BURLINGTON, N.C. -- Sweat dripped onto the ground as five men toiled together in pursuit of a common goal. In the middle of them was Kaulig Racing President Chris Rice, who shouted support and some occasional friendly barbs.
Rice was dressed in Kaulig Racing blue, yet he was not at the race track on a weekday afternoon, nor was he at the team shop. He was at CrossFit Simplicity in Burlington, North Carolina, just after 7 a.m.
It didn't matter that Rice had a call with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio in mere minutes; he wasn't leaving the building until the final person (this story's author) finished the workout.
"Slow down but don't stop," Rice said as he knelt in front of the last person working. "Everyone says you have to stop, but that's not true!"
This workout, which closed out an hour-long session, only had a time limit of 20 minutes. Yet it tested each of the five men in different ways based on their respective strengths and limitations.
Some had to use lighter weights on Olympic lifts; others had to limit their overhead movements based on injuries from earlier in life. Some struggled to maintain pace on the 90 squats and the 60 box step ups.
Anybody can do it! Smile! pic.twitter.com/x6wB4SinZz
— Chris Rice (@C_Rice1) July 16, 2025
Honestly, it didn't matter how each person in this class had to scale the workout; what mattered is that they all agreed to show up at 6:30 a.m. on a Wednesday, crank some music, and help each other get better both physically and mentally.
"If I don't go to the gym and I don't do my normal routine, I'm in a bad mood when I get here," Rice told AltDriver after the workout. "Like you don't want to talk to anybody. I mean, I stay in my little hole, but we have a little over 140 people here.
"And it's a lot that goes on that people never see, you know? And if I go to the gym, I get to laugh and joke and work out and get the stress out, even if I'm by myself and I just put my headphones in."
Four hours after the 6:30 a.m. workout began, Rice is back at the Kaulig Racing shop after making the hour drive to Lexington, North Carolina. He has showered, changed, and completed two important meetings since putting away his gym equipment and recording a video telling his social media followers to believe in themselves.
Now, he's on the couch in his office, looking at a race win trophy as he finds the best way to answer a lingering question.
Why is Chris Rice the man who should try to inspire people to get in better shape?
The straightforward answer is that he's been in their shoes multiple times throughout his life. He's fought those battles, and he continues to do so even while leading a race-winning NASCAR team.
"I probably never really focused on this or told anybody this, but I mean, I was a big guy growing up," Rice said after a few moments. "I mean, I had a nickname, cause I was so fat. I was a big guy."
Rice left this part of his life behind after he left high school and moved into racing. He continued with life, and he helped Matt Kaulig build Kaulig Racing into a team that could rebound from some early disqualifications and contend for race wins in NASCAR.
Yet, his past came roaring back years later on the golf course, which completely changed his future.
"I was probably 310 pounds at the time," Rice said. "I had done my weight thing (moves hand in a wave motion). I had done Xenadrine and done all of this, done everything everybody's always done (to lose weight).
"We got down to do a pushup. Then I couldn't do a pushup. And the guy by the name of Tim -- Tim Clepper, works for Matt, works here, works in Ohio -- he's like, 'You can't even do a pushup.'
"And it hit me that I'm back in high school. I'm back to the point to where I'm embarrassed, but I never realized it."
This moment sticks with Rice. It showed him how much work he needed to do in his life. Sure, he was a jovial person who was blessed enough to work in racing. But he was in a dark place mentally. He just pushed it inside and kept it hidden from the world as he focused on the race team.
"From that day forward, I said, 'Okay, I'm gonna fix myself,'" Rice said.
He paused and looked around his office after making this statement. After a few moments of silence, Rice explained in greater detail what he meant, starting with why he ends every social media video by saying, "Smile, it's good for you."
"When I say 'Smile', that's for me. I want people to smile. You heard me (at the gym). I'm a motivational type person. I do that for me because I need it. I don't wanna finish. I don't wanna do it.
"Do you think I wanna smile when we're running 35th? No, I don't wanna do that, but you need to, because running 35th or winning is not gonna change where my end of my life's gonna be."
It's easy for Rice to say he was going to fix himself, but how did he do it? He started by changing some eating habits. He then began running. He did some 5k races and worked with a personal trainer.
Rice then met CrossFit Simplicity owner Daniel Blackwell at a 5k and checked out a class for the first time. Once he had the opportunity to test out a rowing machine, he was hooked.
Photo credit: AltDriver
The Kaulig Racing president is still a runner, but he's heavily invested in the CrossFit Simplicity community. He's brought people to the gym and convinced them to take part in workouts, and he's gussied up the facility with some Kaulig Racing rugs and AJ Allmendinger win stickers.
Years after starting this work on himself, Rice is literally half the man he used to be in a physical sense. He is unrecognizable compared to the celebration photos hanging on the walls of Kaulig Racing. And while his bus driver teases him about taking Ozempic, he has dropped this weight without any medications.
He has just remained consistent. Even when on the road every weekend for the NASCAR season, Rice gets a workout in. He needs it for his mental health.
Sometimes, he'll run around the track in the early morning hours. Other times, he will use some resistance bands to challenge himself in front of his motor home.
He's not trying to set any records; he's just trying to get better.
He can also do way more than one push-up, something he tested during a recent golf outing at Firestone Country Club. Rice completed 10 sets of 10 push-ups in front of Clepper, the man who challenged him so many years ago.
Rice didn't need to do more push-ups; he'd proven his point. But he had another 100 in the tank if needed.
Photo credit: Chris Rice
Equally important is the progress he's made from a mental aspect, something he aims to help others achieve with his videos on social media and with his appearances on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
As Rice said multiple times at the gym and during the sitdown at Kaulig Racing, "If we can save one life, we've done our job."
Saving lives -- that is the other main reason why Rice continues to post videos from the gym on social media. He isn't a doctor, but he is certainly a motivator.
He wants to help people take control of their health. It doesn't matter if they are NASCAR fans, Kaulig Racing employees, platinum-selling music artists, people on the street, or slightly portly sportswriters.
"Jelly Roll, for example, I became good friends with him. He's lost so much weight," Rice said. "I'm not gonna take credit for that, but I'm gonna tell you, I pushed him. We were in Texas... and we were sitting down after his show, and he was just out of breath and out of sweat. And I'm like, I have a picture of me and him holding our shirts up. Like literally holding our shirts up because he was talking about the size of us.
"And he's like, 'What's that thing (on your wrist)?' I said, 'It's a Whoop (fitness tracker).' And he says, 'Well, you need to get them to put rockstar (mode) on it. You got race car driver (mode) and all that.' He's like, 'Cause I'll wear it then they'll put rockstar on it.'
"And I do believe they have that (mode) on there now. I haven't never looked, but like he wears a Whoop. The dude's lost hundreds of pounds. So much weight."
Jelly Roll has made significant progress in his life, as have many other people in NASCAR who have crossed paths with Rice.
But are his videos really working?
The team president sought to get this answer recently. He posted a poll on his social media channels asking if people liked the motivational videos. The overwhelming majority voted, "yes."
The lone exception on one platform was Kaulig Racing driver Ty Dillon, but he is adamant that he hit "no" by mistake.
"I've been one of the biggest advocates of his journey," Dillon told AltDriver. "For those who have followed him, he's been on an amazing weight loss journey and getting himself into shape. That is so what I'm pro for -- everybody just finding health in their life.
"I immediately called him and was like, 'Dude, no. That was me. That was the no. Trust me, it wasn't an actual no!' He's been messing with me ever since then."
Teasing Dillon aside, Rice remains steadfast in his mission with two main objectives -- make people smile and help them pursue a healthier lifestyle.
This mission is one that Rice won't quit. He could have multiple NASCAR championships on his resume, and he could have a billion dollars in the bank. That won't stop him from showing up at CrossFit Simplicity as the sun is rising and getting a workout in.
And you'd better believe he's going to film a video right before that timer starts.