Tommy Baldwin Jr. has announced his exit from Rick Ware Racing as their competition director. Baldwin shared the news on the latest episode of Door Bumper Clear.
Baldwin has been with RWR since 2023, overseeing the No.51 entry for Cody Ware. The 59-year-old has almost three decades of experience as a crew chief, team owner, and now a competition director.
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His most notable feat remains the 2002 Daytona 500 win with driver Ward Burton at Bill Davis Racing. NASCAR reporter Dustin Albino shared Baldwin’s statement on X.
Tommy Baldwin also shared that he now intends to take a break and focus on the racing career of his sons, Jack and Luke. Notably, Luke has made several NASCAR starts in the Truck and O’Reilly Series this year.
On the Cup front, Cody Ware currently sits dead last among the full-time drivers. Standing 35th, his best result is a 17th in the season-opening Daytona 500.
Rick Ware Racing was recently embroiled in a legal battle with Legacy Motor Club. Team owner Jimmie Johnson sued RWR for backing out of a charter sale. Former Spire Motorsports co-founder TJ Puchyr was also involved in the dispute.
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Johnson’s lawsuit temporarily delayed the charter sale to Puchyr before he ultimately bought RWR in June, 2025. Two months later, Puchyr gave in to Johnson’s demands and settled for a $45 million charter sale.
Rick Ware Racing driver comments on Indianapolis result
Oct 31, 2025; Avondale, Arizona, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Cody Ware (51) during practice for the NASCAR Championship race at Phoenix Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Cody Ware had yet another finish outside the top-30 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He began on the penultimate row and landed a P31 finish.
The Rick Ware Racing driver broke down his run in a post-race interview.
“It was just a long, hard day. We kept making the car better, but we fired off so bad and so out of control that we had to spend the majority of the race working on it, making it better, and by the time we got it better, we didn’t have a car that had a good aero balance in traffic. So, a frustrating day,” he said via Speedway Media.
Cody Ware has shown flashes of speed at Daytona. He has two top-10 and a top-5 finish at the Superspeedway. At his best, the No.51 driver led 23 laps in the Daytona summer race last year.
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He now heads to Iowa Speedway for 350 laps around the short track. The Iowa Corn 350 kicks off the USA Network’s four-race broadcast of the Cup Series. The race is slated for Sunday, August 9, at 3:30 PM ET.
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