Cody Ware declares details of things “killed” in his car due to his impactful crash in Chicago

Cody Ware recounted the extensive damage that his car and safety gear sustained in the high-impact crash that took place at the Chicago Street Race. He said that everything in the car was destroyed: his helmet was a wreck with its EPS foam liner cracked; his Hans device was cracked; and the steering wheel was bent.

The crash occurred when Ware's brake rotor failed and struck the tire barrier at roughly 93 mph. The crash was bad, but Ware thankfully received no serious injuries, which was a testament to safety equipment and car construction. However, the crash was also controversial because of the amount of time NASCAR took to CALL a caution flag. It was almost 35 seconds from the time of the crash for race officials to have a response. This amount of time raised questions on whether race control was monitoring properly and on their safety protocol.

Cody Ware said to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio:

"Pretty much everything from the interior of the car as well as my gear was killed in that impact. So, thankfully getting a new, a new helmet, a new Hans, there was a crack in the EPS foam inside the helmet, Hans device was cracked, steering wheel got bent up pretty good as well. So, I think it's just a testimony to all the safety people that are selling us helmets and Hanses as well as the steering wheels from Max Pappas. And then my interior guys, and all the guys that are that are building these race cars and keeping them safe."

Cody Shane Ware (born November 7, 1995) is an American stock car racing driver from Greensboro, North Carolina, who competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series. He drives the No. 51 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Rick Ware Racing and is also engaged in multi-class competition in sports car racing through IMSA. He is a third-generation racer, the son of NASCAR Cup team owner Rick Ware, and has driven in multiple areas of motorsport, including stock cars, sports cars and open-wheel racing.

Ware started racing at 16 years of age in legends cars and quickly racked up more than 50 different races in his first year. Ware made his NASCAR Cup Series debut in 2017, and has made over 100 Cup starts in his first nine years.

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Ken Schrader voices sympathy for NASCAR officials, days after Chicago Cody Ware caution backlash

Former NASCAR driver Ken Schrader expressed sympathy for NASCAR officials following the backlash over the delayed caution after Cody Ware’s crash at the Chicago Street Course. Schrader explained on the Dirty Mo Media podcast that the race director’s job is extremely difficult because they monitor the race from high towers, making it challenging to immediately assess the severity of crashes.

"Did the right thing," Schrader said. "Unless there's a guy (Cody Ware) sitting there, in a wrecked car, that needs help. It's a really tough business. Being up in that tower, oh my gosh. There are a lot of jobs that I think are pretty cool. A lot of fun in this sport. There's nothing fun about being up in that tower."

Trackhouse Racing driver Shane van Gisbergen also commented on the delayed caution, suggesting that race control may not have recognized the crash’s severity or expected Ware to drive away.