Rick Ware Racing suffers a major blow just a day after the LMC deal with Jimmie Johnson

On Friday, 19th September, Rick Ware Racing reached a legal settlement with Legacy Motor Club, owned by NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson, stating that they were willing to sell LMC a charter as promised. Just a day later, Rick Ware Racing suffered a major blow on the racing side of things.

As reported by Bob Pockrass of FOX, Rick Ware Racing’s No. 51 car, driven by Cody Ware, failed the pre-race technical inspection twice at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. It did pass the third time, but the team will lose pit selection for the main event, which is scheduled for Sunday, September 21. Ware’s team engineer was also ejected for the weekend.

Detailing the matter, Pockrass wrote on X,

“In Cup tech today, Ware car failed twice and passed on third time. His team engineer was ejected for the weekend and he loses pit selection for the race tomorrow. All the other cars good on first or second try.”

Bob Pockrass

@bobpockrass

In Cup tech today, Ware car failed twice and passed on third time. His team engineer was ejected for the weekend and he loses pit selection for the race tomorrow. All the other cars good on first or second try.

Rick Ware Racing will continue racing its No. 51 car as a chartered entry through 2026. But the terms of its settlement with Legacy Motor Club have not been revealed yet.

With the championship race at Phoenix being just weeks away, LMC doesn’t really have the time to add a third chartered car to its Cup Series roster for the 2026 season. What Legacy can do is lease its newly acquired charter to some other team for the next season and take it back on a full-time basis in 2027.

For now, all eyes are on New Hampshire Motor Speedway, which will host Sunday’s playoff race. Fans can watch it on the USA Network (2 pm ET) or listen to its live radio coverage on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

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Rick Ware Racing boss reveals his plan all along following settlement with Legacy Motor Club

Rick Ware (owner of Rick Ware Racing) revealed that he never had any intention of running more than one full-time car under his team’s banner. The team currently fields the No. 51 Ford Mustang driven by Cody Ware, his son.

“I look forward to putting all of our focus on finishing the 2025 season strong,” Rick Ware said in a statement. “My plan all along was to sell a charter; we’re not in a position to run two full-time cup cars.”

“Our plans have been all along to run a charter race car in ’25, ’26, ’27, and beyond, and that’s still our plan,” he added.

If RWR ever decides to add a second car to its team, it will have to be an ‘open’ entry, which might not be feasible given the high cost of competing in the NASCAR Cup Series. On top of that, they own only one charter as of now, and that’s for the No. 51 machine.