NASCAR's Mike Forde confirms severity of Cody Ware wreck, sheds light on Chicago caution timing factors

Mike Forde, NASCAR’s managing director, racing communications, shed some light on Cody Ware‘s hit at the Chicago Street Race. On Hauler Talk, Forde confirmed that Ware’s hit was the “biggest frontal hit we’ve seen in the Next Gen era.”

“That was a big, big hit,” Forde said. “By the time we saw that 51 in the tire barriers, we did not see the hit. If we did see that hit, that caution would have been immediately thrown, there’s no question about that. But all we saw at that moment in time was the car in the barrier.”

Forde then mentioned that track corner workers are instructed not to “editorialize when reporting a crash over the radio to race control,” per Steven Taranto of CBS Sports. That would mean the track worker on Sunday would have only radioed “Turn 6” to race control, rather than mentioning special details about Cody Ware’s crash.

There was a lot of talk of NASCAR holding onto the caution flag after Ware’s accident. Forde said NASCAR will give drivers time to see if they can get their cars out of a situation similar to what Ware dealt with on Sunday.

Mike Forde shares more on Cody Ware’s crash at Chicago

“We’ve seen cars be able to back out of that spot in the past,” Forde said. “The 5 [Kyle Larson] did it last year. I don’t think he got fully out, but he was able to remove himself. …So we’re hoping that it was one of those scenarios. If we can avoid a caution when it’s the closing laps and let the race play out organically, that would be our preference, and ending under green is always our preference.

“So we waited and waited, and then we saw the window net drop and him starting to climb out of the car. That’s when the caution flew.” Forde then said that when something like that happens, he will talk to the race director and get a recap of what happened and help “provide the context.”

Cody Ware slammed into the tire barriers at 93 mph. He then radioed to his team, “Need help,” but NASCAR waited to throw the caution. By that time, Shane van Gisbergen took the white flag, and the race ended.