MOORESVILLE, N.C. Cody Ware will contest the entire NASCAR Cup Series schedule behind the wheel of the No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse, the team revealed Wednesday.

Billy Plourde will be his crew chief.

Last year, Ware competed in nine Cup Series races and earned the second-best average finish among drivers who ran a limited Cup Series schedule. Wares average result of 21.0 was second only to A.J. Allmendinger, who competed in 16 races and earned an average finish of 20.5. Buoyed by a career-best finish of fourth in the Aug. 24 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona (Fla.) Intl Speedway, Ware bested Shane van Gisbergen (12 starts, 22.8 average finish), B.J. McLeod (seven starts, 28.3 average finish), Kaz Grala (24 starts, 28.5 average finish), Derek Kraus (six starts, 29.7 average finish), Jimmie Johnson (nine starts, 30.6 average finish), Austin Hill (four starts, 31.8 average finish) and J.J. Yeley (eight starts, 33.6 average finish).

The NASCAR Cup Series is where every driver wants to be and Im grateful to be back full time, Ware said. Ive improved as a driver and RWR has improved as a team, and this is, by far, the best opportunity Ive had in NASCAR. I aim to make the most of it and earn the respect of my competitors.

Ware began racing at 16, following in his familys footsteps as a fourth-generation racer. It was a late start considering many drivers begin their careers at age five in go-karts, but since climbing into a Legend Car and running upward of 50 races in his first season, Ware has seemingly been making up for lost time.

After racing Late Model stock cars in 2012-2013, Ware began his NASCAR career in earnest in late 2013, securing a handful of starts on the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour before racing across the NASCAR Mexico Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2014. On March 5, 2017, Ware made his Cup Series debut at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Outside of NASCAR, Ware has made his mark in sportscar racing. He won the 2019-2020 LMP2 championship in the Asian Le Mans Series with co-driver Gustas Grinbergas. In a prelude to that title, Ware was the 2014 Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Rookie of the Year. Last January at Daytona, Ware piloted a Ligier JS P320 to a podium finish in the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge LMP3 class. Ware has also competed in Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup and the NTT IndyCar Series.

Cody made a lot out of the nine races he ran for us last year and proved that he was deserving of a full-time opportunity, said team owner Rick Ware. Running a part-time schedule isnt easy because its hard to develop consistency when youre out of the car for weeks on end. But Cody made it work and he and crew chief Billy Plourde developed a good rapport.

It made sense to see what could come of their collective efforts when theyre working alongside one another week in and week out. A full season together provides the best chance for everyone to succeed.