Editor’s note: Cody Ware, driver of the No. 51 Ford Mustang for Rick Ware Racing, is writing a daily Daytona 500 diary, giving a peek into the NASCAR life during Speedweek. This is Saturday’s entry.
In my last diary entry, I said that I wanted Saturday to be a run-of-the-mill kind of day and, mainly, it was. We needed to see where we were with our rebuilt racecar, and we did that … for the most part.
We ran 12 laps in final practice — the most of anyone — but none came in the draft. So, we feel good about the speed in our No. 51 Jacob Construction/Parts Plus/Pronto Auto Service Center Ford Mustang Dark Horse, but being able to know how it would’ve performed in the draft is something that would’ve made us rest a little easier.
Nonetheless, our car did draft well in Thursday’s Duel before we got wrecked coming to the finish. But after putting all new front bodywork on it, along with a new rear bumper, we wanted to know where we stood aerodynamically.
That being said, an enormous amount of effort was put into making our car race ready. Credit to the crew at Rick Ware Racing for making it feel like new again. It was no small feat, as all the work happened here in our garage stall at Daytona. The comfort of our race shop where all the parts and pieces are readily available, and the tools and the setup plate are all right there, would’ve made this rebuild a lot easier. But that’s not reality. Our race shop is 500 miles north of Daytona — a solid seven-hour car ride one way to North Carolina. There wasn’t time to make that trip. Everything that needed to be done, needed to be done here in Daytona.
Our guys hunkered down and did a phenomenal job. We had no major issues. We rolled out of our garage stall and turned a bunch of laps. We’ve got good reason to hold our heads high and, now, it’s just a matter of wiping away all that adversity and focusing on the present.
You can call the night before the Daytona 500 a school night, at least it is for me. It’s about getting a good night’s sleep and taking care of myself so I can deliver for 500 miles on Sunday. Saturday’s been about staying hydrated, eating well and just clearing my head to be right for the race. With 40 other cars in this year’s Daytona 500, you’ve got be on your game physically and mentally. Getting your body right is just as important as getting your car right.
This has not been an easy Daytona Speedweek. It’s definitely tested us. But I’d like to think the struggles we’ve faced this week have made us stronger, where it all culminates with a great day on Sunday when it matters most.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Daytona 500: NASCAR driver Cody Ware writes about Saturday at Speedway
