The penultimate race of the 2025 Cup Series regular season at the Richmond Raceway involved multiple high-profile accidents. One of the most pressure-spiking among them was brought down by Cody Ware and John Hunter Nemechek. During a chaotic restart at the short track, the Legacy Motor Club driver made contact with Ware and caused him to spin in Turn 1.
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Frustrated, Ware tried returning the favor during Stage 2 on Lap 197 and attempted to wreck Nemechek. His repeated hits to the No. 42 Toyota Camry XSE led fans to express strong sentiments against him on social media. One comment on X said, “Dude has no business on a racetrack.” His underwhelming results this year, with a single top-20 finish, would suggest the same.
A second fan wrote, “Cody was hitting JHN so much you would’ve thought they were dating.” The subtle shot at the allegation that Ware had assaulted his former girlfriend is pretty hard to ignore with this one.
Another followed, “Park him. Right rear hook attempt just because he can’t drive doesn’t mean he didn’t attempt it.” Fortunately, Nemechek had been able to survive the ordeal. He finished his day in 36th place, four spots behind Ware.
Cody Ware’s attempt to wreck John Hunter Nemechek pic.twitter.com/90fcWCqlGR
— Andrew (@Basso488) August 17, 2025
This once again reflected poorly in one fan’s eyes. They asked, “How is this guy still in the sport? Can’t even wreck a guy properly.” There has been no mention of any penalty being levied on any of these drivers so far. The visit to Richmond was a disappointing one for both.
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Austin Dillon‘s playoff berth was snatched from his hands last year after he wrecked two drivers on his way to victory at Richmond Raceway. On Saturday night, he left no room for error. He raced clean till the very end and completed his arc of redemption by reaching Victory Lane again.
The Richard Childress Racing driver was engaged in a tense battle with Ryan Blaney over the final 100 laps at the 0.75-mile track. The clever decision to pit his car four laps earlier than Blaney’s Mustang resulted in him gaining the advantage. Ultimately, he led 107 laps and finished 2.471 seconds ahead of second-placed Alex Bowman.
Dillon is the 14th driver to lock his playoff position based on wins. The regular season will conclude next weekend at Daytona International Speedway, where the final two playoff drivers will be decided.
