Christy, Levi & Dwayne Rice
Driver and Wife of Dwayne Rice - IHRA Pro Stock Racer
Relationship: Gary's oldest daughter, now 25, and the next generation of
Bingham drag racers.
Christy attended her first race when she was 8 weeks old. She has been
going to the races with her parents ever since. She has helped with the car
since she was just a toddler, cleaning on the car and helping guide her dad.
She assumed crew chief duties when she turned 14 and was legally old enough
to go to the starting line with her dad. She made sure he was positioned
correctly on the track, helped him decide on E.T. predictions, talked to him
as he goes down track via the racing radios, towed him to and from the
track, helped him with routine maintenance between rounds and with major
repairs, i.e. changing motors or torque converters, if needed.
Christy has wanted to drive a race car for several years, especially
since she obtained her driver's license. She has watched her dad, knows his
routines, and often "competes" against him on the practice tree, an
electronic device that measures reaction times. Gary wanted to make sure
that she has the desire, and not just a want, to race before acquiring
another race car. If she didn't have the desire, she wouldn't stick with the
racing.
Christy completed the "Top Dragster Driving Experience" at Mooresville
Dragway in April 1998. Her very first day in a race car culminated in an
elapsed time (E.T.) of 5.21 seconds in 1/8 mile at over 130 mph. She was
ecstatic! Her dad was proud, and hooked. He knew the time had come for a
second race car.
On October 31, 1998, Bingham Motorsports acquired a four-link dragster
chassis from Gibbons race cars in Gastonia, N.C. Christy and Gary worked on
the new car every evening and weekends plumbing, wiring and assembling parts
with the goal of having the car completed in December.
In her first year of IHRA competition, she was #1 qualifier at the Empire
Nationals. She finished 18th in the national points standings.
In 2000, her sophomore year, Christy led the national points for a while
and led her division, the Raiders, until the very last race, last round,
when IHRA World Champion Kevin Scales, overtook her lead by 8 points.
Christy finished 2nd in her division and 8th in the National points.
In 2001, Christy endured many engine and transmission problems but still
finished 8th in her division and 11th in the national points standings. She
also made her debut in Top Dragster in a new Worthy dragster provided by her
new family, the Rice's. Her best run was 6.87 seconds in a quarter mile at
over 199 mph. In 2002, she will compete for the Moser Engineering Team in
her new dragster in both Quick Rod and Top Dragster.
Christy is a graduate of Burns High School and is now a junior at
Franklin College in Columbus OH. She has arranged her schedule to allow
herself the time to travel with her husband to compete in the IHRA events.
She knows what she wants out of life, has set her goals and broken them
down into steps to ensure that she achieves them. So keep your eye on this
young lady, she will probably follow in her fathers footprints and carve her
name in the history books as well.
Look out world: Here comes Christy!
