Out Front in August at Daytona, Ware Aims to Stay Hot in February in NASCAR Cup Series Season Opener With New No. 51 Jacob Construction Chevrolet
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Feb. 9, 2026) – The last time Cody Ware raced at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, he led four times for 23 laps around the 2.5-mile oval.
In the Aug. 23 Coke Zero Sugar 400 NASCAR Cup Series race, the Rick Ware Racing (RWR) driver scored the third-highest laps-led total, and when he wasn’t leading the 40-car field, Ware was a constant presence among the top-10.
Now back at Daytona six months later for the Daytona 500, Ware expects to pick up where he left off.
“In years past, I took a much more cautious approach to these superspeedway races, but the last handful of times we’ve been to Daytona, I’ve ramped up my aggression level without putting myself in bad spots,” Ware said. “I’ve got the confidence to just race hard, get up front, and stay up front.”
That confidence was on display in the Coke Zero Sugar 400, where despite starting 35th, Ware was leading by lap 39.
“I’ve always enjoyed the superspeedways. They’re one of the great equalizers for the Cup Series,” Ware said. “After what we learned at Daytona the last time we were there, now’s the time to capitalize and not just focus on a good result, but what it’s going to take to win.”
Eyeing his first career Cup Series win, Ware brings a new partnership to Daytona along with a tenured backer that has been with RWR for nearly a decade.
The blue-and-white colors of Jacob Construction are back with RWR for a ninth straight season. The multifaceted, Florida-based construction firm has helped build RWR into the team it is today – one that in addition to fielding an entry in the elite Cup Series, also campaigns winning teams in the Top Fuel class of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, Progressive American Flat Track (AFT), FIM World Supercross Championship (WSX) and zMAX CARS Tour.
Motorsports fans regularly see an example of Jacob Construction’s work – the Chevrolet Experience located adjacent to Daytona’s victory lane. Built by Jacob Construction, the design of the Chevrolet Experience emulates the familiar appearance of a Chevrolet dealership. During race events, it is home to Chevrolet VIPs. Other times, it is home to an exclusive delivery experience for Chevrolet customers where they can take their new ride for a lap around Daytona.
The Jacob Construction/Chevrolet Experience partnership is an appropriate connection because in 2026, RWR debuts a new partnership with Chevrolet, which includes a technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing (RCR) where RWR will use engines prepared by ECR Engines.
“It’s a new advantage for us to be able to work with Chevrolet,” said Ware, who will drive the No. 51 Jacob Construction Chevrolet Camaro in Sunday’s Daytona 500. “The number of teams Chevrolet has, the success – they’ve won the last three Daytona 500s – and the alliance we have with RCR, it’s all positive for us. I’m looking forward to rolling into Daytona with a Chevy bowtie on my hood and on my firesuit.”
Ware has a lot to look forward to at Daytona. Beyond his front-running drive last August, Daytona is home to Ware’s best career Cup Series finish – fourth in the 2024 Coke Zero Sugar 400.
“Daytona is a place where we know we can have success because we’ve had success in the past,” Ware said. “And with our new alliance with Chevrolet and RCR, and all the effort and hard work that’s been put in over the offseason, we can ramp up our usual aggression in the race. We can see where we’re really at, how we stack up, how our qualifying program is compared to what it was last year. I think it’s going to be a lot different than what we’ve had in the past, and I think we’re going to be able to put our stake in the ground to show people all that we’re trying to accomplish this year.”
The lead up to the Daytona 500 begins Wednesday with a 50-minute practice session at 10 a.m. EST with pole qualifying that evening at 8:15 p.m. Only the top-two positions will be locked into the 68th Daytona 500. The rest of the field will earn their respective starting positions in the Duel – twin 150-mile heat races, the first of which gets underway at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 12 with the second Duel immediately following. Both can be seen live on FS1 and heard on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The week then culminates with the Daytona 500 at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday with live coverage provided by FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
About Rick Ware Racing:
Rick Ware has been a motorsports mainstay for more than 40 years. It began at age 6 when the third-generation racer began his driving career and has since spanned four wheels and two wheels on both asphalt and dirt. Competing in the SCCA Trans Am Series and other road-racing divisions led Ware to NASCAR in the early 1980s, where he finished third in his NASCAR debut – the 1983 Warner W. Hodgdon 300 NASCAR Grand American race at Riverside (Calif.) International Raceway. In 1995, Rick Ware Racing was formed, and with wife Lisa by his side, Ware transitioned out of the driver’s seat and into fulltime team ownership. He has since built his eponymous organization into an entity that competes full-time in the elite NASCAR Cup Series while simultaneously campaigning winning teams in the Top Fuel class of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, Progressive American Flat Track (AFT), FIM World Supercross Championship (WSX) and zMAX CARS Tour.
