Craftsman Truck Series driver Matt Crafton will fill the No. 51 Rick Ware Racing seat this weekend on the Bristol dirt as Cody Ware takes care of an unspecified personal matter.
“Cody Ware will step away from racing this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway to focus on a personal matter,” read a statement from the team. “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 has made two NASCAR Cup Series starts in his career, and both were as a substitute driver. He finished 18th in his Cup Series debut in 2015, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, and 25th at Martinsville Speedway in 2019 for Front Row Motorsports.
The two-time Truck Series champion will pull double duty at Bristol. Crafton will compete in the Saturday night Truck Series race and make his third Cup Series start Sunday night.
Ware is in his third full season of Cup Series competition for the family team after making his first start in the series in 2017. He has one top-10 finish in 97 starts.