“If His Family Didn’t Own the Team, He Would Not Have a Ride”: Cody Ware Faces Wrath of Fans Amid Full-Time Return

Rick Ware Racing confirmed in January that Cody Ware would return to pilot their #51 entry in 2025, resuming his full-time NASCAR Cup Series career after a break of over one and a half years due to his arrest in 2023 related to a complaint filed by his girlfriend. Last year, Ware competed part-time with the team, securing a top-5 finish in the process. However, NASCAR fans seem to disagree with his full-time return.

In a recent interview segment released by Bob Pockrass, Cody discussed his performance last year, which saw an average finish of 21st over nine starts, and the overall improvement of the Rick Ware Racing team.

“A lot of that was in part to how much better the team at Rick Ware Racing has gotten,” he noted.

Regardless of his or the team’s performance, his remarks did not resonate with fans, who voiced their skepticism in the post’s comments. One fan critically pointed out, “Let’s be honest, if his family didn’t own the team he would not have a ride,” mentioning Cody’s familial ties to RWR team owner, Rick Ware.

Another fan mentioned his past legal issues, stating, “No one cares about your improvement on the track Cody you got still got a lot to prove to us off the track.”

Additionally, his controversial past was alluded to by another fan who wrote, “I don’t like how he hits woman #ALLEGEDLY.” In April 2023, NASCAR suspended Cody following his arrest on allegations of physically assaulting his girlfriend.

However, all charges were eventually dismissed after neither Ware nor his ex-girlfriend chose to testify in court.

What brought the uplift in performance for RWR last year according to Cody?

Ware attributed last year’s enhancements to the team’s alliance with RFK and the enhanced resources and tools now at their disposal, which he believes led to better results for him.

“I think it’s… definitely tough from the part-time perspective to run consistently like that,” he admitted. “But I think that given what we’re able to do with my part-time schedule, the #15 car, I think that becomes the baseline for where I need to be running in the #51 car full time this year,” Cody added.

He also expressed that while Justin Haley with an average finish of 23.42 performed commendably, he was replaced by Corey Lajoie at the season’s end, hinting towards further room for improvement. It remains to be seen if the 29-year-old can redeem himself as he gets his second chance in the sport.