{"id":1541187,"date":"2022-12-06T19:23:16","date_gmt":"2022-12-07T00:23:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/?p=1541187"},"modified":"2022-12-06T19:23:18","modified_gmt":"2022-12-07T00:23:18","slug":"2022-cup-series-season-in-review-rick-ware-racing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/2022-cup-series-season-in-review-rick-ware-racing\/","title":{"rendered":"2022 Cup Series Season in Review: Rick Ware Racing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Rick Ware Racing<\/a> is the team NASCAR Cup Series<\/a> fans love to hate. It\u2019s not what the team has done, but rather what it hasn\u2019t done \u2013 namely, put a competitive product on the track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Owner Rick Ware had the good sense to collect multiple charters before downsizing to the current two, and a sizeable number of observers \u2013 i.e., Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans \u2013 resent the fact that other prospective owners are being frozen out. We can argue the merits of that logic all day. Regardless, trying to argue that 2022 marked the team\u2019s best body of work so far is akin to touting the best ice hockey player in Jamaica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rick Ware Racing ran one full-time car and a rental<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Cody
Cody Ware during the NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona on Aug. 28, 2022. | David Rosenblum\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Rick Ware Racing business model this year consisted of running a full-time car and using the second for a variety of other drivers who lined up a hodgepodge of sponsors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Driving the No. 51 Ford, Cody Ware scored a career-best sixth-place finish in the Daytona summer race ravaged by big wrecks that left just 17 of 37 cars running at the finish. It marked Ware\u2019s only top-10 showing in 90 career starts. The good news is that his overall numbers showed a bit of improvement over the previous season, when the team was aligned with Chevrolet, even though he finished last in points for full-time drivers by a wide margin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

J.J. Yeley spent half the season in the No. 15 Ford, logging a best finish of 23rd<\/sup> at Darlington and Bristol. Garrett Smithley drove half a dozen intermediate tracks and Joey Hand took the wheel for road courses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other teams did ride-sharing this season, but only Kaulig Racing<\/a> did it effectively. Even then, it was a temporary measure to get the organization up and running, and AJ Allmendinger (Kaulig) and Noah Gragson (Petty GMS) will be full-time Cup Series competitors in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a long-term strategy, not fielding its own full-time driver is a losing proposition for RWR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rick Ware Racing switches manufacturers and alliances<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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