Drag Illustrated Issue 118, February 2017 | Page 101

cance of it back then, but now I think it’s really
cool,” said Rice.
Once she turned 16, though, her father gave
her a choice. “He said I could continue with the
Juniors or I could move into a big car. It was easy
– I wanted to move up,” she explained of how the
father-daughter team took their endeavors to the
next level. Rice raced in Open Comp during 2012
and 2013, and while running low-9s taught her a
lot about driving, she still felt the need to go faster.
In 2014, Rice turned her attention to the
NMCA ARP Nitrous Pro Street class. “My dad
bought a ’10 body-in-white that we were going
to build as a Coyote Stock Mustang, but it wound
up fitting in Nitrous Pro Street,” explained Rice of
how she started in the class. Getting her feet wet
with nitrous was a daunting task, but Rice was up
to the challenge and ran her very first 4.9-second
elapsed time in the eighth mile by year’s end.
“I didn’t want to slow down after that, so I stuck
with Nitrous Pro Street and got into the orange
car,” Rice stated in reference to her current ride,
an ’09 Mustang. Huffing a big breath of nitrous
courtesy of a system from Nitrous Outlet, the 400
ci small block Ford engine made plenty of power
but the car itself was overweight. “My dad had
raced it first, but we didn’t want to cut it up to
get the weight down, and that’s why I got in the
car.” At only 5’2” tall, the diminutive driver had
to have many modifications made in order for her
to fit comfortably (and safely) behind the wheel.
Rice’s new Mustang also was equipped with
a Liberty four-speed transmission with a Quick
Drive unit, and she was unfamiliar with the set-
up. It took a little getting used to, but soon Rice
was comfortable and clicking off passes like it
was no big deal. When the 2015 season drew to
a close, Rice had finished fourth overall in the
NMCA ARP Nitrous Pro Street championship
battle – quite an impressive finish for a rookie
driver with an unfamiliar car.
With more seat time to rely on, Rice raced into
2016. She missed out on the first NMCA event
of the year but made up for lost time at the next
in Atlanta, Georgia. “I couldn’t even get down
the track, we were spinning or back firing,” Rice
revealed of the troubling weekend. Somehow,
she persisted and made it to the finals where she
went home with a runner-up finish.
Incredibly, Rice took home the runner-up hon-
ors at the very next race as well. In Bowling Green,
Kentucky, she put down a 7.45-second pass right
off trailer for a new personal best. She struggled
throughout the beginning of qualifying, but her
excitement didn’t wane and she was rewarded
with her first pass in the 7.20s. “I went 7.295 at
180.52 in the final qualifier, and it was awesome!”
said Rice, who qualified third and went to the
final eliminations round.
As the year progressed, so did Rice. She con-
tinued on the NMCA circuit and was the num-
ber one qualifier in NPS while racing in Joliet,
Illinois when she went 7.573 at 176.79 mph. For
her efforts, Rice ranked second when the season’s
points standings were finalized; she had bested
some of the top drivers despite being one of the
newest, and youngest, competitors in the class.
Looking ahead, Rice and her father have a plan
to keep her doubly busy – they’re adding a second
car to Rice’s roster for 2017. In addition to her
usual ARP Nitrous Pro Street Mustang, Rice will
also be driving a ’89 Fox body Mustang coupe in
Edelbrock Renegade. Running a turbocharged
pushrod motor from Kuntz and Company will
give Rice a unique flair, and she’s eager to try her
hand with a second power adder.
“I’ve been wanting to go turbo since I first start-
ed racing,” she gushed excitedly. “Don’t get me
wrong, I enjoy Nitrous Pro Street and I love the
feel of a nitrous car off the line, but it’s hard on
the motors.” Rice knows she’ll have her hands
full wrangling a stable of two pony cars, but her
youthful enthusiasm might give her the mental
competitive advantage she needs in order to turn
what could be a logistical nightmare into a dream
come true. - AINSLEY JACOBS
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Dr ag Illustr ]Y