Larry Rice (24 March 1946 – 20 May 2009) was an American

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

in the USAC and

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by draught animals such as horses, donkeys, mules and oxen, or even smaller animals such as goats or large dogs. A handcart ...

Championship Car series. He was the 1973 USAC National midget driver's champion and won the USAC Silver Crown series in 1977 and 1981. He was inducted in the

National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame The National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame is an American Hall of Fame and museum for midget cars. The Hall of Fame is located at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, and can be accessed during weekly Sunday races during the summe ...

in 1993.

Racing career

Larry's father Bob got him started in racing. Bob purchased Larry's first race car, a Kurtis Craft Half Midget from Bob Cunningham in

Covington, Indiana Covington is a city in, and the county seat of, Fountain County, Indiana, United States. The population was 2,645 at the 2010 census. History Fountain County was formed on April 1, 1826. Later that year, the county seat was established at Covin ...

prior to turning twelve years old. Larry went to Modified

Midget Midget (from ''midge'', a tiny biting insect) is a term for a person of unusually short stature that is considered by some to be pejorative due to its etymology. While not a Medical terminology, medical term like ''dwarf'' (for a person with d ...

racing at the

Logansport, Indiana Logansport is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, Indiana, United States. The population was 18,366 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Logansport is located in northern Indiana at the junction of the Wabash River, Wabash an ...

track from 1965-1967. While in modified midget racing Larry and his father introduced the first car with a suspension system in this type of racing. It was made by Kurtis out of

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

. Eventually all cars would have suspension systems on them. Larry graduated from college with a teaching degree. He taught school briefly while racing the modified midget racing circuit. He was fondly known as "The Flying School Teacher" due to his ability to win races. Larry's father Bob worked as a pit crew member for various race teams at the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...

in the 1970s.

Open wheel career

Rice had a major win when he won the 1970 Hut Hundred. Rice finished third in 1972 USAC National Midget championship, helping his team (Shannon Brothers) win the owner's championship. Rice followed up by winning the 1973 USAC National midget driver's championship himself. Rice was also the 1977 and 1981 USAC Silver Crown Series champion. He won the Silver Crown and sprint car portions of the 4 Crown Nationals at

Eldora Speedway Eldora Speedway (nicknamed "the Big E", "Auto Racing's Showcase Since 1954," and "the World's Greatest Dirt Track") is a high-banked Dirt track racing, clay dirt oval. Located north of Rossburg, Ohio in the village of New Weston, Ohio, its websit ...

in 1985. He won his second Silver Crown portion at Eldora in 1987.

Championship car career

He raced in 5 seasons (1974, and 1978–1979, and 1981), with 9 combined career starts, including the

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

and

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

and finished in the top ten 3 times. He was co-named the 1978 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year, along with Rick Mears, for his 11th-place finish.

Announcing career

After he stopped racing in 1991, he became the

color analyst A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

's Saturday Night Thunder program. The program featured midget, sprint, and Silver Crown racing. He also worked as ESPN's regular analyst on IRL races. He was known for constantly pointing out when a driver "had to get out of the throttle" to avoid hitting another car.

Insurance business

Rice later worked for K&K Insurance, specialising in motorsport insurance, and with his son Robbie (who also raced), started their own insurance organisation for motorsport, Short Track Independent Drivers and Associates (STIDA.COM).

Death

Rice died from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

on 20 May 2009.

Complete USAC Championship Car results

Complete PPG Indy Car Series results

Indianapolis 500 results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rice, Larry 1946 births 2009 deaths Champ Car drivers Racing drivers from Indiana Indianapolis 500 drivers Indianapolis 500 Rookies of the Year Motorsport announcers Deaths from lung cancer in Indiana USAC Silver Crown Series drivers