Stanton: Dwayne Rice race report

Rice Completes Weekend With Impressive Quarter-final Finish

STANTON, Mi. - Dwayne Rice has encountered enough adversity in the season to this point to fill a dump truck. At the CARQUEST Northern Nationals in Stanton, Michigan, Rice finally got a break.

Make no bones about it; Rice welcomed the fortunes.

"Sometimes when you get in these slumps, it can be disheartening," explained Rice, whose best finish was a semi-final showing at the season-opener. "I am just happy that we were able to get a break. Qualifying was nothing to write home about, but getting past the first round was significant."

Rice opened qualifying with a 6.708, 208.01 to land in the eighth position after the first session. His final run provided no improvement as he was forced to abort the run and coasted to a 7.557. With a new day dawned on Saturday, he failed to find any comfort in either of his runs. The first session provided only a 6.768 and the fourth and final run produced a 6.793.

His Friday performance qualified him in the eight spot and the pairings matched him with Tony Fox in the first round. As the tree flashed green, Fox broke and that allowed Rice to score a much-needed victory with a 6.859, 204.63.

He matched up in the second round with Chris Holbrook, who had scored the upset of the century in the first round by taking out points leader Gene Wilson. Rice's luck ran out despite a 6.798, 204.08 against Holbrook.

For more information on Dwayne Rice, visit his website at www.riceracing.com.

-RR-