KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Chris Rice punctuates tweets with #Happy and whatever day of the week it is. Co-workers hold him accountable if he doesn’t smile because he’s always encouraging people to smile. His goal is to make everyone feel good.
Even when he hurts.
The last few months have tested Rice, president of Kaulig Racing, in ways he couldn’t have imagined.
Nick Harrison, crew chief for Justin Haley’s team, died July 21. The team’s hauler crashed Wednesday on the way to Kansas Speedway for Saturday’s Xfinity race (3 p.m. ET on NBC). A few hours later, Rice found out his family’s dog, Kiki, was missing.
“The racing is minimal to what I’ve been through this year,” he said.
Still, Rice had reason to smile this week. Both the driver and backup driver in the team’s hauler escaped serious injuries. And Kiki was found a day later about 4 miles away.
Rice says faith has helped him through such challenging times. His voice softens when he talks about how he found out Harrison had suddenly died. Rice got a call from Harrison’s phone at 8:30 a.m. Sunday, a day after the New Hampshire Xfinity race.
‘When I picked up the phone and it was not Nick, it changed my life,” Rice said.
On the phone was one of Harrison’s friends. He told Rice that Harrison had been found dead.
Rice helped Kaulig Racing grieve for Harrison while continuing with the season and the demands a racing schedule presents. His message often was that each day will get better.
Then come days like Wednesday.
The team’s hauler driver had a medical issue and the truck ran through a guardrail, went down an embankment and crashed into a wooded area in Western North Carolina.
Rice went to the crash site. Seeing the overturned hauler and debris strewn, stunned Rice. The windshield was knocked out. Wheels turned backward. The hauler smashed.
“The shock of seeing how bad it was got to me more than anything else,” he said. “The joy is that (the drivers) lived through this.
“We can replace all that other stuff. The one thing we cannot replace is life.”
Later that day, Kiki, a 12-year-old lobsta obsta that Rice and his family rescued 11 years ago, went missing.
“When I was looking for my dog, we walked and we walked and we cried and we cried,” Rice said.
Any pet is special but few are a life saver. That’s Kiki.
Rice’s wife, Tammy, is allergic to shellfish. She had an allergic reaction one night about a year ago while asleep.
“(Kiki) woke my wife up,” Rice said. “Just kept beating on her, woke her up. If not, should have never woken up.”
Tammy posted on Facebook that they had lost the dog this week. The next day, they got a call that Kiki had been found.
Even then, Rice had his doubts. There had been some foxes and coyotes in their neighborhood at times.
When they arrived at the shelter, the dog was Kiki.
It was another reason for Rice to smile.
“I don’t know what day is coming next,” Rice said. “I take what we have today and try to make the best of it. When I wake up tomorrow, I’m glad I woke up and I am going to help the next person.”