I talked to Larry for a few moments at the Chili Bowl. As always he was upbeat.

The thing I always remember about Larrys' driving is that he wasn't the flashiest driver or the most spectacular, but he was almost always a factor for the win. Never the universal hands down, gonna win favorite, but always in the hunt and won more than his share. A true championship caliber driver.

To me that is the upmost compliment. He was a no-frills professional that always brought the car home in the money. A car owners dream. There are many drivers today that could look at a career like the one Larry had and use it as a guide book for a successful driving career.

A perfect mix of personality and professionalism. Great guy. Best wishes Larry.

My thoughts and prayers are with you guys. Keep your chins up, it will work out.

Bob Shutt

I have known Larry for 40 years since we both started in the USAC Midget Division in the late 60's.. As others have said, Larry is no doubt the "Gold Standard" when it comes to being a nice guy. Beyond that he has always been near the top of the list of "just plain good drivers".

We will remain optimistic about his recovery as that is in God's hands, not ours. We continue to keep Larry and the family in our thoughts and prayers. Thank you, Robbie, for keeping us all informed.

Keep diggin' Larry Rice! My thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family. I had the pleasure of only meeting him one time back in the late 90's at Memphis and he talked with me for a few minutes like he knew me and I came away thinking that he was one hell of a nice guy. He could of just blew me off like so many others will do. I hope the best for him and his family.

Here's a few photos of Larry taken last year at a vintage race meet at the "Ekka" in Brisbane,Queensland,Australia.

Larry & family: please know each of you are in the prayers of many people.
I had the wonderful fortune to work with Larry and learned so much from him. His kindness is genuine
and he always seems to be more than willing to help others succeed.
A couple of laps around Winchester Speedway with him as he was driving the 'jeep' was one of the
highlights of my life (not too fast but definetly FUN!).
God bless, Sally Martin

Update:

Dad has made it home! The whole family would like to thank everyone for the kind words of support. We ask anyone wanting to come visit to either pm here or call before hand to make sure he is up for a visit. Thank you all for understanding.

Robbie Rice

Thanks for the update Robbie. Glad that he is home and on the road to recovery.

Robbie, Thanks for the updates and the good news! Our prayers will continue to go out to your dad and entire family.

Mickey Dale

My Larry Rice story occurred in the early 80s, when the Champ Dirt Cars were rained out at Williams Grove. A dozen or so of us climbed into Billy Cassella's motor home and drove to the Penn National horse track, where former driving great Mitch Smith was the manager. During the ride, one of the car owners told us how much he knew about horses and how he'd help us bet.

Mitch sat us at prime tables in the club house, and we ordered dinner. I took a look at the racing program and pointed out to Larry, who was sitting beside me, that a jockey named Wayne Rice was riding in more than half the races. Larry said he knew nothing about horses, but since Wayne must be a distant relative, he'd bet on him. I agreed.

As you can guess, Larry and I did quite well. Meanwhile, the "expert" car owner, who sat directly opposite us, spent the evening muttering about "junk horses", and losing money. We chuckled all weekend at his expense. :-)