Cody Ware put together one of his most competitive performances of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season during Sunday's YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. The Rick Ware Racing driver started 11th, led nine laps and ultimately finished 16th in his No. 51 Chevrolet.
Ware showed speed early in the afternoon, taking the lead on Lap 15 and controlling the race for seven consecutive laps. He returned to the front for another two laps, demonstrating that his Chevrolet could remain competitive in the draft.
However, Talladega's rapidly changing running order made maintaining a leading position difficult. Ware eventually slipped farther back as teams employed different strategies and adjusted their drafting formations. He nevertheless remained in contention
throughout much of the event and avoided the severe damage that eliminated numerous competitors.
Ware completed 188 laps and finished 16th, one circuit behind race winner Kyle Larson. The performance earned Ware 21 points and provided an encouraging result after several challenging races during the season.
Ware remains 35th in the overall NASCAR Cup Series standings with 258 points. Although he did not qualify for the championship Chase, he will look to build upon his Talladega showing during the final two events at Martinsville Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway.
This article originally appeared on Motorsports Wire: Cody Ware's race recap in the 2026 Chase race at Talladega
