BRISTOL, Tenn: NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series veteran Matt Crafton will pull double duty this weekend at the Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway Dirt Track substituting for Cody Ware in Sunday night’s Food City Dirt Race.
On Saturday afternoon, Rick Ware Racing announced that mainstay driver Ware was stepping out of the team’s flagship No. 51 Ford Mustang to focus on a “personal matter.”
The news came from a statement on the team’s social media accounts shortly after 12:00 p.m. local time.
“Cody Ware will step away from racing this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway to focus on a personal matter. Matt Crafton will drive the No. 51 Ford Mustang for Rick Ware Racing. Crafton has more than 500 overall starts in his NASCAR career, winning back-to-back NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championships in 2013 and 2014.
“The Ware family asks that their privacy be respected during this time.”
Crafton, who will pilot the No. 88 Thorsport Racing Ford F-150 in Saturday night’s NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race on the Bristol Dirt will make his third career Cup Series start on Easter.
In his two previous starts, the three-time Truck Series champion has managed a career-best of 18th occurring in the 2015 DAYTONA 500 driving for Joe Gibbs Racing and substituting for Kyle Busch who was injured in the Xfinity Series race on the eve of the “Great American Race.”
Since the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series began competing on dirt during the 2013 season at Eldora Speedway, Crafton has been elevating his craft on the non-pavement surface by competing in various dirt races throughout the country.
Ware, 27, has 97 Cup Series starts to his credit with a career-best of sixth last August at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.
Following Richmond, Ware, the eldest son of team owner Rick Ware occupies 31st in the Cup Series championship standings. Ware could ask the sanctioning body for a waiver – depending on the reasoning for his absence.
NASCAR no longer requires a driver to be inside the top 30 in the championship standings to be eligible for the post-season Playoffs if they win a points-paying event. However, a driver is required to compete in every race, unless granted a waiver from NASCAR.
The family-owned team has not said if Ware will return to the team for next Sunday’s race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway on April 16.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01 or email at: [email protected]
