“I’m pissed off”: RWR competition director Tommy Baldwin sounds off after Chicago race, addresses Cody Ware’s ‘sore’ condition

Rick Ware Racing driver Cody Ware's team competition director, Tommy Baldwin, was recently featured on Freddie Kraft's Door Bumper Clear podcast on YouTube. During the interaction, Baldwin opened up about Ware's performance at the Chicago Street Course, along with an update on his condition.

Ware had tough luck at the 75-mile race, starting from the qualifying session. He began the race from the back of the pack in P35 with a best time of 92.68 seconds and a top speed of 85.45 mph. However, he showcased some flashes of brilliance during stage one and moved multiple spots, ending in P18, but fell to P28 in stage two.

Ultimately, Cody Ware went head-to-head with the outside walls on the final lap of the race. The crash happened on turn six of the Chicago Street Course after his brake rotor failed to slow him down, resulting in a DNF. Reflecting on the same, the team competition director stated:

"I mean, he's just getting in good cars again against guys that have been in these cars for a very long time. So, I told him last night I'm the most pissed off by not finishing on the lead lap again and continuing our string of like six weeks in a row of lead lap finishes. And, you know, obviously it wasn't his fault. I mean, the right front rotor blew apart in pieces and that's what caused the problem." [11:44]

Baldwin further talked about Ware's condition after the crash:

"He's a little sore... They told us this morning it was it was probably the worst head-on hit for this car. And thank goodness NASCAR making all the changes. Um, I think the only one that was recorded harder was Ross's before they made the change. Yeah, itwas harder even than Ryan's hit at I think at Daytona or close to it." [12:20 onwards]

Cody Ware ranks 36th on the Cup Series points table with 144 points to his name. Additionally, he has five unfortunate DNFs in 19 starts this season.

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Cody Ware got candid about the timing of the caution during the late stage of the Chicago Street Course race

The Grant 165 held at the Chicago Street Race on July 6, 2025, had a few intense moments, from 23XI Racing's Bubba Wallace getting spun to Cody Ware meeting the outside barriers in the final stage of the race. However, the point to be noticed was the timing of the caution flag waved after the crash.

The governing body threw in the caution 35 seconds after the #51 Ford Mustang Dark Horse got slammed into the barrier. Following that, Trackhouse Racing driver Shane van Gisbergen sealed his victory without any overtime. However, this decision led to backlash from stock car racing fans.

Ware also expressed surprise at the decision. Ware stated:

"Yeah, I mean, especially given the speed of how fast we were going into the barrier. 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.” (via Frontstretch) [01:17]

Cody Ware is set to compete at Challenge Round 3, Toyota/Save Mart 300 at Sonoma Raceway on July 13, 2025. TNT Sports, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Ch. 90 will broadcast the event live at 3:30 pm ET.