The NASCAR Cup Series has rapidly evolved – and continues to rapidly evolve – in recent years – and through it all, Rick Ware Racing continues on. But what's really next for them?
MOORESVILLE, N.C. — The NASCAR Cup Series has rapidly evolved – and continues to rapidly evolve – in recent years – and through it all, Rick Ware Racing continues on.
Out of all of the teams left in the Cup Series, RWR is the last connection to a type of team at the core of the series – a single, independent owner bringing together resources, partnerships and alliances to be able to hit the track each week.
© Gary A. Vasquez | 2025 Oct 31 2026 marks RWR's ninth full-time Cup season and 10th overall with multiple entries. Results have been meager for the organization, with two top-five finishes and 11 top-10 finishes in 702 entries, but the team has made incremental gains since the Gen 7 car debuted in 2022.
RWR has scored a top-five finish and eight top-10 finishes in the last four seasons -- compared to two and three in the previous five -- and attracted notable names like Ryan Newman, Jenson Button, Justin Haley, J.J. Yeley and Corey LaJoie.
Newman, Button and Yeley make their mark on the team in 2023. Newman made eight starts while Button made three and Yeley made 26.
Yeley had the best showings, running up front late in a rain-shortened July race at Atlanta before finishing seventh. He also finished 16th, on the lead lap, in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte in May.
The following year, Justin Haley had a breakthrough season in Cup. He scored two ninth-place finishes – at Darlington in May, World Wide Technology Raceway Gateway in June – and amassed an average finish of 23.1.
While 2025 started strong, with Corey LaJoie nearly winning the Daytona 500 for RWR, the team was invisible the rest of the season with primary driver Cody Ware.
© Mark J. Rebilas | 2025 Nov 2 Ware finished last of all full-time drivers in points – 36th – and had an average finish of 30.4. His one high point was at Daytona in August when he led 23 of 160 laps (third-most of any driver on the night) and looked to be in contention to pull off an upset win to make the Chase under the old win-and-you're-in format. He later reprised his Daytona success at Talladega in October when he led a few laps and ran up front.
Ultimately, Ware never finished inside the top 20 at any non-superspeedway race and only finished 13th at Atlanta in June and 20th at Daytona in August.
The team is switching from Ford to Chevrolet in 2026 and forming a new partnership with Richard Childress Racing. A new Chevrolet body, on the surface, seems like a good proposition for a team like RWR to take advantage of – but Chevrolet is getting crowded with a team like Haas Factory Team also coming over.
Add on to it, Legacy Motor Club is set to acquire one of their charters after the two organizations settled a lawsuit over a botched sale. RWR owns a charter for their No. 51 car and leases one to RFK Racing for one of their cars. What happens in 2027 remains to be confirmed.
In 2026, Ware and the No. 51 team will likely be last in points and far from even thinking about the Chase, especially with win-and-you're in now gone.
However, an upset win for the team can't be ruled out. If they can get it done, it would be a cool win for an underdog, independent team that represents a side of the sport that is quickly fading away.