RICK WARE RACING
Shriners Children’s 500k
Date: March 9, 2025
Event: Shriners Children’s 500k (Round 4 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona (1-mile oval)
Format: 312 laps, broken into three stages (60 laps/125 laps/127 laps)
Race Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: William Byron with Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
RWR Finish:
● Cody Ware (Started 35th, Finished 24th / Running, completed 306 of 312 laps)
RWR Points:
● Cody Ware (37th with 23 points)
RWR Notes:
● This was Ware’s best finish so far this season. His previous best was 25th, earned in the season-opening Daytona 500.
● Ware’s 24th-place result bettered his previous best finish at Phoenix – 28th, earned twice before (November 2018 and November 2021).
Race Notes:
● Christopher Bell won the Shriners Children’s 500k to score his 12th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third of the season and his second at Phoenix. His margin of victory over second-place Denny Hamlin was .049 of a second.
● There were 10 caution periods for a total of 73 laps.
● Only 20 of the 37 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● William Byron remains the championship leader after Phoenix with a 13-point advantage over second-place Bell.
Sound Bites:
“I just felt like we never really got a good handle on the balance of the racecar, and then kind of just really lost it after we had a really bad run on the red option tires. I think we adjusted around that way too much, and once we got back on the yellows (prime tires), we were just struggling and fighting, mainly for roll-speed momentum in the middle of the corner. Definitely frustrating and disappointing, but 24th is a step in the right direction as far as results go. Looking forward to getting to Vegas. It’s a track we had some good success at last year.” – Cody Ware, driver of the No. 51 Mighty Fire Breaker Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube on Sunday, March 16 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race begins at 3:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
