The final race of the regular season at Daytona International Speedway next Saturday promises chaos, with drivers outside the playoffs looking for a last-ditch win and those clinging to a postseason spot scrambling to stockpile points. Rick Ware Racing’s Cody Ware intends to harness that storm by reading the field and sizing up the rivals around him.
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Ware has rarely run at the sharp front of the pack, yet Daytona has been kinder to him than most tracks. In eight starts, he holds an average finish of 19.3, with one top-five, two top-10s, and four top-20s. His top-five run came in last year’s Coke Zero Sugar 400, fueling his confidence heading into Saturday night.
Coming off his Richmond setback, Ware voiced optimism about Daytona, saying, “Finding a drafting partner is situational, especially in this race, with it being the last race before the playoffs. There are guys who will take a lot more risk trying to win their way into the playoffs.”
Last year, his drafting partner, Brad Keselowski, helped him race hard and get a good restart. And that was a large part of him finishing P4 in the second race of the season at Daytona.
Talking about how he will capitalize on the opportunities, he said, “Knowing which guys are on the bubble and who is already locked into the playoffs is important. Some guys might be less aggressive, some might be willing to take all the risk, either because it’s their last chance to make the playoffs, or because they’re already in and they feel like they’re playing with house money, so they go hard for another win.”
“So, just having good awareness and navigating all that is important. You do a good bit of homework leading up to the race just to understand where everyone is in the points,” he concluded. Ware believes he has sharpened his craft on superspeedways, which is what the results show.
Ware has recently drawn the ire of fans for his aggressive retaliation at Richmond, where he attempted to wreck John Hunter Nemechek after earlier contact in Turn 1. With only one top-20 finish in 25 starts this season, his struggles have amplified the backlash, many insisting he doesn’t belong on the track.
Still, a second straight top-five finish in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 would silence some critics and cool the heat coming his way.
