The organizational roots of RWR date back to Ware & Sons Racing, with Rick Ware and his father John Ware competing in the SCCA Series as early as the 1960s, when Rick began with go-kart racing. Once of legal driving age, Rick joined his father in the SCCA and IMSA Series. In 1983, Ware & Sons won Rookie of the Year in the California Sports Car Club with Rick behind the wheel; the organization went on to win several titles in that series and in the SCCA and IMSA Championships. After a stint as a driver in the NASCAR Cup Series, Ware renamed the organization Ware Racing Enterprises in the 1990s and eventually Rick Ware Racing in 2004.
The team's shop was previously in Thomasville, North Carolina. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown (March to May), the team moved to Mooresville, North Carolina, coinciding with the purchase of Premium Motorsports. Before the 2023 season RWR moved to a shop in Concord, North Carolina on the campus of RFK Racing, with whom the team began an alliance that year. On April 9, Tommy Baldwin Jr. was appointed competition director.
In 1998, Rick Ware attempted to qualify a Ware Racing Enterprises Ford in the Winston Cup at Sonoma Raceway but failed. RWR made Cup attempts from 2004 with Stanton Barrett in the No. 52, and in 2007 Barrett missed the Daytona 500 by a single position. In 2011, RWR allied with Front Row Motorsports/Max Q Motorsports; American Le Mans Series driver Tomy Drissi qualified for the Sonoma Cup race but was not approved by NASCAR, with Chris Cook driving to 27th. In 2012 the alliance with Max Q Motorsports ran Timmy Hill in the No. 37 for most of the season; after missing five of six attempts the partnership ended.
RWR returned to the Cup Series consistently from 2017 with the No. 51 Chevrolet. In 2018 the team secured a charter for the No. 51 and fielded cars for all three manufacturers, adding a part-time No. 52. For 2019, the No. 51 was registered as Petty Ware Racing after leasing the charter from Richard Petty Motorsports; a full-time No. 52 followed after purchasing a charter from Front Row Motorsports. RWR also fielded part-time No. 53 and No. 54 entries.
In November 2019, NASCAR penalised RWR, Premium Motorsports, and Spire Motorsports for manipulating finishing order at Homestead. Each team was docked 50 owners' points and fined US$50,000; competition directors Kenneth Evans of RWR and Scott Eggleston of Premium Motorsports were suspended indefinitely and fined US$25,000 each.
In 2020, RWR purchased Premium Motorsports and their No. 15 charter from Jay Robinson. The team aligned with Stewart-Haas Racing and Roush Yates Engines beginning in 2022, then switched alliance to RFK Racing in 2023. In April 2023, Cody Ware — primary driver of the No. 51 — was indefinitely suspended by NASCAR after being arrested and charged with felony assault by strangulation; multiple substitute drivers finished the season. Despite finishing in the bottom three among chartered teams for three consecutive years, NASCAR did not repossess the charter at the end of 2023. In 2024, Justin Haley drove the No. 51 full-time before a mid-season driver swap with Spire Motorsports brought Corey LaJoie to the car.
In April 2025, Legacy Motor Club sued RWR over the sale of a charter, alleging RWR backed out of a deal. The dispute centred on confusion over which of RWR's two charters — Charter 36 or Charter 27 — was covered by the US$45 million agreement. A North Carolina judge denied LMC an injunction. On September 19, 2025, LMC and RWR settled, with RWR selling the charter to LMC. On June 26, 2025, T.J. Puchyr (co-founder of Spire Motorsports) entered an agreement to purchase RWR's NASCAR team, retaining Rick Ware as partner and Cody Ware as the No. 51 driver and all current RWR employees. For 2026, RWR switched from Ford to Chevrolet, forming an alliance with Richard Childress Racing.
RWR participated in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series from 1999 with two starts (Rick Ware himself and Randy MacDonald). In 2000, Ware suffered a career-ending fractured vertebra in a head-on crash at California Speedway, moving permanently into the ownership role. The truck program ran multiple cars through multiple seasons before being dissolved in 2017 after five races. In the Nationwide/Xfinity Series, RWR ran entries from 2009 through 2016, notable moments including Chrissy Wallace becoming the first female driver to make her series debut at Daytona in 2010, racing against her father Mike Wallace in what was the first father-daughter race in any of the top three NASCAR series.
In 2020, RWR partnered with Dale Coyne Racing to field James Davison in the No. 51 Honda at the Indianapolis 500; the car caught fire on lap six and finished 33rd. In 2021 the partnership expanded to a full-time programme: Romain Grosjean drove all street and road course events with his only oval appearance at Gateway, while Pietro Fittipaldi handled the oval races. RWR also fielded the No. 52 Honda for Cody Ware at Road America that year. Takuma Sato, a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, drove the No. 51 full-time in 2022; Sting Ray Robb in 2023; and in 2024 Katherine Legge made the most starts, including the Indianapolis 500. Following 2024, the RWR–Dale Coyne Racing partnership ended.
In 2011, RWR returned to road racing at the Grand-Am Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, finishing 11th in class and 25th overall in the GT3 Cup Division with drivers Brett Sandberg, Scott Monroe, Maurice Hull, Jeffrey Earnhardt, and Doug Harrington. In 2019, RWR began competing in the Asian Le Mans Series with two Ligier JS P2s. At The Bend Motorsport Park, Cody Ware and Gustas Grinbergas won the LMP2 Am Trophy class; at 16, Grinbergas became the youngest driver to win an ACO-sanctioned race. RWR competed in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship through 2023 before ending participation following a DNF at Watkins Glen.
Rick Ware Racing has a long history in two-wheel competition dating to Rick Ware's own AMA Supercross racing in the late 1980s. In the AMA Arenacross Series, RWR partnered with Tuf Honda owner Dave Antolak to win three consecutive championships: Danny Smith in 2007, Chad Johnson in 2008, and Jeff Gibson in 2009. In the WMA Motocross Series, Jessica Patterson captured titles for RWR in 2006 and 2007 — claiming 10 holeshot awards and 13 victories across the two seasons and becoming the most successful female rider in AMA Motocross history during that period. At X Games 17, Vicki Golden won the Women's Moto X gold medal for RWR, the organization's first gold medal in the X Games.
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