only going to get worse, and you're never going to come back from it unless you do something about it right now.'"[27]
In 2018, Ware transitioned to motorcycle racing, but returned to the Cup Series for RWR at Dover.[12] He also ran the Sonoma race, where he would DNF and place last.
Ware increased his Cup schedule in 2019 to 13 races, which also included the Daytona 500; in the race, he and RWR teammate B. J. McLeod crashed while several cars were entering the pit road, causing him to finish 39th.[28] At Sonoma, he was forced to exit the race on lap 64 when broken air conditioning caused him to suffer carbon monoxide poisoning.[29] In September, he intended to race at the Charlotte Roval, but was replaced by J. J. Yeley as he continued to feel unwell from his damaged coolbox in the previous day's Xfinity race.[13]
His lone 2020 Cup start was the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Towards the end of the race, due to a lot of front runners being involved in crashes, Ware was racing in the top ten until he crashed on the backstretch on the final lap, but was able to finish 19th for his first Cup Series top 20.[30]
On January 18, 2021, RWR announced Ware would run the full 2021 Cup season in the team's No. 51 car.[31] During the April Martinsville race, Ware was involved in an incident with teammate James Davison: on lap 37, contact from Ware's right front fender into Davison's left rear quarter panel sent the latter spinning into the outside wall.[32] The race was postponed to the next day after weather, and radio communications between Ware and his crew chief revealed displeasure towards Davison, with Ware threatening to turn him if he encountered him again. After the team threatened to park Ware, the two raced for the rest of the event. Ware missed the Richmond playoff race and was substituted by Garrett Smithley after he was sidelined with carbon monoxide poisoning following the 2021 Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington.[33] At Bristol Motor Speedway Ware got into Chase Elliott, the two would become heated after the race.
Ware returned to the No. 51 for the 2022 season, starting with a 17th-place finish at the 2022 Daytona 500. At Sonoma, the No. 51 failed pre-race inspection four times and was hit with an L1 penalty, resulting in a start at the back of the field and a pass-through penalty on the first lap. In addition, the team was deducted 20 owner and driver points.[34][35] On August 23, crew chief Billy Plourde was suspended for four races after the No. 51 lost a ballast during practice at Watkins Glen.[36] The following week at Daytona for the 2022 Coke Zero Sugar 400, Ware avoided a massive wreck with over 20 laps to go and was in P4 before the rain delay. After the delay, Ware ran with the leaders and finished a career-best 6th place for his first career Cup Series Top 10 finish. At Texas, Ware was involved in a hard crash on lap 168 after hitting the turn 4 wall and hitting the pit wall afterward but was treated and released from the infield care center without serious injury. He sustained an impaction fracture on his ankle from the crash.[37] Although Ware was cleared for (and competed in) the following Talladega race, Ware skipped the Charlotte Roval race due to his injury, with Yeley substituting him in the No. 51.[38]
Ware returned to the No. 51 for 2023, starting with a 14th-place finish in the 2023 Daytona 500. After running the season's first seven races, he announced he would miss the 2023 Food City Dirt Race at Bristol due to a personal matter. A day after the race, on April 10, Ware was indefinitely suspended by NASCAR after being arrested and charged with a felony assault by strangulation as well as a misdemeanor assault on a woman in Iredell County, North Carolina.[39] Rick Ware Racing would replace Ware with various drivers on race-by-race basis, starting from Zane Smith for the next race at Martinsville.[40]
On December 12, 2023, Ware was reinstated by NASCAR after the charges against him were dropped.[41]
On January 21, 2024, During the broadcast of the 2024 IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge Race 2, it was announced that Ware would run 10 races in the Cup Series if sponsorship allowed.[42] On April 15, it was revealed that Ware would race the No. 15 RWR entry at Talladega, which would be his first NASCAR race back since his suspension.[43] In the 2024 Coke Zero Sugar 400, Ware would post a new career-best 4th place finish, his second top 10 and first top 5 in the Cup Series.
On January 15, 2025, it was announced that Ware would return to full-time competition in the Cup Series for the 2025 season, driving the No. 51 for RWR.[44]
IndyCar Series
Entering the 2021 racing season, Ware expressed interest in running a part-time IndyCar Series schedule for Dale Coyne Racing with RWR, including the possibility of performing Double Duty of running the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in the same day.[45] In April, he participated in an IndyCar test for DCR at Texas Motor Speedway.[46] He was entered for the 500 in the No. 52, and Garrett Smithley was placed in his No. 51 Cup car for that day's Coca-Cola 600; although Ware completed rookie orientation, a lack of sponsorship forced the entry to be withdrawn.[47] Ware instead ran the 600 in the No. 53 that he took over from J. J. Yeley.
On June 15, it was announced that Ware would make his IndyCar Series debut at the REV Group Grand Prix at Road America, driving the No. 52 entry.[48] He would go on to finish 19th and on the lead lap.
Personal life
In February 2018, Ware tweeted that he struggles with depression and anxiety.[49] Three months later, he revealed on Facebook that he has Asperger syndrome.[50]
In May 2021, Ware revealed that during his teenage years, a group of friends led him to the woods only to douse gasoline on him and set him on fire, resulting in severe burns on the back of his legs.[51]
Ware's younger brother Carson raced in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Truck Series, and ARCA Menards Series.[52] He was suspended by NASCAR in October 2021 after being arrested on assault and property damage charges, he was reinstated on June 8, 2022.[53][54]
On April 10, 2023, Ware was arrested for a felony assault by strangulation and a misdemeanor on a female.[55] He originally missed the Food City Dirt Race at Bristol due to what was initially announced as personal reasons and was replaced by Matt Crafton, who finished 34th with engine problems. NASCAR indefinitely suspended him on April 10.[56] The charges were dropped by prosecutors in December, upon which Ware was reinstated to NASCAR.[57]
Motorsports career results
NASCAR
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
* Season still in progress 1 Ineligible for series points 2 Ware began the 2018 season racing for Truck Series points but switched to Cup Series points before the race at Sonoma. 3 Ware began the 2019 season racing for Cup Series points but switched to Xfinity Series points before the race at Talladega. 4 Ware began the 2021 season racing for Cup Series points but switched to Xfinity Series points before the race at the Daytona road course.
^"Cody Ware reinstated by NASCAR". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Jayski.com. December 12, 2023. Retrieved December 12, 2023. NASCAR announced Tuesday that it has reinstated Cody Ware.
