IndyCar: Cody Ware “Daunting Task in Indianapolis”
Cody Ware, driver of the Dale Coyne Racing with RWR entry number 52, is a full time NASCAR driver that decided to run a couple of IndyCar races this season. Ware, a third generation driver, is the son of team owner Rick Ware. The 25 year old was able to disappear from a few Cup races this season and run some IndyCar races. AR1 spoke with him about this weekend and his future plans.
“The fact that I am welcome here in this paddock is a big deal for me.”, Ware commented. “To have just a tiny bit of respect from my fellow competitors in the series is really nice to have. I feel really welcome and makes me excited to go have some fun at THE home track for IndyCar this weekend.”
“Definitely going to be a daunting weekend between Cup and IndyCar. I think coming off of a wild street course race and coming back to a more traditional road course, should feel more within my comfort zone.”
“Today is pretty much focused on IndyCar. Nothing on track for the NASCAR side today. Tomorrow gets pretty busy. The first Cup practice ends 20-30 minutes before I need to get to my IndyCar for the race. Tomorrow’s key word is going to be hydration. Even though it is only an hour practice session in Cup, the cars get very hot. I will already be worked up and sweating when I get done with that. Making sure I am drinking fluids throughout the practice session. And making sure I have a nice, cool fire suit to switch into for IndyCar will be nice. To help make sure I keep my core temperature down and start the IndyCar race. The biggest obstacle is making sure that during that practice session I do not burn myself out before the race.”
“I think with how different the cars are this weekend scares me less than hopping between similar cars. The differences between a heavy Stock car to a fast nimble IndyCar is less daunting that going from an IndyCar and a prototype. To kind of go between polar opposites, it will be easy to flip that switch in my brain from stock car to IndyCar.”
AR1 asked about him racing in the rain this weekend. “I actually enjoy rain racing. My career best NASCAR finishes were in a rain race. I have done of lot of rain racing in prototypes. I feel an LMP2 car in the rain would be fairly similar to how an IndyCar would drive in the rain.”
” I am 99% sure I will be going fulltime in NASCAR next year. Probably not able to sneak away and do IndyCar next year. Definitely want to try to go for a points running Cup next season. Keep my fingers crossed that we have a combined weekend or two. Road racing is my passion and I do hope to be in a road course paddock fulltime at some point in my career. It would be a dream come true to call IndyCar my home for a whole season.”
Lucille Dust reporting live from Indianapolis