Information By: HEATHER GRIFFIN / RICK WARE RACING – DAYTONA BEACH, FL
RICK WARE RACING
Coke Zero Sugar 400
Date: Aug. 24, 2024
Event: Coke Zero Sugar 400 (Round 25 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (2.5-mile oval)
Format: 160 laps, broken into three stages (35 laps/60 laps/65 laps)
Note: Race extended four laps past its scheduled 160-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
Race Winner: Harrison Burton of Wood Brothers Racing (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Josh Berry of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)
RWR Race Finish:
● Cody Ware (Started 33rd, Finished 4th/Running, completed 164 of 164 laps)
● Justin Haley (Started 36th, Finished 32nd/Accident, completed 151 of 164 laps)
RWR Points:
● Justin Haley (30th with 356 points)
● Cody Ware (36th with 98 points)
Ware Notes:
● Ware’s fourth-place finish was his career-first Cup Series top-five. It was his second top-10 finish in seven starts at Daytona.
● Ware’s previous best finish was a sixth-place effort at Daytona, earned in Aug. 2022.
● Ware’s fourth-place finish matched the RWR’s best Cup Series result, first earned by David Ragan at Daytona in Feb. 2020.
Haley Notes:
● This was Haley’s ninth NASCAR Cup Series start at Daytona. Haley’s first Cup Series win came in the 2019 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona.
● Haley finished sixth in Stage 2 to earn five bonus points.
● Haley led one time for 21 laps.
Race Notes:
● Harrison Burton won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 to score his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory. His margin of victory over second-place Kyle Busch was .047 of a second.
● This was Ford’s 734th all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory and its sixth of the season.
● This was Ford’s 42nd NASCAR Cup Series victory at Daytona. Ford won its first race at Daytona on Feb. 24, 1963 with Tiny Lund.
● There were seven caution periods for a total of 34 laps.
● Only 20 of the 40 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Tyler Reddick remains the championship leader after Daytona with a 17-point advantage over second-place Kyle Larson.
Sound Bites:
“I’m on cloud nine right now. Late in the race, things are getting pretty hectic. I knew I was in good hands when I had Keselowski behind me. I knew I had a good pusher and we’ve been working with RFK Racing through our alliance, so I really felt like we were lined up perfect. I really appreciate him working with us to get to the front. Our Ford Mustang Dark Horse wasn’t quite fast enough to make a move on the guys in front of us, but putting Rick Ware Racing at the front of the pack today was a phenomenal experience. It’s just really, really cool to see how far we’ve come, and I can’t wait to see what we can put together in these last 11 races of the season. – Cody Ware, driver of the No. 15 Jacob Construction / Parts Plus Ford Mustang Dark Horse
“You know it’s going to happen, but you just have to keep going. That’s just part of it. It’s unfortunate. It was a good run for us. We’ll keep digging and go the next one. I appreciate everyone at RWR for their hard work. We had a good car and led some laps, and we go to one of our better tracks next week. We got lucky to flip one of the stages there and were able to get up front, so we had a good run.” – Justin Haley, driver of the No. 51 Beef-a-Roo Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Cook Out Southern 500 on Sunday, Sept. 1 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. The race begins at 6 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.