The ‘New’ Chevrolet Camaro Is A Hit In NASCAR As Rick Ware Racing Joins Haas In Making The Switch From Ford

The Chevrolet Camaro is one of the hottest American sports cars right now. Not in showrooms, where it is no longer available, but in NASCAR.

Rick Ware Racing (RWR) has announced that it is switching from Ford to the bowtie brand in 2026. Haas Factory Team already announced that it is trading it its Mustangs for Camaros next year.

RWR previously used Chevrolets, but has been running Ford Mustangs since 2022. It has entered a technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing and will use motors built by Childress’ ECR Engines.

“Chevrolet has always set a high bar with its people, its performance and its passion for racing, and partnering with them gives us the resources and support to make real progress on the racetrack. Teaming up with RCR and ECR provides a foundation we can build on, not just for 2026, but for the future of our race team. We’re proud to be part of the Chevrolet family,” RWR owner Rick Ware said in a news release.

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Ware said the change is an indication of the team’s ambitions in the Cup Series, where it has never won a race. Ware’s son Cody will return to the No. 51 car in 2026 after finishing 36th in the points standings this season.

“The NASCAR Cup Series is the toughest and most competitive series in motorsports, and this is an important move for the long-term growth of our compan,” Ware said. “We’ve won in NHRA, American Flat Track, World Supercross and the CARS Tour, and we want to elevate our NASCAR performance to the level of our other programs.”

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The Camaro went out of production in 2023 as a 2024 model year vehicle, but Chevrolet has continued to use it as the basis of its NASCAR Cup Series and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (formerly the Xfinity Series) entries. NASCAR allowed it to update the body for 2026 to improve its aerodynamic downforce in concert with the release of a Carbon Performance Package that can be retrofitted to existing street Camaros.

Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson won the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Championship driving the current Camaro.

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