GETTING TO THE TOP: THE RISE OF RICE MOTORSPORTS-ABACUS RACING

By: Pat Sullivan – USAC Media

Oregon, Wisconsin (June 22, 2023)………Ronnie Gardner remembers the moment well.  His good friend and racing associate Robbie Rice signaled his intention to go pavement racing during the 2021 USAC Silver Crown season.

In Ronnie’s mind, it was a shaky proposition to begin with, but the timing created another level of challenge.  One of Rice’s primary sponsors supported the change in direction, and to be sure, he was taking on this responsibility with a clear mind.  Robbie asked his brother Zachary to attend a meeting to discuss the proposition.  When first presented with the idea, a nearly incredulous Rice said, “Bud, you’re opening up a whole new can.”

A quick search found that former owner Ted Finkenbinder had the necessary equipment for sale, and with that piece of the puzzle solved, Rice began to warm to the idea.  He presented the plan to his assembled team and driver Logan Seavey.

For his part, Gardner remembers that Rice was the only one who thought this was a promising notion.  Then, the new piece arrived, and Ronnie was sure his friend had lost his marbles.

“When the car showed up, it was like, man this is going to be a headache for sure,” he says.  “It had some nice stuff on it, but it had sat for four or five years.”

During his career, Rice had spent some time racing on pavement, but it was a boast no one else on his team could make.  It was going to be a learning experience for all.  What followed was an object lesson on the tight-knit nature of the racing community.  At the very first test session, other drivers and mechanics offered a hand.  Kody Swanson and Bobby Santos III looked over the car.  Talented people like James “Chuy” Sandberg and Jerome Rodela helped on matters like gear selection and set up.  In fact, Rice would later proclaim that everyone he reached out to was willing to assist.

The year could have hardly gone better.  Seavey, to the surprise of many, won at Selinsgrove Speedway and tacked on a victory at Eldora for good measure.  To the amazement of all, the 2021 championship came down to an October date at Toledo.  Kody Swanson would win the race and the title while Seavey was the series runner-up.  However, because they had added pavement racing to their plate, Rice Motorsports was the entrant champion.

Last year, Seavey and Rice Motorsports were recognized by all as title contenders.  Once again, it all came down to the final race of the year which was held at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.  Because the finale was on pavement, most conceded that Kody Swanson was a sure bet to win the championship for the seventh time.  Swanson leaves nothing to chance, and he was aware that Seavey finished second at Winchester Speedway earlier in the year.  It was white knuckle time for all.

Then disaster struck Rice Motorsports during a test session the night before the showdown.  When he recounts the tale, the disappointment still lingers in Gardner’s voice.

“We broke a cam,” he says, “which isn’t anyone’s fault.  We had to pull the engine out of the dirt car which was still sitting there dirty from Springfield.  Then we had to change the pan and we were up all night.”

Summing it all up, he adds, “It just wasn’t our weekend.”

With two consecutive runner-up finishes in the driver’s standings, Seavey and Rice Motorsports desperately hope to get to the top step of the podium in 2023.  It is starting well.  On the dirt, Logan finished fifth in the opener at Belleville, Kan. and defended his 2022 win at Port Royal.

However, perhaps the most significant finish of all was his second place run at Indianapolis Raceway Park.  Coming into this Friday night’s round at Madison International Speedway, he sits atop the standings.  While that is good news, the team knows they must hold serve on pavement if they have any chance of stopping the Kody Swanson juggernaut.  It makes Friday’s race even more meaningful.

Ronnie Gardner, who is still an active racer, is a five-time USAC Western States Midget driving champion.  He understands the steps it takes to get to the top.

“I feel, on dirt, as long as we finish the race, we are going to be in contention,” he says, “but on the pavement, if we don’t finish in front of Kody or right behind him, then there is no chance of winning the title.”

Because Gardner recognizes the importance of pavement races in the overall scheme of things, he made this his primary concern.

“In the offseason, I really didn’t do anything to the dirt car,” he says.  “All we did was rebuild the motor.  It pretty much sat in Robbie’s shop the entire offseason, but I had the pavement car at my house.  I stripped it all the way down to a bare frame and did a lot of cleanup in terms of making things simpler.  When we got the car from Ted, it had sat for a long time and a lot of the stuff was old.  I did a lot of preventative maintenance, so hopefully, we don’t have part failures.  We also did a few things to make the car faster.”

Ronnie also feels good about the engine program and the work done by A.J. Felker.

“A.J. takes a lot of pride in it,” he says, “especially because this is a contending racecar that can win a national title.”

Racing at the Belleville High Banks can put real stress on an engine, so immediately after the trip to Kansas, Felker took the engine home and did all the necessary maintenance.  He did the same thing after the first pavement race at IRP.

“He has taken it on his shoulders to make sure everything is good and right,” Gardner says, “because that is what cost us the championship last year.”

Not only did the team face a long and difficult day at the season ending race, but Gardner grimaces when he recalls a failure at Madison International Speedway that forced Seavey “to just run around for 98 laps.”

Overall, Gardner likes where this team is in their pavement program.

“I think we are really close,” he says.  “We showed that at IRP.  We were down a cylinder in qualifying.  We had a plug come off the cap and we were a little confused as to why we weren’t as fast as we thought we should be.”

In the end, Seavey persevered and was able to finish second, but everyone on this team realizes that this is not the blueprint for success.

“We do need to qualify better,” Gardner admits, “because you can’t win from 15th.  You just use your stuff so much to get there while those guys up front are just riding around going just as fast as they need to go.”

One thing is certain, Gardner realizes he is working with a man who can get the job done.

“I think Logan is in the top-five, if not the best, at saving his equipment,” he says.  “It doesn’t matter if it is pavement or dirt.  He is just so good at keeping the tires and brakes underneath him to be there at the end.  That is 70% of the game in pavement racing.  To have a shot of winning the title, you ultimately must finish every single race.  If you don’t do that, you had better be lucky.”

Seavey, Rice and Gardner all learned the nuance of pavement racing together.  They feel a breakthrough is just around the corner and that might spell trouble for the rest of the field at Madison International Speedway.

RACE DETAILS:

Friday night’s Salute to America Night / Bytec Dairyland 100 features the USAC Silver Crown National Championship, Late Models, MISfitz plus Fireworks on June 23.

The pits open at 2:30pm Central and grandstands at 4pm with the drivers meeting taking place at 4pm and practice starting at 4:45pm, followed by qualifying and racing.

Advance tickets on sale at https://misracing.com/tickets/.  Advance ticket prices: $20 for adults, $18 for seniors, $15 for students age 12-17, $5 for kids age 6-11 & free for children age 5 and under.  Race day ticket prices: $25 for adults, $22 for seniors, $15 for students age 12-17, $5 for kids age 6-11 & free for children age 5 and under. Pit passes are $30 for members & $40 for non-members.