Race Weekend Central

Cody Ware Out for Next 2 Weeks, Garrett Smithley Subbing at Richmond

Cody Ware will be out of the No. 51 car in the NASCAR Cup Series for the next two weekends, Rick Ware Racing announced Sept. 10.

Ware, who finished 33rd last Sunday at Darlington Raceway, suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning inside the car and had to retire from the race after completing 209 of the 367 laps.

Still suffering from the effects of the poisoning on Monday, Ware made the call to sit out the next two races as a precautionary measure.

Garrett Smithley, who has primarily driven RWR’s No. 53 car in 2021, will pilot the No. 51 car at Richmond Raceway this weekend. In 19 starts this season, Smithley has a best finish of 25th at Nashville Superspeedway in June.

The driver of the No. 51 car for the race at Bristol on Sept. 18 has yet to be determined.

The Federated Auto Parts Salute to First Responders will take place on Saturday, Sept. 11 at 7:30 p.m. ET, with TV coverage provided by NBC Sports.

About the author

Stephen Stumpf joined Frontstretch in September 2021 and currently pens the weekly columns 4 Burning Questions and Stat Sheet. He also contributes to Frontstretch with social media, editing and rotating commentary while occasionally serving as an on-site reporter.  A Texas native, Stephen started following NASCAR at age 9.

Follow on Twitter @stephen_stumpf.

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