Another piece of the Silly Season puzzle has fallen into place. Rick Ware Racing has announced its full-time driver for the 2025 Cup Series season.
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According to a press release, Cody Ware will drive the No. 51 Ford Mustang Dark Horse as he returns for his first full season since 2022. He will have Billy Plourde as his crew chief after the two worked together on a limited basis last season.
Rick Ware Racing did not provide any details about Ware's sponsors for the 2025 season.
"The NASCAR Cup Series is where every driver wants to be and I'm grateful to be back full-time," Ware said in a statement.
"I've improved as a driver and RWR has improved as a team, and this is, by far, the best opportunity I've had in NASCAR. I aim to make the most of it and earn the respect of my competitors."
Ware only made nine starts for Rick Ware Racing last season, but he delivered three top-20 finishes. His best outing was the summer Daytona race when he crossed the line a career-best fourth.
Ware avoided multiple on-track incidents, including one that resulted in a car flipping, and he put himself in the mix at the end of a hectic race.
"I think we showed people that we can be in contention for the win at superspeedways," Ware said on pit road after sharing a long embrace with team owner Rick Ware.
According to the NASCAR team, Ware's average finish of 21.0 was second-best among the nine drivers who ran a partial schedule last season. Only AJ Allmendinger was better at 20.5.
Ware will be the primary driver for the Cup Series team in 2025 as it takes a different approach to the season. RWR owns two charters — one for the No. 51 and one for the No. 15 — but it leased one of these charters to RFK Racing. Only the No. 51 will have a guaranteed spot in every race on the Cup Series schedule.
