How many times have you heard a race car driver talk about putting another driver “into the wall” for any number of revenge-based reasons? But how often do you hear a NASCAR Cup driver commend a fellow driver for putting himself into the wall?
Advertisement
That’s what Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Chris Buescher did on Saturday during media availability ahead of Sunday’s race at Sonoma Raceway. Buescher gave a lot of credit to Cody Ware, who had to do some extremely quick thinking during last Sunday’s Chicago Street Race.
Ware was motoring along, coming to a turn, when his brake pedal went all the way to the floor. He could have crashed into another driver to try and slow himself down, but instead quickly decided to run head-on into a tire wall in a solo wreck, preventing damage or harm to any other driver or car.
Ware was alright after the impact, which somewhat surprised Buescher, who was right behind Ware when the incident occurred.
“That was a massive hit,” Buescher said of what Ware experienced in the Windy City. “I’d seen him blow a rotor and I seen the parts scatter as soon as it happened. I was right there.”
After the race, Buescher spoke with Ware, who was sore but otherwise okay, leading Buescher to literally pat his fellow driver on the proverbial back.
Buescher said, “I did tell him, ‘I commend you for turning it right’ because that is the hardest thing to convince yourself as a driver if you have a failure, to turn into the wall to try and knock speed out. Instinct is to turn away and say, ‘I’m going to save this, I’m going to get there.’ He did everything right that he could do in that moment.”
A tire wall is NOT a soft wall
While some fans might think hitting a tire wall at high speed is less impactful than hitting a concrete wall, they’d be mistaken.
“If it had been an oval, he’d have scrubbed the wall all the way around the corner and come in and said, ‘Man, that sucked,’” Buescher said of Ware. “But with a street course like that, that impact was massive. I’m glad he’s okay. It’s just really unfortunate.”
Buescher has been in Ware’s position several times in his career and knows the selflessness and gutsiness it takes in a situation like that.
“I’ve had rotors blow out and you typically just don’t get a warning,” Buescher said. “That initial stab of the (brake) pad and it falls apart and you’re along for the ride.”
