Cracked HANS, Bent Wheel, Delayed Caution? Fans Furious After Cody Ware Wreck

The Grant Park 165 in Chicago was a wild ride, but late in the race, things took a scary turn for Cody Ware. Starting 35th, he’d climbed steadily toward a top-20 finish by lap 74 when contact with the No. 7 car triggered a catastrophic brake rotor failure. Unable to slow into Turn 6, Ware slammed into the tire barrier at a jaw-dropping 93 mph, according to onboard data. The hit was brutal. And so was the fan sentiment, given how things unfolded.

Telemetry showed the rotor exploding just before impact, leaving the car trapped in the barrier with smoke pouring out as Ware radioed, “Need help.” It was a heart-stopping moment for anyone watching, and the damage was severe: a cracked HANS device, crushed EPS foam in his helmet, and a bent steering wheel, as Ware later revealed.

Shockingly, NASCAR didn’t throw the caution flag for 35 seconds, well after race leader Shane van Gisbergen took the white flag, locking in his victory under yellow. Officials later admitted they underestimated the crash’s severity, assuming Ware might drive out, as Kyle Larson did in a similar spot the previous year.

Only when Ware climbed out and lowered his window net did the Race Control act. Rick Ware Racing’s Tommy Baldwin called it likely the hardest head-on hit of the Gen-7 era, noting Ware was “a little sore” but cleared after medical checks. His mother confirmed he was bruised but okay, a fortunate outcome given the wreck’s violence.

Fans aren’t taking this lightly. A Reddit post titled “[Steven Taranto] Cody Ware reveals that his Chicago wreck cracked his HANS Device, the EPS Foam in his helmet, and also bent the steering wheel in his car among other things” unleashed a wave of frustration. Supporters rallied behind Ware, slamming NASCAR’s delayed response and calling for better safety measures to prevent such oversights in the future.

Fan reactions to Cody Ware’s Chicago crash

The Reddit thread lit up with fans venting their anger and concern. One user sarcastically remarked, “He’ll back right out of those tire barriers and continue on. Any second now.” The quip underscores the absurdity of NASCAR’s delay, as Ware’s car was clearly immobilized after the 93-mph hit, with telemetry confirming the brake rotor failure left him stuck in the barrier for over 30 seconds. Race Control’s assumption that he could drive out, based on past incidents like Larson’s, didn’t hold up, and fans weren’t buying it.

Another fan didn’t hold back, stating, “I firmly believe that NASCAR needs to have automatic yellows when a high G-levels crash happens like in F1. Also, if it was a more popular driver, that yellow would have been out immediately.”

This hits on a real gap in NASCAR’s safety protocols. Unlike Formula 1 or IndyCar, which uses accelerometers to trigger instant cautions for high-G impacts, NASCAR relies on Race Control’s judgment. The 35-second delay after Ware’s “Need help” call fueled speculation that a bigger name might’ve prompted a quicker flag, especially since officials admitted they lacked a live feed of the crash’s severity.

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A third commenter pushed for tech upgrades, saying, “They definitely need some sort of system warning for if a HANS Device gets broken during a wreck. Bet if that showed up on a sensor warning a caution would have been thrown immediately.”

While no official report confirms the cracked HANS device, Rick Ware Racing’s claim that this was “probably the worst head-on hit of the Next Gen era” makes it plausible. Fans want sensor-based systems, like those detecting HANS integrity loss, to alert Race Control instantly, avoiding delays that left Ware stranded.

Another fan added, “Yeah, NASCAR has a lot to answer for here. I’m pretty sure Cody’s ‘need help’ wasn’t just to get out of the tires, I’m sure he was really hurt.” Ware’s desperate radio call, paired with the team’s description of the violent impact, suggests he was shaken beyond just being stuck. Baldwin noted Ware was “a little sore” post-crash, and his mother’s update about bruising hints at the physical toll. The delayed caution only amplified fans’ belief that NASCAR misjudged a critical moment.

Finally, one user summed up the frustration: “I s— on Cody and RWR all day, but I’m glad he didn’t get hurt. That was Scary as fuck. The craziest thing to me is that…with all the engineered excitement NASCAR tries to get with stage breaks and all that shit, you’d almost think they would be DYING to throw a yellow right before the white flag. Especially when there was a huge impact like this wreck. Totally unacceptable.”

The comment nails the disconnect. NASCAR’s push for drama through stage breaks and close finishes clashed with their slow response, letting van Gisbergen take the white flag and end the race. Fans saw the 35-second delay as prioritizing the finish over safety, especially for a wreck so severe it cracked Ware’s HANS and bent his steering wheel. The outrage is clear: NASCAR needs to step up its game to keep drivers safe.