NASCAR Cup Series team changes drivers for Southern 500

As a seasoned gamer of NASCAR races, I’ve seen more driver swaps than pit stops over the years! The unpredictability of the 2024 Cup Series is enough to give you whiplash. Cody Ware, Kaz Grala, Riley Herbst – they’re like a well-oiled relay team, only instead of passing a baton, they’re swapping steering wheels!

In the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, yet another team has decided to switch drivers due to their practice of sharing a single charter car among several drivers.

This year, I’ve had the privilege of representing my father’s Rick Ware Racing team in no less than six out of the last five races, taking the wheel of the No. 15 Ford. Interestingly enough, this very same car has also been driven by Kaz Grala and Riley Herbst this season.

On the recent Saturday evening race, known as the Coke Zero Sugar 400, held at Daytona International Speedway, Ware achieved his best career position yet – fourth place – in his sixth start of the current season.

I won’t be piloting the No. 15 Ford for this upcoming Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway this Sunday evening, as I’ve got some time off from my racing duties.

Rick Ware Racing change drivers for Darlington

This Sunday, driver Grala, currently in the lead among all drivers with 15 races under his belt this year in the No. 15 Ford, is planning to come back for the 366-lap race taking place on the egg-shaped Darlington track in South Carolina. The upcoming event will mark his first appearance since early July, when he navigated the car at the Chicago Street Course.

It’s anticipated that Grala will participate in most of the next 10 playoff races; however, as of now, only the road course event at Watkins Glen International in mid-September has been officially scheduled on his itinerary.

2024 season doesn’t show any upcoming races for Ware, but it was mentioned that he would participate in ten events this year. Given this information, he is expected to join four more before the season concludes. Similarly, Herbst has no further scheduled starts for the 2024 season.

Another vehicle, the Kaulig Racing No. 16 Chevrolet, was utilized by various drivers throughout the 2024 season and will be driven by Shane van Gisbergen again at Darlington, marking his second start in a row among four consecutive races he’ll participate in, starting from Daytona.

Tune into the live broadcast of the Cook Out Southern 500 on USA Network, airing from Darlington Raceway at 6:00 p.m. ET this coming Sunday, September 1st. Sign up for a free trial of FuboTV right now to catch the final race before the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs begin!

2024-08-29 15:02