Chris Rice Claims Falken Sundae Cup Championship In Late Season Twist
2024 FALKEN SUNDAE CUP CHAMPION: CHRIS RICE
Rice won the 2024 GRIDLIFE NOS Energy TrackBattle Championship in Sundae Cup with 99 in four rounds (117 total) with victories at GRIDLIFE Midwest Festival, Circuit Legends, and Pittsburgh International Race Complex.
Rice earned class drivetrain track records at two events.
Chicago, IL - The Falken Sundae Cup championship had a late twist with a technical disqualification in a key round, where Richard Sawicki lost the championship lead prior to the season’s final round at Pittsburgh International Race Complex. Chris Rice, who was poised to take advantage of Sawicki’s disqualification, pounced late in the season with wins and track records at Lime Rock Park and Pitt Race.
Rice, driving his #91 Honda Fit, competed in five events in 2024, starting with the season-opening round at Carolina Motorsports Park, where Rice placed third behind the #130 Honda Fit of James Smith and the #156 Mini Cooper of Mike Janssen. Soon after the round in South Carolina, Rice’s car was damaged in an incident at the National Corvette Museum. Members of Hard Times Racing tossed Rice keys to a bright orange #411 Honda Fit for Rice to continue his season.
On the second stop of the GRIDLIFE Festival Tour, at the 11th annual GRIDLIFE Midwest Festival, Rice returned to battle in the traffic-cone orange Fit, this time against a 17-car field, one of the largest of the season. In the Podium Sprint on Saturday afternoon, Rice defeated four other competitors, the #144 of Ryan Mukherjee, the #528 Mazda MX-5 of Richard Sawicki, the #130 of James Smith, and the #88 Mini Cooper of Collin Ryser, claiming 25 points for winning. At Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Rice followed up his Midwest victory with a second place behind Sawicki, who was gathering momentum and would go on to collect his second win of the season at Road America, where Rice was absent.
The next event in Lakeville, Connecticut, was GRIDLIFE Circuit Legends, at the 1.5-mile Lime Rock Park. There, Rice broke his first track record of the season, locking down victory over the #181 Mazda Protoge of Joseph King, the #134 Honda Fit of David Best, the #370 of Sam Deuling, and the #216 of Nicholas Berg.
While Richard Sawicki went on to win at GRIDLIFE Chicagoland, the points were eventually turned over to Sam Deuling, after Sawicki’s car was noted to have a technical violation. Deuling claimed victory at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
Chris Rice won the final round of the season at Pittsburgh International Race Complex, earning a total of 117 points in 5 rounds, with his best four events scoring 99 points, 13 more than Deuling and 19 more than Sawicki. A notable driver who missed the season podium by just two points is Ryan Mukherjee, who scored a class victory at the Rev-Up event at GingerMan Raceway in May, and scored an additional podium with a second place at Midwest Festival.
