Tommy Baldwin gives health update on Cody Ware, says Chicago wreck was probably worst hit of Next Gen era

Rick Ware Racing competition director Tommy Baldwin said Monday that Cody Ware is a “little sore” after slamming head-on into the tire barriers during Sunday’s Chicago Street Race. Ware lost his brakes and crashed into the tire barriers traveling 93 mph.

“He’s a little sore,” Baldwin said on the Door Bumper Clear podcast. “… They told us this morning it was probably the worst head-on hit in this car. Thank goodness NASCAR on making all the changes. I think the only one that was recorded harder was Ross [Chastain’s] before they made the changes. It was harder than even Ryan [Blaney’s] hit at Daytona or close to it.”

Immediately after the impact, Ware radioed to his team, “Need help.” NASCAR, however, waited nearly 35 seconds before throwing the caution flag. By then, race leader and eventual winner Shane van Gisbergen had taken the white flag, meaning the next flag would end the race. 

According to Jeff Gluck of The Athletic, NASCAR was unaware of how fast he had gone into the barriers and was hoping he could dislodge himself like Kyle Larson did a year ago. If the caution had been thrown earlier, it would have meant overtime in downtown Chicago. Ware himself was surprised at how long it took NASCAR to issue the caution.

Cody Ware reacts to brake failure, surprised by timing of late caution at Chicago street race

“Yeah, I mean especially given the speed of how fast we were going into the barrier,” Ware told Frontstretch. “Obviously I’m not going anywhere, there’s not much I can do at that point. But obviously at that point I’m just focused on getting out of the car and getting to a safe spot.”

Ware was having a solid run before the wreck. He ended up finishing P26.

“We had an awesome day, big thanks to my team, the Arby’s Cheesesteak 51 was fast all day,” Ware said. “Track position, strategy. Just kept working our way through the field. Unfortunately, I put us in a bad spot after qualifying. I had to work our way up there. But thought we had a solid top 15 day there. We were running in the top 10, close to the top 10 toward the end of that race.”