Evel Knievel created an incredible highlight reel of jumping buses on his motorcycle. His mesmerizing leaps made for must-see TV and captured global attention throughout the 1970s and ’80s. Despite his passing almost 19 years ago at the age of 69, Knievel remains an icon whose legacy is promoted by Rick Ware Racing (RWR).
RWR team owner Rick Ware is a Los Angeles native who grew up amid Southern California’s car culture, which included hot rods at Pomona, stock cars, sports cars and Indy cars at Riverside, and motorcycles that ripped around the dirt at Ascot. He saw Knievel’s rise to prominence in person and in real time. Today, as a successful owner who fields entries across multiple motorsports disciplines, Ware is doing his part to ensure that Knievel’s place in Americana remains strong. He secured a marketing partnership with the Knievel family and is using Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to promote the recently opened Evel Knievel Experience in Las Vegas.
“Evel Knievel didn’t just ride a motorcycle – he flew it,” said Ware, owner of the No. 51 Chevrolet that his son, Cody, drives in the Cup Series. “I remember watching him jump buses, fountains, anything you could line up in front of him, and he made it a must-see event every time. I didn’t just see it on television, I was there. His career was filled with jaw-dropping moments that people will never forget. Being able to promote the Evel Knievel Experience in Las Vegas through our race team is our way of keeping those legendary feats front and center.”
The museum is located in Las Vegas’ downtown Arts District and features a range of mementos from Knievel’s career, with his lineup of motorcycles and star-spangled leather suits prominently displayed. Following Sunday’s race at Las Vegas, a different kind of racing suit will be added to the collection – Cody Ware’s firesuit, which mimics the iconic design of Knievel’s leathers and will be worn in Sunday’s South Point 400.
“Never in a million years would I have ever thought a firesuit of mine would be in any museum, let alone the Evel Knievel Experience,” said the 30-year-old Ware, who will make his 173rd career Cup Series start on Sunday. “To have something of mine represent even a fraction of all the history inside the Evel Knievel Experience is a true honor.”
Knievel would certainly appreciate Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Located just 15 miles north of the Strip up Interstate 15, the 1.5-mile oval is a fast, sweeping racetrack. Drivers lap its D-shaped layout in under 30 seconds at average speeds approaching 185 mph. With its corners banked at 20 degrees, two- and three-wide racing is common, and its aged asphalt offers enough grip for drivers to move around the racetrack in search of more speed.
“Vegas is one of my favorite tracks to go to on the schedule. It’s got a lot of character,” Cody Ware said. “Being out in the desert, it can be a little bit dusty, and you have some pretty significant bumps, especially over in the corners. You have to be very cognizant of your corner entry and the line you’re taking, because if you hit those bumps in turns one and two just the wrong way, it could end your day pretty quickly.
“And with the different lines you can run, you can find ways to make the car work for you even if your car isn’t exactly where you want it. If you don’t have a good handle on your car, there’s about a lane-and-a-half you can use in turns one and two. But if your car is handling well, you can take those bumps aggressively. That opens up a lot of racing opportunities from the bottom of the racetrack all the way to the wall.”
Getting a good-handling racecar means finding equilibrium between mechanical balance and aero balance.
“You have to have a lot of aero grip and a lot of downforce built into the car to make sure you can run aggressively, especially as tire degradation goes on during the run. That, and just compliance and platform control over the bumps in (turns) one and two,” Ware said.
Ware and his Cup Series counterparts raced at Las Vegas more than six months ago, when the air was cool. They return after the track has been baking beneath Nevada’s scorching sun. Despite another summer of intense weathering, Ware expects the asphalt to have the same feel it did in March.
“We race Las Vegas early in our season and then close to the end of our season, so the weather isn’t too drastic of a change for us. It’s the most consistent mile-and-a-half track we go to,” Ware said.
Ware aims to leverage that consistency into fast, repeatable lap times, a process that begins Saturday with practice at 1:30 p.m. PDT/4:30 p.m. EDT followed by qualifying at 2:35 p.m. PDT/5:35 p.m. EDT. TruTV and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will provide live coverage of both. Sunday’s South Point 400 goes green at 2:30 p.m. PDT/5:30 p.m. EDT with live, flag-to-flag coverage delivered by USA Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
— Rick Ware Racing —