Cody Ware Shares Update After Scary 93 mph NASCAR Brake Failure Incident

Newsweek

07-07-2025

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Cody Ware has opened up on his scary 93 mph crash into the tire barrier during the NASCAR Cup Series street race in Chicago, which occurred due to a brake failure. The incident occurred on the final lap of the race at Turn 6 as Shane van Gisbergen was on his way to victory.
What surprised many was that the caution flags were not waved for nearly half a minute, which allowed van Gisbergen to secure the race win.
Ware pointed out that there wasn't much he could do as other cars zipped by, but to ensure he reached a safe spot. Sharing his surprise at the delayed caution flag, he said:
"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."
Cody Ware, driver of the #51 Arby's Ford, looks on during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Würth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on May 03, 2025 in Fort Worth, Texas.
Cody Ware, driver of the #51 Arby's Ford, looks on during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Würth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on May 03, 2025 in Fort Worth, Texas.He added:
"So super frustrating, because it's not been the best year for us. So being able to show up here, me not having run this race the past two times and feeling like we had good pace in the car, heartbreaking. But I think it's still a day that we can build off of, especially going into another road course race next weekend with Sonoma. So hopefully we can take our notebook from this weekend and build on it for next weekend."
Cody Ware is okay following a late brake failure at Chicago. He expresses his surprise at NASCAR taking a while to throw the caution in this clip. 🔽
Presenting partner: @MyPlaceHotels pic.twitter.com/yGrJ6El5SW — Frontstretch (@Frontstretch) July 6, 2025
Rick Ware Racing shared an update from Ware after he was released from the medical center. Ware explained how the brake problem got worse after an incident with the No. 7 car, eventually leading to his brake rotor exploding. He said:
"We had a solid top-15 day going. Team did a really good job making adjustments. From start to finish, it was just a constant march forward. Unfortunately, during one of those restarts, the '7' car got into our left front, picked up a vibration from there and it just progressively got worse and worse until finally, the rotor exploded. Just frustrating. We'll focus forward at Sonoma and finish what we started here in Chicago."
Cody Ware: 'We had a solid top-15 day going. Team did a really good job making adjustments. From start to finish, it was just a constant march forward. Unfortunately, during one of those restarts, the '7' car got into our left front, picked up a vibration from there and it just… pic.twitter.com/kNhAmbpNOM — Rick Ware Racing (@RickWareRacing) July 6, 2025
Joseph Srigley shared a video of the crash from another angle, highlighting the severity of the impact.
WOW! What an insane angle of the last-lap crash for Cody Ware… I can't believe that wasn't an immediate caution.
That's a brutal impact, look how fast he's going into that barrier… 😳#NASCAR | 🎥: @MagnusCheeks
pic.twitter.com/VTLHDVFWbn — Joseph Srigley (@joe_srigley) July 7, 2025
NASCAR Cup Series Chicago Race Results