Editor’s Note: Today’s Rick Ware Racing preview continues NASCAR.com’s countdown of team previews for the 2025 Cup Series season.
RICK WARE RACING
Manufacturer: Ford
Engine: Roush Yates Engines
Driver-crew chief pairings: Cody Ware-Billy Plourde (No. 51)
Team outlook: In 2024, Rick Ware Racing had its most successful season yet in the NASCAR Cup Series. With Justin Haley behind the wheel of the No. 51 Ford for 29 of 36 races before swapping seats with Corey LaJoie late in the year, Haley picked up two top 10s, led 25 laps and had an average finish of 23.1. However, Haley’s two top-10 finishes at Darlington Raceway and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway did not tell the full story of the team’s potential.
In other races, RWR’s No. 51 Ford showed a significant step up in performance compared to previous seasons but did not have the results to show for it after not putting together a complete race on a few occasions. Heading into 2025, the team brings back crew chief Billy Plourde, who will be paired up with Cody Ware for the full season. In addition, they will roll out the No. 15 Ford for the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium for “Madhouse” great Tim Brown. Corey LaJoie will also run a part-time schedule in the renumbered No. 01 Ford to align with the Stacking Pennies Performance Brand. LaJoie will attempt the Daytona 500 with sponsorship from DuraMAX and Take 5 Oil Change.
RELATED: Bowman Gray legend Tim Brown set to drive for RWR at Cook Out Clash
CODY WARE, NO. 51 FORD
Experience: 106 starts in the NASCAR Cup Series
2024 stats: 36th in final standings; 9 starts, 1 top five, 1 top 10
2025 championship odds (DraftKings): N/A
Outlook: With 106 Cup Series starts under his belt entering 2025, Ware called his return to the premier series the “best opportunity I’ve had in NASCAR.” There is good reason for him to feel optimism after a career-best average finish of 21.0 in nine starts last year. His best result was a fourth-place finish in the Daytona summer race, and he finished in the top 25 six times. If Ware and his No. 51 team can continue RWR’s upward trajectory, we could see the 29-year-old Greensboro, North Carolina driver line up for a career year in the Cup Series.
MORE: 2025 Cup Series schedule
BOLD PREDICTION: For the first time in his Cup Series career, Ware will finish inside the top 30 in the final standings. Also, he will earn at least 15 top-25 finishes and get at least two top 10s. Rick Ware Racing has plenty to build on after overachieving on numerous occasions with Haley in the No. 51 Ford last season. Now, with Ware as the team’s full-time driver for 2025, expect them to continue working hard to keep the momentum rolling. In a team release, Ware said, “I’ve improved as a driver and RWR has improved as a team.”