NASCAR driver Cody Ware arrested on assault charges

11 April 2023 - 07:44 By Reuters
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Cody Ware was arrested in Iredell County, North Carolina, on Monday on assault charges, including felony strangulation.
Cody Ware was arrested in Iredell County, North Carolina, on Monday on assault charges, including felony strangulation.
Image: James Gilbert/Getty Images

NASCAR Cup Series driver Cody Ware was arrested in Iredell County, North Carolina, on Monday on assault charges, including felony strangulation.

NASCAR suspended Ware indefinitely Monday.

Ware, 27, is out after posting $3,000 (roughly R55,394) bond. He also is charged with misdemeanour assault on a female, according to the county online jail records. The charges are classified as domestic violence and as aggravated assault with aggravated injury with “personal weapons” of hands, fist and feet.

The alleged incident took place April 3, according to police. Further details of the alleged incident have not been released.

Ware drives the No. 51 Ford owned by Rick Ware Racing; Rick Ware is Cody's father. Cody Ware missed this past weekend's race at Bristol to focus “on a personal matter”, the team announced. Matt Crafton drove the No. 51 in Ware's absence.

“We are aware of the incident regarding Cody Ware and his indefinite suspension from NASCAR competition,” Rick Ware Racing said in a statement later on Monday. “We understand NASCAR's position on this matter and accept their decision.

“The matter is still under investigation and Cody is fully co-operating with the authorities, as due process takes its course. RWR is committed to continuing our multi-car efforts in the NASCAR Cup Series and is in the process of finalising our plans for the No. 51 entry at Martinsville Speedway, and beyond.”

Ware has 97 career starts on the Cup Series since 2017, finishing a career-best sixth at Daytona last August. Ware was 31st in the Cup Series standings heading into Bristol, but he has been scrubbed from NASCAR's official standings page.

He finished 34th in his last race, at Richmond on April 2.

Ware posted to Twitter in February 2018 that he suffers from depression and anxiety. Later in 2018, he posted to Facebook that he has Asperger's syndrome, which is classified as an autism spectrum disorder.


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