Busch Grand National Series

Rice Named as Crew Chief for Wimmer

(High Point, NC) Bill Davis Racing has promoted Chris Rice to the position of crew chief for Scott Wimmer's 2003 NASCAR Busch Series effort.

Rice joined Bill Davis Racing during the 2002 season as the shock specialist for the No. 23 NASCAR Winston Cup team and Davis feels Rice is ready for the job.

"Chris is a bright guy that has paid his dues," said Davis. "He has climbed the ladder real quickly and I'm really impressed with what I have seen in him. I like the fact he is young and energetic. I feel it is an advantage that he has worked with the Winston Cup teams already, so he has a strong line of communication with the existing crew chiefs and engineers, and he can continue to draw from those resources. He also has a good relationship with Scott and we can count of them seeing eye-to-eye on setups. I feel he is ready and has all the tools he needs to grow the Busch program."

Wimmer was in complete agreement with Davis on the selection of Rice as crew chief.

"For all parties involved, it was a pretty easy decision that Chris was the one for this job," said Wimmer. "He showed a lot of his talents by helping turn the No. 23 Winston Cup team around. He and I have built a good relationship already. He listened to our team on the radio all year long during practice sessions and the races, so he's real familiar with everyone and how we work together. We have a really good Busch program already, but we needed a good person to come in to the existing program and provide guidance. I'm really excited about working with Chris and continuing to build upon the success that this team has accomplished."

Rice is honored for the promotion to crew chief and his chance to work with a talented driver, such as Wimmer.

"This is an unbelievable opportunity for me," said Rice. "I am very thankful for everyone's belief in me to do this job. As far as Bill Davis goes, he gives you everything you need, as he's a racer himself. Scott is just an amazing talent. He showed everyone at the end of the 2002 season just how good he is. I've worked with him at tests sessions already, so feel the learning curve shouldn't be difficult at all. I'm really looking forward to building on the success this team has already achieved."

Bio Information

Chris Rice - Crew Chief

Birthdate: April 11, 1974
Residence: Gibsonville, NC
Hometown: South Boston, VA
Marital Status: Married to Tammy
Children: Kelsey (3/25/94); Elizabeth (1/30/01)
Pets: Sassy, Yorkshire terrier

(High Point, N.C.) - Chris Rice enters the 2003 season as crew chief for Scott Wimmer, and the No. 23 NASCAR Busch Series operation.

Prior to being named as Wimmer's crew chief, Rice worked as a shock specialist for the No. 23 NASCAR Winston Cup team at Bill Davis Racing during the 2002 season.

While this is his first crew chief title in the upper ranks of NASCAR competition, Rice has been around auto racing almost his whole life.

"My father, Allen, and my uncle built late-model stock cars when I was growing up," said Rice. "I was about 10 years old when I started helping them out working on cars."

Born and raised in South Boston, Virginia, Rice's racing career started in 1985 when he worked as a mechanic for Jeff Burton's late model stock team, while attending school.

"We raced at South Boston Speedway and Orange County Speedway. I was 14 years old when I started working with him and besides being a mechanic, I also went over the wall and gassed the car on race day. I guess I'm announcing breaking NASCAR's age limit rule, but if everyone does the math, they'd figure it out anyway," Rice said jokingly.

Rice worked with Burton from 1985 through 1989 and in the final year, Burton attempted running a limited Busch schedule with Rice's father as his crew chief. Burton owned the team, but the operation was run out of Allen Rice's shop.

From 1990 through 1993, Rice worked with Hermie Sadler at Sadler Motorsports. For the first three years, Sadler ran part-time in the NASCAR Busch Series and Rice's duties included mechanic and spotter. Rice graduated from high school in 1992 and in 1993, Sadler went racing full-time in the Busch Series. Rice continued with Sadler while attending college in 1993, and the same year Sadler won Rookie of the Year honors.

In 1994, Rice graduated college with a two and a half year Associates degree and went to work with Elliott Sadler and his late model stock team as crew chief. The duo scored their first win together at Ace Speedway in Burlington, N.C. in 1994. The following year they won the South Boston Speedway championship, scoring six consecutive wins, a record that still holds today. They also finished second in the Mid-Atlantic Region championship the same year. In 1996, they ran a limited Busch schedule together before Diamond Ridge Motorsports hired Sadler mid-season. The remainder of 1996 and 1997, Rice went to work for Speedway Engineering and also drove late model trucks for his father, A&E Racing.

Rice resumed his crew chief duties during the 1998 and 1999 seasons for two late model stock teams, working with drivers, Frank Deiny and R. D. Smith. In 2000, he was hired as a shock specialist for Buckshot Racing and when Petty Enterprises hired driver, Buckshot Jones, for the 2001 season, Rice went with him. Rice remained at Petty Enterprises through June 2002, when he left to join the Bill Davis Racing operation.