"Why not us?" Cody Ware eyes shock win at Daytona, and a playoff spot

For better or worse, the ‘win and you’re in’ aspect of the NASCAR Cup playoffs has turned the regular season finale at Daytona into the ultimate wildcard race. There are 20 drivers in a must-win situation, and if any reach Victory Lane on Saturday night, then they would be guaranteed a spot in the postseason.

That statement holds true for drivers like Chris Buescher and Kyle Busch, but also for Cody Ware, who sits 36th (last among full-time drivers) in the championship standings. Ware, along with Riley Herbst, are the only two drivers without a top-ten finish this year.

And yet, a win at Daytona would vault either of them into the playoffs, replacing either Tyler Reddick or Alex Bowman. It may seem like a stretch, but it’s essentially what happened one year ago. Harrison Burton came from outside the top 30 in points, winning his way into the playoffs at Daytona. Ware was not far behind in that race, securing a career-best finish of fourth.

And while a victory by the No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford would surely stir up controversy as debate surrounding the current playoff format continues, Ware is eager to play the role of spoiler.

Cody Ware, Rick Ware Racing Ford

Photo by: Justin Casterline / Getty Images

“We always seem to do well at Daytona every time we go there, but I think even more so in the summer, so why not us?” said Ware in his weekly team advance. “I don’t know what it is about the night race, whether it’s the heightened aggression of the field and being able to capitalize on it even more than in the Daytona 500, but I’d say we have just as good a shot as anybody to win on Saturday night.”

Ware has just two top ten finishes in 131 Cup starts, and both of those came in the summer race at Daytona (sixth in 2022 and fourth in 2024).

“That was a bit of survival and a bit of racing hard,” said Ware about his top five from one year ago. “It was really about the timing of when I made decisions. It wasn’t about racing hard versus not racing hard. It was knowing when to race and when to ride, and that played a lot into our result.”

Daytona has been known as the great equalizer, and for good reason. 24 different drivers have earned their first Cup win at Daytona, including six since 2018. 

“At Daytona, it’s about as equal as it gets,” continued Ware. “The name of the game is survival, and it’s more of a mental game. It’s like playing chess at 200 mph versus beating and banging. It’s not traditional stock car racing. I feel like I’ve honed my craft at the superspeedways and the results show. And now more than ever, we’ve put ourselves in position where we’ve had great results. Now is the time to capitalize and put the 51 in victory lane.”

Cody Ware, Rick Ware Racing Ford

Photo by: Meg Oliphant / Getty Images

Ware may not have any teammates, but he has plenty of manufacturer allies as a member of the Ford camp this weekend. Team Penske and the Wood Brothers are the only Ford-backed organizations with drivers locked into the playoffs, so they will be looking to assist teams like RFK Racing, Haas Factory Team and RWR in their quest for victory.

Ware noted how he has gained “a lot of confidence at Daytona and its sister track, Talladega.” Drafting tracks have resulted in Ware’s six best finishes at the Cup level, with Bristol Motor Speedway being his best non-drafting track.

“I think you either want to be at the very front or the very back,” said Ware as for where he wants to run throughout the night. “Anywhere else is kind of no man’s land. My goal is to get up front and run in that top-10, and I think as long as we execute and don’t make mistakes, we’re going to be in a good place to do just that.”

Every first-time winner at Daytona