Latest news with #RickWare
New York Times
09-04-2025
- Automotive
- New York Times
Legacy Motor Club obtains restraining order against RWR in suit of NASCAR charter
A judge granted Legacy Motor Club's request Tuesday to obtain a temporary restraining order against Rick Ware Racing in an ongoing lawsuit between the two NASCAR Cup Series teams that was initially filed last week. The order prohibits RWR 'from selling, leasing or otherwise encumbering' the charter Legacy is attempting to acquire from RWR for 10 days or 'until such other time agreed to by the parties.' Advertisement Legacy, co-owned by seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, alleged in the suit that RWR is attempting to back out of a contract signed March 3 that had Legacy purchasing a charter, the NASCAR equivalent of a franchise in other sports, from RWR. The agreement deal is worth approximately $45 million, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation but not authorized to speak publicly. 'Despite having a binding deal in place, RWR wants to back out,' Legacy stated in its lawsuit. 'It has told Legacy that it will not, under any circumstances, close the parties' transaction. Legacy has tried to talk sense into RWR, to no avail. Legacy's patience has run out. It now brings this suit to enforce its rights and hold RWR to its deal.' RWR's point of contention is the timing of the sale and when the charter would transfer to Legacy, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation but not authorized to speak publicly. Legacy believes it would acquire the charter beginning with the 2026 NASCAR season, while RWR says 2027 is the agreed-upon date and that Legacy changed the year to 2026 in the final contract both teams signed without informing RWR of the change. 'This lawsuit distorts the actual facts and is a misguided attempt to tarnish our reputation. RWR has negotiated in good faith and operated with the highest standards of integrity and professionalism,' a Rick Ware spokesperson said in a statement last week. 'We are confident that the truth will prevail and look forward to swiftly resolving this matter through the proper legal channels.' RWR owns two charters, operating one itself and leasing the other to RFK Racing. Teams that own one of 36 available charters are guaranteed a certain percentage of revenue from NASCAR's billion-dollar media rights deal. If Legacy's lawsuit is successful and a judge finds its contract with RWR binding, RWR would effectively be without a charter for the 2026 NASCAR season. And while RWR could still enter Cup races, it would have to do so as an 'open' team, meaning it would not be assured a starting spot in any of the 36 points races and lose out on higher revenue streams.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
'Racing Addict' Rick Ware Making Waves in More than Just NASCAR, NHRA
Rick Ware became a NASCAR Cup team owner first. Then the 64-year-old expanded into the NHRA, American Flat Track motorcycle racing and FIM World Supercross. Ware's weekend travel schedule is dictated by sponsor obligations and marketing programs. Like several NASCAR Cup team owners, Rick Ware raced when he was young, and like a few of them he has ventured into other racing series; however, none of them possess the team diversity that Ware does, which the California native believes gives him an advantage when he's hunting sponsors. 'My opinion is every sport has benefits that some other sports don't,' Ware says. 'Obviously, the Cup Series is the 800-pound gorilla. That's the cornerstone of motorsports, especially in this country. But a sponsor has different needs at different times and some forms of motorsports are more user friendly than others for different kinds of things. That's what's allowed us to keep growing.'Ware became a NASCAR Cup team owner first. Then the 64-year-old expanded into the NHRA, American Flat Track motorcycle racing and FIM World Supercross. This weekend:• Cody Ware is competing in the Cup Series at Phoenix Raceway.• Clay Millican sports RWR colors in Top Fuel in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season opening Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida.• At Daytona International Speedway, Chase Saathoff and Briar Bauman are representing RWR in the 450 Singles and SuperTwins division, respectively, in the Progressive American Flat Track motorcycle season opener.• Ware's FIM World Supercross Championship team begins its season in October at London (England) Stadium. However, before this year:• In 2019-2020, RWR claimed the LMP2 championship in the Asian Le Mans Series.• In 2022, Shane McElrath won the 2022 WSX 250cc class title.• In 2024, RWR secured a podium finish in IMSA's VP Racing SportsCar Challenge LMP3 class at Daytona, and a Top Fuel victory with Millican in the NHRA's prestigious U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis, his fourth event win since joining the organization. Kody Kopp earned the 450 Singles class championship in American Flat Track. Ware notes it's important for a small team to be able to show photos of its competitors hoisting trophies and having podium finishes. Winning championships and marquee events in various series provides RWR with 'various assets' that allow it to do a 'value add'. He cited the team's Arby's sponsorship as a 'perfect example.' He also noted he probably wouldn't have had Arby's as a sponsor if he had been involved solely in NASCAR. 'We put together a test market with our global Supercross program, our flat track program, our Top Fuel program and the NASCAR program to weigh out the benefits,' Ware explains. 'A year ago, I think we were at four different events in one weekend. Whether it's buyers, distributors, marketing teams, initiatives, there's some place (a sponsor can send their people). 'We have 253 people showing up to service Sunday at the Gatornationals. I can't even imagine how we would do it (at a NASCAR race) or the cost to do it. That's nothing negative against NASCAR, it's just a different, viable product.' Ware's weekend travel schedule is dictated by sponsor obligations and marketing programs. 'I'll go to where I feel like it's very important for me to have a presence,' Ware explains. 'I can't even make a fraction of all of them. The first three wins we had in the '23 season with Clay (Millican) in Top Fuel, I wasn't at any of those and that was heartbreaking.' While Roger Penske has teams competing in NASCAR, IndyCar, IMSA and the World Endurance Cup, and Justin Marks is in NASCAR and Moto GP, it's Ware's Southern California background that's led RWR to its wide variety of race teams. Ware grew up in an era when Southern California was a racing hot bed—dragsters, sports cars, stock cars, off-road vehicles, motorcycles, Sprint and Champ cars—and he was exposed to all of it. 'In my mindset, I just wanted to race, and I really wasn't focused on any one particular thing,' said Ware, who once ran a lathe at Stock Car Products in Santa Fe Springs. One might expect RWR to be a massive organization due to its numerous teams, but that's not the case. The total number of full-time employees—fewer than 50. 'Our NASCAR team is probably a quarter of the size of the next two-car team. Our drag race team is probably just average,' Ware says. 'The real key is the marketing, social media, sponsor hunting, day-to-day is very small for what we do, but every person literally does five different jobs. We're extremely hands-on in every aspect of the things that we do.'The NASCAR team is located in Concord, North Carolina, within walking distance of RFK Racing, with whom RWR has an alliance. The rest of the teams are housed about 20 miles away in a Mooresville, North Carolina, facility.'It was a little bit of an uphill battle moving a Top Fuel team to Mooresville, but my belief is that Mooresville has probably the biggest concentration of motorsports brain power and experience in the world,' Ware says. 'If you're going to train people from another genre of racing to do something in a Top Fuel Car, the core racing mentality is there.' Many NHRA teams are based in Indianapolis, but Ware says he doesn't have time to travel to Indiana once or twice a week to 'babysit' a drag racing team. And this year, he's adding a second with eight-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher running a limited schedule. So, how can a third-generation racer do so much with so little when other organizations have hundreds of employees? Perhaps Kyle Petty provided the answer when he once said a racer will always find a way to make something work. 'I'm a racing addict,' Ware admits. 'I love racing. I want to win, I want to win championships, and I want to continue to grow.'
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
LaJoie gets part-time RWR seat alongside Prime Video role
Corey LaJoie will run a limited NASCAR Cup Series schedule with Rick Ware Racing this season and also serve as an analyst for Prime Video. LaJoie will drive the No. 01 Ford Mustang beginning with the season-opening Daytona 500. As the team does not have a charter, he must earn a spot in the field through his qualifying speed or qualifying Duel race. The number of races LaJoie will contest with Rick Ware Racing was not announced. Nor was the schedule of races beyond Daytona. DuraMAX and Take 5 Oil Change will be LaJoie's primary sponsors at Daytona. In addition to his on-track goals, LaJoie hopes to create a Stacking Pennies Performance Brand. It begins with the car number, a nod to the stacking pennies slogan LaJoie often uses. It's also the name of the podcast he hosts each week. 'Rick Ware is someone who makes things happen,' LaJoie said. 'He's a great guy who has been a generous friend in helping me get this vision of Stacking Pennies Performance off the ground. He's allowed me to put the No. 01 on his Ford Mustangs, building off the brand fans have related to, supported, and cheered for over the past several years. 'I'm proud of what we've accomplished and excited for what's ahead, beginning at Daytona with DuraMAX and Take 5 Oil Change.' LaJoie will serve as an analyst for Prime Video during its stretch of Cup Series races that begin with the Coca-Cola 600. Prime Video will broadcast five races as one of NASCAR's newest media rights partners. 'In many ways, my driving career has been more successful than I ever could've dreamed, yet I lose sleep feeling I never reached my full potential behind the wheel,' LaJoie said. 'The pursuit of bettering myself and others around me has never been more important than it is right now. 'My presence on the track will look different than it has in previous years, and it's going to bring a new host of challenges, but my heart is set on making a lasting impact in the sport and the communities NASCAR reaches. 'Between Rick Ware, Prime Video, and the support of partners DuraMAX and Take 5 Oil Change, I'm able to follow my heart.' Story originally appeared on Racer
