Ryan Ellis isn’t the only NASCAR driver supportive of the Washington Capitals.
Third generation driver Cody Ware was captured wearing a Nicklas Backstrom playoff shirsey Sunday the day of the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
Ware’s crew put plastic wrap around his personal car in the morning as a practical joke.
I wake up this morning to see that the @RickWareRacing crew has used 600ft of wrap of my car! pic.twitter.com/nRgRLR0Vxn
— Cody Ware (@CodyShaneWare) September 3, 2017
Looks like @CodyShaneWare will be a little late to the track this morning… he needs to get his car out of this mess pic.twitter.com/H2OyqbpjRC
— Timmy Hill (@TimmyHillRacer) September 3, 2017
According to Ryan Ellis, Ware, a close personal friend, bought the shirt at a Capitals-Penguins playoff game the two attended this past May. Caps PA announcer Wes Johnson found out that the drivers wanted to go to the game and got them both tickets.
“I brought Cody out to that game that we both got tickets to,” Ellis, who is serving as Matt DiBennedetto’s PR man this season, said in an interview from Darlington. “He really got thrown into the deep end with it being his first playoff game and I gave him all of the history of the Penguins/Capitals rivalry on the drive up from Richmond.
“When we got there, he got a Backstrom shirt. I told him not to get an Ovi shirt just so he wouldn’t look like everyone else, and I already had an Oshie jersey. He’d been to a Predators regular season game before and had become a fan of them, but I think the Verizon Center playoff environment really drew him into the Caps and hating the Penguins.
During race weekend at Darlington, Ware debuted a Days of Thunder paint scheme to celebrate 80s weekend. The car also had decals that said Pray For Texas to honor those still suffering from Hurricane Harvey. Ware’s parents Rick and Lisa Ware are from Houston and were high school sweethearts. Many of their friends still live in the Houston area and have lost everything.
Houston's on the minds of many this weekend, including @CodyShaneWare and @RickWareRacing's.
They changed their scheme last minute. pic.twitter.com/l0ux6WZtzR
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 1, 2017
Days. Of. Thunder. Hey @TomCruise you got any pointers for me this weekend? pic.twitter.com/56ZQp3JS0v
— Cody Ware (@CodyShaneWare) August 31, 2017
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) August 31, 2017
The Backstrom shirt would not bring Ware good luck in the race, however. Ware wrecked while passing slower traffic.
Haven't wrecked a car all year long.. Get taken out by a driver 30 laps down that I had passed 5 times on track, can't be smart for everyone
— Cody Ware (@CodyShaneWare) September 4, 2017
Rick Ware Racing, Cody’s team, was the crew behind Ryan Ellis’s RMNB-sponsored NASCAR race car at the Dover XFINITY race last season.
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