Rick Ware Racing makes a big announcement for Bowman Gray Clash as they snub Corey LaJoie for a suspension specialist 

Rick Ware Racing has announced that Tim Brown, the team's suspension and drivetrain specialist, will pilot the #15 Ford at the Bowman Gray Stadium. Brown will attempt to qualify for the preseason Clash as RWR have remained tight-lipped about Corey LaJoie's involvement.

LaJoie and Justin Haley were swapped mid-season. While Haley went to Spire Motorsports and has secured a deal for the 2025 Cup Series season, LaJoie has yet to confirm his NASCAR future. Though the former Spire driver is still mentioned on RWR's roster, Bowman Gray's most successful driver Tim Brown will take the reins at the quarter-mile oval.

Brown will register his Cup Series debut after making his only NASCAR start in the 2009 Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway. Nonetheless, the RWR suspension specialist's legendary modified racer status of 12 Bowman Gray championships, 101 wins, and 146 pole positions, paved the way for his premier-level start at the venue that will return to NASCAR for the first time since 1971.

“I’ve worked my whole life to try to be a Cup driver. I’m good with working on race cars for a living because it’s still a pretty cool gig, but I always wanted to drive for a living. For Rick Ware and everybody involved here at RWR to give me the chance to go run a Cup race is so humbling and so heartwarming. It’s really cool," Brown said via NASCAR.

It's worth mentioning that Rick Ware Racing's Brown boasts engine-building experience for legendary team owners like Cale Yarborough, Rick Ware, Michael Waltrup, and Jack Roush.

Rick Ware Racing's Tim Brown explains what could be "very helpful" in his debut Cup Series run

Since 1971, Bowman Gray Stadium has undergone plenty of changes. These include adding fresh concrete around the track's perimeter, SAFER barriers, a new Musco lighting system, and the removal of decades-old rusty guard rails.

However, because of the adjustments, the track has become smaller and thus, the race lines originally followed by the drivers would now be distorted. With the contracted oval, drivers would be bound to steer through a more contained race line as the previous layout would send drivers crashing into the barriers.

That being said, Tim Brown expressed it would be "very helpful" if he could get some track time before piloting his #15 Rick Ware Racing Ford on the oval.

“NASCAR has already done some updates to the stadium with soft walls and things like that. That’s going to change the line of the race track because you make the track smaller. So the line that we generally run, you won’t be able to run because they run right out against the wall. If the soft walls take up 2-and-a-half or 3 feet, now that’s 3 feet that you can’t let the car drift out to the wall. Just getting some track time before we climb in the Cup car, which I’ve never driven before other than on the chassis dyno, will be very helpful,” Brown said.

Rick Ware Racing has yet to disclose whether Corey LaJoie will race for them in 2025.