With nine circuits remaining in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen, Cody Ware crashed violently into a retaining wall entering turn seven. The incident did not bring out a caution flag as Ware managed to limp his battered No. 51 car to the pits.
Because FS1 did not capture the crash on the broadcast, NASCAR insiders and fans turned to social media for footage of the incident. Ware’s crash could be seen via the driver’s on-board camera, which shed light on the violent nature of the incident.
In the wake of the crash, many within the sport questioned how the wreck unfolded, and why the caution was not thrown.
Ware’s violent crash bent the ARMCO barrier at Watkins Glen
The brutal nature of Ware’s crash at Watkins Glen was brought to light on social media.
Ware’s on-board view of the wreck surfaced on social media. Among others, NASCAR journalist Joseph Srigley posted the snippet of the crash and noted the caution did not come out despite the vicious impact.
“Wow. Cody Ware had a pretty hard crash heading into Turn 7 late in the race today that wasn’t picked up by FOX, and probably should have been a yellow. But, Ware kept driving and brought his No. 51 to the garage eventually. Hard hit, though,” Srigley wrote via X.
However, the aftermath of the wreck made the rounds on social media. Motorsports writer Austin Konenski was among many who posted a photo of the ARMCO barrier caved in where Ware made impact.
“Cody Ware’s wreck at Watkins Glen damaged the wall. There are other pictures floating around as well. This is pretty crazy,” Konenski said.
Because of the fierce collision Ware made, many questioned how a caution was not thrown. One of those was “Rubbin is Racing” on X.
“Cody Ware wrecked like hell and it didn’t bring out a yellow,” they wrote.
Ware pulled off the racetrack following the incident, finishing the race 37th after 90 laps.
The race remained green until the finish, which saw Shane van Gisbergen take the checkered flag for the first time in 2026. It was van Gisbergen’s seventh career win and second at Watkins Glen.
NASCAR insider Jeff Gluck weighs in on Ware crash: ‘He kept moving’
On the most recent episode of “The Teardown” podcast, NASCAR insider Jeff Gluck gave his thoughts on the Ware crash.
While he did not have any additional information from NASCAR at the time, Gluck speculated that the reason the caution was not thrown was because Ware drove away after the crash.
“I obviously have not talked to NASCAR. … I was just going to assume they just saw the wrecked car, they saw him continuing to move, and as they do, they say, ‘Well, he’s still moving on the track, he’s not in the barrier.’ … He drove it back. It looked like a tremendous hit,” Gluck said.
Gluck went on to say if NASCAR saw the crash, they might have had a different reaction.
“I’m sure it was one of those things where if they had maybe seen it hit live, they would go, ‘Oh, put it out,’ because that was big enough. He kept moving, so I guess that’s why they kept the race going,” Gluck said.
After 12 races in 2026, Ware is currently 36th in the points standings.
NASCAR: Cody Ware’s Violent Watkins Glen Crash Raises Questions