Rick Ware Racing

Josh Bilicki driving Ware's No. 51 during qualifying for the 2017 Toyota/Save Mart 350.

In 1998 Rick Ware attempted to qualify a Ware Racing Enterprises Ford in the Winston Cup event at Sears Point Raceway but failed to make the race.

Rick Ware Racing (RWR) had made a handful of attempts in the NASCAR Cup Series beginning in 2004 with Stanton Barrett in the No. 52. In 2005, the organization made attempts with Larry Gunselman, José Luis Ramírez and Derrike Cope. In 2006 Larry Gunselman, Steve Portenga, Donnie Neuenberger and Stanton Barrett in the No. 52 and No. 30 respectively.

In 2007, Barrett attempted to make the Daytona 500 only to miss the race by a single position.

In 2011, Rick Ware Racing allied with the No. 37 Front Row Motorsports/Max Q Motorsports Sprint Cup Team. American Le Mans Series driver Tomy Drissi qualified for the Infineon Cup race, but NASCAR would not approve him for competition; Chris Cook drove the 37 to a 27th-place finish.

For 2012, Rick Ware Racing again allied with Max Q Motorsports to run Timmy Hill for the majority of the season in the No. 37 to vie for Rookie of the Year honors. After Mike Wallace failed to make Daytona, Hill DNQ'd the next race, but qualified in Vegas; he finished 42nd after a crash. When the team missed five races in six attempts, they were outside the top 35 and Ware moved Hill back to Nationwide, ending the partnership.

In 2017, Rick Ware Racing came back to the Cup Series with the No. 51 Chevrolet for most of the schedule. Timmy Hill drove at the Daytona 500, while he split the ride with Cody Ware throughout the season.[1] Josh Bilicki joined the team for the road course races,[2] while Kyle Weatherman, B. J. McLeod and Ray Black Jr. joined the team for races in the mid-to-late portions of the season.

On November 22, 2017, it was announced that Black would return to the 51 for a full 2018 season with a charter. The team did not disclose how they had acquired the charter. However, the deal with Black soon fell apart, leaving the 51 open for another driver. A second, part-time No. 52 car was announced with drivers Cody Ware, McLeod, Weatherman and John Graham.[3]

Rick Ware Racing ran the 2018 season with all three manufacturers. Justin Marks drove the No. 51 at the Daytona 500, finishing 12th.[4] The car was fielded in partnership with Premium Motorsports, powered by ECR Engines, and was sponsored by Harry's.[5] Harrison Rhodes joined the team for a one-off the following week at Atlanta to make his Cup debut.[6] A partnership with Stewart-Haas Racing brought Cole Custer to the car the following week at the spring Las Vegas race for his Cup debut.[7] Timmy Hill was brought in for the next two races, finishing 33rd at both the spring Phoenix race and Fontana.[8] Rhodes returned to the car for the next four races. Timmy Hill drove the car at the spring Talladega race. Cody Ware made his first start of the season at the spring Dover race. McLeod drove the car at the spring Kansas race and the 2018 Coca-Cola 600. Custer returned to the No. 51 at the Pocono 400 The No. 52 car was set to make its debut at Charlotte with McLeod behind the wheel; however, the entry was withdrawn and McLeod was moved to the No. 51 car. The No. 52 instead made its debut with Cody Ware at Sonoma while Chris Cook drove the No. 51. Jeb Burton drove the No. 51 at the fall Martinsville race.[9]

For the 2019 season, Rick Ware Racing dropped Toyota to focus on running Chevrolets and Fords. The No. 51 team was registered as Petty Ware Racing. At the 2019 Daytona 500, both RWR cars triggered an unusual crash on lap 159. As several cars were entering pit road, Cody Ware and McLeod collided, sending McLeod to the infield grass and Ware slamming into Tyler Reddick, who inflicted serious damage on Jimmie Johnson's left rear quarter panel. Ware then hit Ricky Stenhouse Jr. from behind before resting on the infield grass, causing Stenhouse to collide with Reddick. McLeod finished the race 19th while Ware finished 39th.[10] Prior to the 2019 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, car chief Mike Chance was ejected from the track after the No. 52 failed pre-qualifying inspection multiple times.[11] During the race, McLeod was involved in his second consecutive pit road incident when he pulled towards his pit stall and Ryan Preece slammed into the back of his car. McLeod's car then slammed into Chris Buescher's pit box and hit fueler Anthony Pasut, who suffered a broken fibula, a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), and other injuries to his right leg. The collision put Preece's car out of commission with a 35th-place finish while McLeod and Ware finished 32nd and 33rd, respectively.[12][13] In March, Bayley Currey made his Cup debut in the No. 52 at Phoenix.[14] Starting with the 2019 Coca-Cola 600, RWR fielded a third team, the No. 53, on a part-time basis.[15] Andy Seuss joined the team for his Cup debut at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July.[16] Starting with the 2019 Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race, RWR fielded a fourth team, the No. 54, on a part-time basis.[17] On August 15, 2019, Currey was indefinitely suspended for violating NASCAR's Substance Abuse Policy.[18][19] On September 18, Currey was reinstated by NASCAR after he successfully completed his Road to Recovery Program.[20] Prior to the Talladega race, the No. 52's hauler caught fire at the garage due to an electrical short.[21] On November 27, 2019, NASCAR imposed penalties to Rick Ware Racing, Premium Motorsports, and Spire Motorsports for manipulating their finishing order at Homestead. Each team was docked 50 owners' points and fined US$50,000. In addition, competition directors Kenneth Evans of Rick Ware Racing and Scott Eggleston of Premium Motorsports were suspended indefinitely and fined US$25,000 each.[22]

Rick Ware Racing made their NASCAR Nationwide Series debut in 2004 running a combination of Dodge and Chevrolet cars with various drivers. Stanton Barrett, Stan Boyd, Kim Crosby, Bobby Dotter, David Eshleman, Kenny Hendrick, Travis Powell, Morgan Shepherd, Shane Sieg, Dana White and J. J. Yeley all took turns at the wheel for RWR in their inaugural debut in the series under the No. 51 and No. 57 banner.

The organization took a five-year hiatus from the series to focus on the Motocross, Supercross, Arenacross, and Women's Motocross series' only to make a return in 2009.

With a new attitude, the organization returned under the Chevrolet banner and numbers 31 and 41. RWR purchased equipment from Stanton Barrett Motorsports to start the season and quickly moved to Earnhardt Childress Racing engines after power issues hindered the team.

Drivers Stanton Barrett, Derrike Cope, Tim Andrews, Travis Kittleson, Kerry Earnhardt, Tom Hubert, Kevin Hamlin, Daryl Harr and Justin Hobgood all split the time between the two cars. RWR later signed developmental driver Jeffrey Earnhardt, the grandson of Dale Earnhardt. Jeffrey Earnhardt's series debut at Dover was cut short with a late crash in practice and a subsequent DNQ.

2009 was a significant year for RW. At Lowes Motor Speedway, Stanton Barrett qualified the No. 31 in the 11th position. Kerry Earnhardt finished 12th at Talladega Speedway and also qualified 8th at Daytona International Speedway, both organizational benchmarks. Tim Andrews went into the history books as he was led by crew chief and father Paul Andrews, marking the first time in NASCAR history that a father was a crew chief for a son in the Nationwide Series.

In 2010, RWR ran in select races as it focused on the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. At Daytona, RWR went into the record books again, this time with driver Chrissy Wallace. Wallace became the first female driver to make her series debut at Daytona in the No. 41 Chevrolet. Danica Patrick also accomplished the feat in the same event. Stanton Barrett competed in the No. 31 Fuel Doctor Chevy at Daytona.

Barrett rallied to a 14th-place finish at Darlington Raceway while leading laps for the first time in RWR history. Barrett competed in 5 races for RWR in 2010 in both the 31 and 41 Chevrolet. J.C. Stout also made a race for Ware Racing at ORP.

RWR's No. 15 driven to the 2011 Rookie of the Year by Timmy Hill

For 2011, RWR returned to the Nationwide Series, running the No. 15 car with Fords purchased from Roush Fenway Racing. Ware ran ARCA development driver Timmy Hill for Rookie of the Year honors. Hill won Rookie of the Year but was forced to miss the season opener at Daytona because Hill didn't turn 18 (NASCAR's minimum age to drive in the three national series) until February 25. Germain Racing ran the No. 15 Toyota in Hill's place with Todd Bodine at Daytona before selling the points to RWR. RWR also ran the No. 41 Ford with drivers Patrick Sheltra, Carl Long, Jennifer Jo Cobb and Doug Harrington. RWR also formed a partnership with Fleur-de-lis Motorsports, fielding the No. 68 for Tim Andrews, Carl Long and Matt Carter. Clay Greenfield made his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut for the team in their No. 71 car in Atlanta Motor Speedway but was pinched up into the wall just under 100 laps into the race and finished 35th after starting in the 43rd position. Hill would eventually win Rookie of the Year over primary rivals Blake Koch and Ryan Truex.

In 2012, Koch joined RWR full-time as Hill moved up to RWR's Sprint Cup program. Hill ran the season-opening race at Daytona before the No. 15 was moved to a limited schedule with Jeffrey Earnhardt driving at Bristol with Sam's Club. Koch's original sponsor dropped their agreement due to ESPN not showing the sponsor's ad due to Koch being an outspoken Christian. Hill returned to Nationwide after a failed Rookie of the Year run in Cup, and drove the 41 while Koch drove the 15 as an occasional start and park. Riggs started and parked for Ware in the 75.

In 2013, the team returned with the No. 15 Ford Mustang driven by Juan Carlos Blum and Harrison Rhodes. The team also fielded cars for Carl Long. For 2014, RWR drove primarily with Carlos Contreras, Hill, and Josh Reaume.

In 2015, the team reunited with Contreras and Hill, but also ran with B.J. McLeod and Jimmy Weller III. For 2016, the team celebrated its 25th anniversary, The team partnered with B.J. McLeod Motorsports to share the No. 15, while RWR runs the 25. The team shut down the Xfinity program after the 2016 season to focus on the Truck Series.[23]

In 2017, despite this announcement, the team returned at Road America in a partnership with Mike Harmon Racing. John Graham drove the No. 74 (usually Harmon's number) for RWR because the car was locked in the race and Harmon's driver: Nicolas Hammann drove the No. 17 (usually RWR's number) and would have to qualify on time but since other cars withdrew both cars make the race. Cody Ware also drove for Harmon in a collaborative effort between RWR and MHR and he continues to drive the No. 74 car part-time for 2018.

In 2019, the team announced a full-time car numbered 17. Chris Cockrum drove at Daytona and Talladega. Bayley Currey ran most of the races. Kyle Weatherman ran at Bristol and other races. Starting sometime around the Charlotte race in May, RWR partnered with Mike Harmon Racing (again) to field the No. 17 car together for the remainder of the season. The font that Harmon uses on his No. 74 car is now used on the No. 17 as well. Camden Murphy drove at Charlotte and Pocono. The team withdrew at Iowa and was not entered at Daytona. The team sold their owner points before Iowa to the new No. 28 H2 Motorsports car driven by Shane Lee, which indicated that the team may only run part-time for the rest of the year. Josh Bilicki drove at Chicagoland after Currey qualified the car while Bilicki failed to qualify his own No. 38 car for RSS Racing. Both Murphy and Currey would return for Kentucky and New Hampshire, respectfully. Part-time ARCA Menards Series driver Mark Meunier attempted to make his Xfinity debut at Iowa in July but failed to qualify. The No. 17 would also skip both road course races at Watkins Glen and Mid-Ohio.

In May 2020, Ware formed a partnership with SS-Green Light Racing to field his drivers in the latter's No. 07 car; Ware is close friends with SS-Green Light owner Bobby Dotter. The collaboration spawned after the No. 07's regular driver Ray Black Jr. was forced to exit full-time racing to focus on his family business. Garrett Smithley took over the car for the partnership's first race at Charlotte.[24]

Rick Ware Racing made its NASCAR debut in the Craftsman Truck Series. In 1999, RWR made two starts, one with Randy MacDonald and the other with driver-owner Rick Ware in trucks 51 and 81.

In 2000, the organization was set to run the entire season with two teams, the 51 and 81 when Rick Ware was injured in a head-on crash at California Speedway that resulted in a career-ending fractured vertebra to the neck. Ware moved into the ownership role to continue the team. Drivers Tom Boston, David Starr, Michael Dokken and Donnie Neuenberger finished out the 20 race schedule. Dokken produced an 8th-place finish at Loudon and led at Nazareth. Rick Ware finished a career-high of 13th at Texas.

For 2001, Brian Rose ran 15 races before heading off to Bobby Hamilton Racing. Nathan Buttke, Travis Clark, Dokken, Coy Gibbs, Donnie Neuenberger, Trent Owens, Jonathon Price, Sammy Ragan, Michael Ritch, Jerry Robertson, Brian Sockwell, Jason Thom and Rich Woodland Jr completed the roster that watched Rick Ware Racing expand to a three and an occasional four race team with numbers 51, 71, 81, 91.

Dokken had a season-high of 11th at Nazareth, Rose finished 12th at Fontana and many others finished in the Top 20 with laps being led by Dokken and Ritch for the season.

In 2002, Rick Ware Racing switched to Dodge and fielded the 5, 51 and 81 entries for several drivers. Lance Hooper ran the most races for the team with a total of twelve events. Randy Briggs, Mike Cofer, Michael Dokken, Jason Hedlesky, Ryan Hemphill, Scott Kirkpatrick, Scott Kuhn, Carl Long, Blake Mallory, Donny Morelock, Donnie Neuenberger, Jonathon Price, Michael Ritch, Brian Rose, Morgan Shepherd, Jason Thom, Andy Thurman, Jason White and Angie Wilson all competed for the team. Most drivers finished in the top 15 with Hooper leading a lap at Darlington.

During the 2003 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season, Rick Ware Racing decided to focus on one driver for a full season. Jerry Hill was slated for the task. Hill competed in 22 of the 25 events and finished 18th in the drivers' standings in the No. 5 Dodge. Ware also raced the number 51 and 81 with a number of drivers such as Rusty Alton, Stan Boyd, Randy Briggs, Doug Keller, Carl Long, Blake Mallory, G. J. Mennen Jr., Chase Montgomery and Brian Sockwell.

After taking a leave from the series, Ware returned to the newly named NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for just two races in 2009 while competing in the Nationwide Series full-time. Chrissy Wallace in the No. 08 for Ware competed against her father, Mike Wallace, as it marked the first time a father and daughter raced in the same event in any of the top three NASCAR Series'. Chrissy finished in front of her father in the 13th position, marking the 2nd highest finish by a female in NASCAR history.

Tim Brown, coming off his record-breaking 8th Championship at Bowman-Gray Stadium in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Series raced the truck at Martinsville as a celebration of their title earlier that month. RWR returned to the Truck Series with two full-time teams and an occasional third, using the 6, 47 and 16. Brett Butler competed in fifteen races for Rookie of the Year. Neuenberger finished 9th at Daytona as Butler finished 11th. Bobby Hamilton Jr. qualified and finished tenth on two occasions each. Travis Kvapil along with Hamilton Jr. and Butler all led laps during the season. Amber Cope, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Ken Butler III, J. C. Stout, Brian Rose, Mike Guerity, C. E. Falk, Ryan Rust, Carl Long, Derek White, Lance Fenton, Clay Greenfield, Justin Hobgood and D. J. Kennington all drove the No. 6 for 2010 in mostly 1–2 race deals.

Jeffrey Earnhardt, the 4th generation driver of the Earnhardt family, made his series debut at Gateway. Amber Cope and Angela Cope, the twin daughters of Daytona 500 winner Derrike Cope, made their respective debuts at Martinsville Speedway, as the two became the first twins to compete against each other.

For 2011, Jeffrey Earnhardt was to run for the Rookie of the Year title in the No. 1 Fuel Doctor Chevy. However, after only 3 races, the team was hit with the double tragedy of losing two crew members and Fuel Doctor announcing it could no longer sponsor RWR. Earnhardt was released from RWR after Fuel Doctor's announcement, but the two mended fences and raced again at Martinsville. However, Earnhardt was caught up in a crash running 7th with just 25 laps remaining. Bobby Hamilton Jr. raced the truck at Nashville and Carl Long and Dover before the team took a temporary break to focus on the Nationwide Series where Earnhardt would drive select races in the No. 41 car.

The Truck team would return in 2013 with multiple drivers. The program was revived in 2017, fielding the No. 12 Chevrolet Silverado for Spencer Boyd, Jordan Anderson, and Cody Ware.[23] The No. 12 team failed to qualify the season opener at Daytona, with Boyd blowing up an engine during qualifying. The truck operation was dissolved after the fifth race of the season.

Rick Ware Racing joined the NASCAR Whelen Modified Series in conjunction with Tim Brown Motorsports. Brown and Ware's relationship dates back to the 90's when Ware made his own NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut with the help of a young mechanic, Tim Brown. Ware promised the youngster that he would help his career once he got going but Brown needed little help.

In 2009, Brown and Ware struck a deal to partner together for his attempt at a historic 8th Championship at the famous Bowman-Gray Stadium, the oldest NASCAR sanctioned track, located in nearby Winston-Salem, NC. Brown won five races en route to the title and the first for Ware in the series in the No. 83 Circle K/Hayes Jewelers entry. The entire season was caught on film for the series, Madhouse featured on The History Channel.

As true to their word, Ware promised Brown a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut if he won the title. Tim Brown made his truck series debut at Martinsville Speedway where he finished 27th in the No. 08.

RWR's 2012 24 Hours of Daytona car

Rick Ware Racing returned to its roots of road racing as it did with Ware & Sons in the 1980s for the running of the Grand-Am Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona in 2011.

RWR competed in the GT3 Cup Division at Daytona International Speedway for the historic Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona and finished 11th in class and 25th overall with drivers, Brett Sandberg, Scott Monroe, Maurice Hull, Jeffrey Earnhardt and Doug Harrington.

The event marked the 10th Anniversary of Jeffrey Earnhardt's grandfather, Dale Earnhardt and uncle Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s run in the same event.

Fuel Doctor was the primary of the No. 47 Porsche.

RWR's entry marked the first time that a NASCAR team owner has moved from NASCAR to the Grand-Am Series. Penske Racing and Ganassi Racing have competed in the Grand-Am Series then later moved to NASCAR.

In 2019, RWR began competing in the Asian Le Mans Series, fielding two Ligier JS P2s in the LMPS Am class for Cody Ware and Mark Kvamme.[25] In their first race at Shanghai International Circuit, the team missed qualifying and much of practice as their cars were plagued by shipping delays; to ensure their cars would be up to par, the team formed a partnership with ARC Bratislava.[26] Although the No. 25 was unable to compete in the race, Ware and Kvappe drove the No. 52 to a 14th-overall finish and second place in their class.[26][27] At The Bend Motorsport Park, the team scored the LMP2 Am Trophy class win as they finished fifth overall with Ware and Gustas Grinbergas; at 16 years of age, Grinbergas became the youngest driver to win an Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO)-sanctioned race.[28][29]

In August of 2019, RWR announced that they will be entering the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for the 2020 season with an updated Riley Mk. 30 in the PRO/AM LMP2 class.

Rick Ware Racing has always had its heart in two-wheel racing. Rick Ware had raced a few seasons in the AMA Supercross Series in the late 80's at places like the Superdome. In 2007, Rick Ware partnered with Tuf Honda owner, Dave Antolak and put together one of the most impressive organizations in AMA Arenacross history.

RWR with Tuf Honda with sponsorship from Bad Boy Power Drinks and Mahindra Tractors won the championship in 2007 with rider Danny Smith. In 2008, Chad Johnson won the organization's second title in a row and in 2009, rider Jeff Gibson made it a record three championships consecutively.

Tuf Honda with Dave Antolak has a total of 5 Championships, the most in the series history with three of those titles coming in partnership with Rick Ware Racing

Rick Ware Racing dates back in the Supercross to 1986 when the owner first raced in the series. In 2007, Ware focused on putting together a team in his return that would compete with factory teams, yet remain a small independent. Brock Sellards, Tyler Bright, Jeff Dement and Tyson Hadsell completed the team under the Yamaha flagship alongside Bad Boy Power Drinks and Pro30.

Tyler Bright captured a holeshot award at Detroit (1) in the Superlites and Jeff Dement captured a holeshot award at Phoenix.

In 2008, Jake Marsack joined the organization and the success followed. Marsack finished 4th at San Francisco, just one spot from the podium and on a muddy evening in Daytona, Jake Marsack raced his way through the mud to a 3rd-place finish on the podium, marking the first time in modern-day history that an independent team finished that high.

RWR completed the three major series in AMA with the addition of the Motocross Series in 2007. Riders Tyler Bright, Tyson Hadsell and Jake Marsack raced for Ware on Yamaha's with Bad Boy Power Drinks and Pro30 on board.

The team came back in 2008 and made several main events but trouble kept them from competing with the bigger budget teams in the series.

In 2009, Ware went to a single rider team with Tyler Bright on a Honda with Mahindra Tractors on board in sponsorship. [30]

Few teams have scored as much success in the WMA Motocross Series, a motocross series for female riders, as Rick Ware Racing. With Bad Boy Power Drinks and Pro30 in sponsorship, Jessica Patterson, made history on her Honda bike for the organization.

In 2006, Patterson captured her 3rd title in the series and first for RWR. Patterson backed that title up in 2007 with Ware, becoming the most successful female rider in AMA Motocross history. During the two years with RWR, Patterson captured 10 holeshot awards and 13 victories, never failing to make a podium during the two-year stint.

Ware went in a different direction after the 2007 season to focus more on the NASCAR, Motocross and X-Games Series, after making his mark in the history books in the WMA Series [30]

Rick Ware Racing became interested in the crowd and excitement surrounding the X Games since its inception. In 2009, RWR finally took the step into the events with Women's Motocross rider, Sherri Cruse for X-Games 15.

Cruse had captured the bronze medal in 2008 was highly favored in the event. With Circle K and Fastwax on board, Cruse stumbled early in the event and charged from last place to 4th in the shorted race due to a television schedule.

Ware had faith in Cruse and went back X-Games 15 in 2010 for the same event. Cruse had suffered an injury just weeks before the event and still completed the event after falling during the race. Cruse finished 8th.

RWR returned to the X Games in 2011 with a new rider in the Women's Moto X, Vicki Golden. Golden had competed with RWR and Tuf Honda during the 2011 AMA Arenacross Series and gave her the nod for X Games 17. Vicki Golden grabbed the holeshot for the event and went on to win gold for the organizations first gold medal in the X Games.[30]

In 2012, Rick Ware Racing joined the Allison Legacy Series with Tyler Hill, the brother of Timmy Hill. Hill won the U.S. National Championship in 2009 and set a record of 10 wins in a season. His brother Tyler Hill won the championship in 2011 after winning 13 of 18 races.[31]