A caution for Cody Ware crashing on the streets of Chicago ended Sunday's Cup Series race. This was an incident that created questions about the timing of the yellow flag, which took place after leader Shane van Gisbergen took the white flag.
The incident occurred after the Rick Ware Racing driver blew a brake rotor. He slammed into the tire barrier and buried the No. 51 Ford. More than 30 seconds later, NASCAR threw the caution. According to The Athletic writer Jeff Gluck, the car telemetry showed Ware hitting the Wall at 93 mph.
"Our race director saw the car in the tire packs," NASCAR said in a statement to AltDriver. "Obviously, seeing the in-car, the hit was a big one -- but when we see a car in the tire packs, there's no way to know the severity.
"As we always do on road courses, we wait to see if the car can pull out and drive off -- like the 5 car (Kyle Larson) did in that same area last year. Always hope for a green flag finish. Once the window net came down and the driver climbed out, we needed to throw the caution."
From Cody Ware's onboard. He'd apparently been saying the right front had been locking up but didn't confirm if it was a tire or brake failure before getting out of the car.
Tough ending to what had been a great run for him. https://t.co/YgTC90rWZt pic.twitter.com/5BleyEWnsq
— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) July 6, 2025
Ware went to the infield care center after hitting the tire barrier. He underwent evaluation before being released. The veteran then issued a statement explaining what led to the crash.
"We had a solid top-15 day going," Ware said, per Rick Ware Racing. "Team did a really good job making adjustments. From start to finish, it was just a constant march forward.
"Unfortunately, during one of those restarts, the 7 (Justin Haley) car got into our left front, picked up a vibration from there and it just progressively got worse and worse until finally, the rotor exploded. Just frustrating. We'll focus forward at Sonoma and finish what we started here in Chicago."
Said Tyler Reddick, who finished third, about the timing of the caution, "I mean, it's just a tough situation. I can't see what's going on over there in Turn 6. NASCAR control has got to decide all that.
"It's a tough spot for them to be in because if they throw the yellow flag before we get to the white, it could totally change the outcome for the top 10, the top 20 in the race. It's a tough spot for them to be in for sure, but I think it definitely would have opened up Pandora's box, if you will, and drivers 10th on back would have been really aggressive for two laps."
This crash involving Ware was not the only incident in Sunday's race that sparked questions about the caution timing.
Contact from Erik Jones on Lap 29 sent Josh Berry into the Turn 7 wall. This damaged the No. 21 Ford Mustang and left it stalled on the race track. Race control threw the caution flag on Lap 30, but driver such as Chase Briscoe and Tyler Reddick were able to make it to pit road for stops before it closed.
"There should not have been an opportunity for cars to pit there. That was silly," Joe Gibbs Racing Director of Competition Chris Gabehart said over the radio after the yellow came out.