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NASCAR: Rick Ware Racing acquires Cup Series charter

By Alex Herbst

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 19: Timmy Hill, driver of the #51 Chevrolet, drives during qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 59th Annual DAYTONA 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 19, 2017 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)
DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 19: Timmy Hill, driver of the #51 Chevrolet, drives during qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 59th Annual DAYTONA 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 19, 2017 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images) /
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Rick Ware Racing has confirmed they now hold one of 36 NASCAR Cup Series team charters for the 2018 season, per a recent release.

Since the introduction of NASCAR team charters, many have been on the move. The 2018 season will see a number of new teams with charters in hand, first with Furniture Row Racing selling their charter to JTG-Daugherty Racing earlier this offseason. The next big move came for Rick Ware Racing, who have purchased one of the 36 charters for the upcoming year.

The acquisition of a team charter means that the #51 car of Rick Ware Racing will be racing full-time in 2018. The team will also move forward with plans to field the #52 car in multiple races as an open entry. A number of the team’s partners from last year will also return to help sponsor both cars.

Team owner Rick Ware had this to say about gaining a charter for 2018, according to ESPN:

"Rick Ware Racing is going into our 27th year and we are more excited than ever. The Lord has blessed us with some great opportunities and alliances.We’re dedicated to improving our program from top to bottom during the offseason and with a charter, it brings a lot to the table not only for our drivers but our partners too.We’re looking forward to making 2018 one of our best seasons yet."

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Key sponsors returning to the team next year will include Lilly Trucking, Keen Building Systems, Bubba Burger and Spoonful of Music. The team is also seeking additional sponsorship for both entries. RWR will utilize cars from all three manufacturers, including the new Chevrolet Camaro bodies. Some of these bodies will be acquired from other teams, while likely the Camaro bodies will be built in-house.

It is interesting to note that Rick Ware Racing is confirming this news after hinting at it in a previous release announcing Ray Black Jr. as their full-time driver in 2018. Despite that news, the new driver to run for rookie of the year was not mentioned in this latest release. If those plans remain in place, Black Jr. will be locked into every race in the 2018 Cup Series season, while a rotating cast of drivers will share the #52 Chevy, beginning with Mark Thompson at Daytona.

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We are still awaiting news about a number of other charters around the Cup Series, including the third charters at Richard Childress Racing and Front Row Motorsports.

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