Ware ‘Over The Moon’ With Cup Series Career-Best

Cody Ware (Matthew Thacker/Nigel Kinrade Photographer)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – There was no wiping the smile off of Cody Ware’s face following Saturday night’s wild finish to the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona Int’l Speedway.

After a tumultuous 18-month stretch for the 28-year-old, who returned to NASCAR Cup Series competition in April following an indefinite suspension a year earlier, he reached his highest point yet with a career-best fourth-place finish at the World Center of Racing.

Ware was one of only seven drivers all night who wasn’t involved in any on-track incident, and snuck through the night’s final crash with two laps left in regulation, when Josh Berry and Austin Cindric collided on the backstretch while racing for the lead and Berry’s car flipped onto its roof.

He lined up fifth for overtime – the third car on the inside lane – with fellow Ford  veteran superspeedway racer and 2012 Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski behind him as his pusher during the last restart.

Keselowski stayed committed to Ware’s rear bumper throughout the two-lap sprint to the finish, with the duo glued to the double yellow line on the bottom of the 2.5-mile oval as they tried to progress forward.

Coming off turn four to the checkered flag, Ware got a run when rookie Parker Retzlaff and Bell banged doors, allowing the second-generation driver to shoot up the inside lane and edge out fourth place at the finish line in a hectic, three-wide scramble.

Not only was it the top result of Ware’s 103-race Cup Series career, the Greensboro, N.C., native also matched Rick Ware Racing’s best-ever finish – first set by David Ragan in the 2020 Daytona 500.

Cody Ware (15) battles Daniel Hemric (31) and Alex Bowman Saturday night at Daytona Int'l Speedway. (Danny Hansen/NKP Photo)

“I’m on cloud nine right now,” a jubilant Ware said afterward. “Late in the race, things were getting pretty hectic, but I knew I was in good hands when I had Keselowski behind me. I knew I had a good pusher, and we’ve been working with RFK Racing through our [technical] alliance, so I really felt like we were lined up perfectly. I really appreciate him working with us to get to the front.

“Our Ford Mustang Dark Horse wasn’t quite fast enough to make a move on the guys in front of us, but putting Rick Ware Racing at the front of the pack today was a phenomenal experience,” added Ware, whose teammate Justin Haley led 21 laps before being involved in a late crash. “It’s just really, really cool to see how far we've come.

“I can't wait to see what we can put together [as an organization] in these last 11 races.”

Saturday night’s summer classic at Daytona was Ware’s sixth Cup Series start of the year. He’s expected to run as many as four additional races before the season ends.

His previous best was a sixth-place finish in the 2022 edition of the Coke Zero Sugar 400.

But Saturday night not only bettered that mark, it was also a sigh of relief and a positive step forward for a driver “just looking to get back to racing.”

“This one means a lot,” Ware affirmed.