Dale Coyne Racing is entering into a collaboration with Rick Ware Racing for its No. 51 and No. 52 entries for the 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES.
The team, which will run under the Dale Coyne Racing with RWR banner, will field the No. 51 car (previously the No. 19 and No. 55 cars) as a full-season entry alongside its sister No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser Sullivan entry driven by Ed Jones.
The team further plans to run the No. 52 car at the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge as a third entry under the DCR stable. The No. 52 car also is set to do a selection of other races to be determined.
“We were introduced to Rick Ware at last year’s Indy 500 where he ran James Davison in our third entry,” team owner Dale Coyne said. “It was interesting to see how similar his efforts in NASCAR Cup and IMSA were to ours. We have talked ever since that event, and we are excited to welcome Rick Ware Racing into our family at DCR.”
The primary sponsor of the No. 51 car will be announced in the coming month, with the driver of that season-long entry expected to be announced next week.
“I met Dale last year through our Indy efforts with David Byrd and struck up a friendship with him and his team,” owner Rick Ware said. “I have thought a long time about expanding into INDYCAR from our efforts in NASCAR Cup, Xfinity and IMSA, so this collaboration was an easy and logical step. We look forward to a competitive 2021 and beyond together.”
Dale Coyne Racing enters its 38th year of competing in American open-wheel racing. Team owner Coyne, a Midwestern entrepreneur who designed and built Route 66 Raceway and Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois, is known for taking on young drivers and mentoring them in the early stages of their careers. The team has claimed multiple victories, most notably, winning back-to-back races at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in the past few years.
Ware made his NASCAR Cup Series driving debut in 1990 and spent the next decade racing in series such as ARCA and the NASCAR Xfinity Series before turning to full-time team owner duties. Rick Ware Racing (RWR) fields four charters in the NASCAR Cup Series; No. 15, 51, 52 and 53. Located in Mooresville, North Carolina, RWR has competed within NASCAR's top touring series since 2000. Over the past 20 years, RWR has competed in the Super Trofeo Series, IMSA, Asian Le Mans Series, ARCA and several other series.