Cody Ware's Darlington throwback scheme to honor Ward Burton and Tommy Baldwin Jr.

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In 146 career NASCAR Cup Series starts between 1994 and 1998, Ward Burton had just five top-five finishes and a best points result of 16th. Aside from a breakthrough win at Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway on Oct. 22, 1995, Burton was still in search of the kind of front-running consistency displayed by his peers, including his brother, Jeff, who already had five of his 21 career Cup Series victories before a dominant, six-win season in 1999.

Ward Burton and the team he was driving for, Bill Davis Racing, needed a jolt. Enter Tommy Baldwin Jr., who became Burton‘s crew chief for the final eight races of the 1998 season and who now serves as the competition director for Rick Ware Racing (RWR).

Baldwin‘s impact at Bill Davis Racing was immediate. They scored six top-15 finishes in those first eight races together, a run highlighted by a second-place drive Oct. 4 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, and they rose from 21st to finish 16th in the championship standings.

While no wins were tallied in 1999, Burton scored more top-fives (six) than he had in his prior Cup Series career, and earned as many top-10s (16) as he had in his three previous seasons combined. Altogether, it placed Burton ninth in the season-ending standings, and it gave Bill Davis Racing the accolade of being the only single-car team to crack the top-10 in points.

"We went into the winter with a lot of momentum and a lot of confidence," Baldwin said. "Finishing in the top-10 in points was pretty big, especially for us being a single-car team. That‘s when you went up to New York City and got to go to the Waldorf Astoria and sit at the good tables and have your chest out because it really was a pretty big accomplishment."

It was a prelude to an impressive three-year run where the drawling Burton of South Boston, Virginia, and the blunt Baldwin of Bellport, New York, put their signature yellow-and-black Caterpillar-sponsored racecar in victory lane four times.

They netted half their wins at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, home to the Official Throwback Weekend of NACAR and site of this Sunday‘s Goodyear 400. It is where Burton‘s iconic paint scheme runs again, this time on the No. 51 Jacob Construction Ford Mustang Dark Horse of RWR driver Cody Ware, as a tribute to all that Burton and Baldwin accomplished together, particularly at Darlington.

A glimpse of the duo‘s potential at Darlington was on display in the 1999 Southern 500. Burton qualified second and finished second, leading twice for 30 laps in between. When Burton returned to Darlington in March 2000 for the Mall.com 400, he dominated, leading 188 of the race‘s 293 laps to take the win by 1.420 seconds over reigning Cup Series champion Dale Jarrett. Burton then finished sixth a little more than five months later in his return to Darlington for the Southern 500, and came home 12th in the 2001 spring race. It set the table for one of his grandest victories — the 2001 Southern 500.

"When I first saw the rendering of our throwback paint scheme, I started to remember that whole Southern 500 weekend and all that went into it," Baldwin said. "It wasn‘t the smoothest, that‘s for sure. We ran first or second in practice, and then wrecked in qualifying. We had to put the car back together — whole right side, a rear end, truck arms — I remember it was a lot of work. We started way back, 37th I think, and we made some different changes than we normally would for that race. Ward seemed to like it, but we weren‘t running well. Then with about 150 laps left, I brought him back into the pits at the last minute and took those changes out and he went from last to the lead very quickly."

Burton led only 27 laps. His first time in the lead came with just 55 laps to go. He held the point for 18 tours around the venerable, 1.366-mile oval, and then reassumed the lead with a pass of defending Southern 500 winner Bobby Labonte on lap 359 to lead the final nine laps.

"That was a special weekend, for sure," Baldwin said. "There were so many good people who were involved in that win on that day. All of us had to fight to get ready for that race, and then we had to fight throughout the race.

"You know, we didn‘t have any anticipation of winning because so much had to be done just to even start the race. But when Ward took the lead for the final time and all of us were like, 'Holy cow! We won that! We won the Southern 500!‘ It just goes to show you that teamwork, and all the hard work you put into something, pays off."

That mantra earned Baldwin two more wins with Burton — the 2002 Daytona 500 and the 2002 New England 300 at New Hampshire — and it remains front and center with Baldwin today at RWR where he is director of competition, a role he has held since April 2023.

"We have a really good team here at Rick Ware Racing. It‘s a very small group compared to most teams out there, but it‘s a solid group of people that work their tails off," said Baldwin, who in addition to his 24 years as a Cup Series crew chief, spent a decade as a Cup Series team owner.

"I have so much experience working with teams who are maybe small in numbers, but really good when it comes to building fast racecars and getting results. I‘ve made plenty of mistakes along the way, but have learned a lot of the right things too. You take all those positives and negatives, and when you put them together, you‘re able to do more in a shorter period of time.

"It‘s just basically getting all the ducks in a row, getting all your people to believe in who you are as a race team and where you want to go. When you believe, you work harder and you do all the right things. I think we‘ve shown that the last couple of years."

Darlington is a microcosm of that mindset.

"It‘s a full team effort at Darlington," Baldwin said. "You‘ve got to have a car that can last all day and you‘ve got to have a driver who can be patient when he needs to be patient, and then go when it‘s time to go."

While Baldwin watches on Sunday, it is Cody Ware who gets the honor of driving a car that pays tribute to such a significant portion of Baldwin‘s career.

"Tommy‘s really done it all, from crew chief to team owner. He understands all facets of racing, so what better guy than him to have at RWR," Ware said.

"Tommy is very similar to my father, a guy that‘s been a driver, been a team owner, and now, is watching his kids, Jack and Luke, race. It really is a perfect fit to have someone like that who brings the knowledge, the expertise and has the relationships to continually grow our program. To be able to honor that, and what he accomplished with Ward Burton, is very appropriate this weekend."

The yellow-and-black No. 51 Jacob Construction Ford Mustang Dark Horse tours Darlington for the first time on Saturday when practice begins at 12:35 p.m. EDT followed by qualifying at 1:40 p.m. Prime Video will broadcast both sessions live. The Goodyear 400 goes green on Sunday at 3 p.m. with live coverage on FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

— Rick Ware Racing —