RWR Tackles NHRA U.S. Nationals and More in Intense Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day weekend is traditionally a time to relax, but for Rick Ware Racing (RWR), it means a relentless commitment to competing across four racing series in distinct disciplines, including both asphalt and dirt, as well as four- and two-wheeled vehicles. The weekend features critical events where RWR is striving to defend and extend its successes, notably at the NHRA U.S. Nationals Labor Day drag racing event held at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

Defending Champions and High-Stakes Competition in NHRA’s U.S. Nationals

The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series headlines the weekend with the iconic U.S. Nationals, a competition where RWR entered as the reigning winner. Clay Millican, RWR’s Top Fuel driver, earned the team’s first victory at this event by defeating four-time champion Steve Torrence with an impressive run in his 12,000-horsepower dragster. Millican returns this year alongside Tony Schumacher, the most successful Top Fuel driver in NHRA history. Schumacher, an eight-time champion who has claimed 10 past U.S. Nationals wins, makes his debut with RWR this weekend, aiming to secure an 11th victory to tie the all-time record held by Frank Manzo.

Rick Ware described the high expectations for the weekend:

“The Labor Day weekend is an anomaly because there is so much at stake for our team,”

he said. Reflecting on the pressure, Ware added,

“I feel a decent amount of stress going into Indy, We’re the defending winners with Clay, and we’re coming back with a guy named Tony Schumacher who’s a 10-time U.S. Nationals winner, and we picked the toughest race of the year to have him make his RWR debut.”

The U.S. Nationals is a marathon event stretched over five days, from Thursday’s unload through final races on Monday. Qualification rounds span Friday to Sunday, and even as defending champions, RWR acknowledges that nothing is guaranteed in the intense competition. Ware emphasized the unforgiving nature of drag racing, stating,

“The U.S. Nationals is spread out over five days. We unload Thursday, we qualify Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and the finals are on Monday. It’s an iconic event and we want to deliver. But first off, we’ve got to qualify our way in. Drag racing is brutal and it doesn’t matter who you are or where you are in points, you’ve got to qualify, and sometimes it can take all three days to even get into the finals. So, we’re not going in there with our chests out just because we won last year. The competition is just insane. Nothing is guaranteed. You’ve got to earn everything, and you’re extremely thankful when you do.”

Cody Ware‘s Southern 500 Challenge and Late Model Racing in South Carolina

Approximately 700 miles southeast of Indianapolis, RWR competes in another marquee event—the 76th Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina. Cody Ware drives the No. 51 Parts Plus Ford Mustang Dark Horse in the NASCAR Cup Series, coming off a strong showing at Daytona International Speedway where he led the field for 23 laps. Ahead of the 500-mile race on Sunday, Cody is scheduled to race Friday night in the zMAX Cars Tour Pro Late Model competition at Florence Speedway, near Darlington.

RWR leads the Pro Late Model owners’ points by 25, thanks primarily to victories from Luke Baldwin and Carson Ware, Cody’s younger brother. Following the 100-lap race at Florence, only three Pro Late Model races remain this season.

Rick Ware explained how RWR’s involvement in the CARS Tour evolved:

“Our involvement in the CARS Tour started out by us just planning to run a handful of Super Late Model races down in Florida during Speedweek, and then maybe do some one-off stuff before running the Snowball Derby or some other races later in the year.”

He continued,

“But, we decided to put a Pro motor in it and Luke ended up winning and we took over the points lead. And then it was like, ‘Well, now what do we do?’ We put Carson in the next week and he won. That bolstered our points lead, so we just kept showing up.”

The proximity between Florence and Darlington allows RWR to maximize competition opportunities. Ware noted,

“Geographically, this weekend works well. Florence is just down the road from Darlington, so Cody can race Friday night and then wake up in his motorcoach on Saturday at Darlington and be ready for practice and qualifying. Ideally, we build off that top-20 run we had last week at Daytona and get another solid result there in Darlington.”

RWR Pursues SuperTwins Title at American Flat Track Doubleheader in Springfield

RWR also targets the championship in the Progressive American Flat Track SuperTwins series, where rider Briar Bauman holds an 11-point advantage over Dallas Daniels, with only three races left this season. Two of these races occur during a doubleheader at the Springfield Mile, a historic dirt track located at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. Bauman, riding the No. 3 Parts Plus/Latus Motors Harley-Davidson XG750R, has already accumulated seven wins this year, including the latest victory at the Peoria TT in Bartonville, Illinois.

Bauman aims to claim his third SuperTwins championship, having won back-to-back titles in 2019 and 2020 before joining RWR in 2023.

Rick Ware compared the Springfield event to other significant motorsports occasions, stating,

“AFT at Springfield is the equivalent of NASCAR at Daytona or Talladega. It’s a mile long, so we’re on our speedway program. Briar and the SuperTwins guys are going 140-plus mph.”

He added,

“You’ve got to have your ducks in a row with back-to-back races on Saturday and Sunday. If you don’t, you have back-to-back problems. The place is hard on equipment and hard on riders.”

On Bauman’s season achievements, Ware remarked,

“What Briar has done this year is impressive, and the year’s not over. He’s now won the most short track races in SuperTwins history, he got the first win for Harley-Davidson with the XG750R since its original debut in 2016, and now we’re trying to win them a championship.”

Rick Ware’s Focus Amid a Packed Schedule Spanning Multiple Venues

With major events underway simultaneously in Indianapolis, South Carolina, and Illinois, Rick Ware shared how he plans to manage his involvement.

“I’ll probably spend most of my time in Indy,”

he said, continuing,

“But it’s only about a three-hour drive between Indy and Springfield, so I’ll probably find a way to spend some time there too. Thank goodness for FloRacing, because that’s how I’ll keep up with Flat Track and the CARS Tour. And between TruTV and USA, I can watch what’s happening in Darlington.”

The demanding schedule across four different series is challenging, but Ware embraces the intensity. He expressed,

“It’ll be tough to get all four series going smoothly at the same time. Racing can be brutal, but that’s also what makes it so exciting. I’m a racer and, at the end of the day, this is a business, and I’m thankful to be able to do it for a living.”

Reflecting on the emotional highs and lows of racing, he added,

“Any racer will tell you they can vividly remember the details of the races they lost, almost more so than the ones they won. And with the ones you just barely lost, the scars are there. But that’s what makes racing awesome too, because when you have success, you know how hard you worked to get it.”