RICK WARE RACING
Coke Zero Sugar 400
Date: Aug. 23, 2025
Event: Coke Zero Sugar 400 (Round 26 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (2.5-mile oval)
Format: 160 laps, broken into three stages (35 laps/60 laps/65 laps)
Race Winner: Ryan Blaney of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Ross Chastain of Trackhouse Racing (Chevrolet)
RWR Finish:
● Cody Ware (Started 35th, Finished 20th / Running, completed 160 of 160 laps)
RWR Points:
● Cody Ware (36th with 185 points)
RWR Notes:
● Ware earned his second top-20 of the season and his fifth top-20 in nine career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Daytona.
● Ware led four times for 23 laps, the second-highest total of the race.
Race Notes:
● Ryan Blaney won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 to score his 15th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his second at Daytona. His margin over second-place Daniel Suárez was .031 of a second.
● This was Ford’s 746th all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory and its fifth of the season. Josh Berry won for the Blue Oval March 16 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Austin Cindric won April 27 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, Joey Logano won May 4 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, and Blaney won June 1 at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway.
● This was Ford’s 43rd NASCAR Cup Series victory at Daytona. Ford won its first race at Daytona on Feb. 24, 1963 with Tiny Lund.
● There were eight caution periods for a total of 39 laps.
● Twenty-five of the 40 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● William Byron won the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season championship to lead the playoff standings.
Sound Bites:
“It was definitely not the result we wanted, but I think we showed the guys today that we’re gonna keep showing up at these races and keep trying to do our best to win. We’re gonna get one someday soon here. It’s gonna come sooner rather than later, so just super glad to get the No. 51 Arby’s Jamocha Shake Ford Mustang up front. Ford Performance and Roush Yates Engines kept us fast all day.” – Cody Ware, driver of the No. 51 Arby’s Jamocha Shake Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Cook Out Southern 500 on Sunday, Aug. 31 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. The first race in the 10-race NASCAR Playoffs starts at 6 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
