Living His Dream
Mike Norris answered a question in his Knoch High School yearbook about where he thought he'd be in 10 years.
“I wrote, 'Driving and working on cars,” said Norris, a Sarver native and fixture on the Late Model circuit at Lernerville Speedway.
Even at the time, Norris scoffed.
“You know, you write that stuff and you're like, 'Yeah, right,'” Norris said.
Ten years later, Norris is living his dream.
And his dream just got a little bigger.
Less than a week after winning his second consecutive World of Outlaws Late Model 30-lap feature at Lernerville Speedway, Norris is getting the biggest opportunity of his racing life.
And it came about quickly.
NASCAR driver Clint Bowyer also owns a Late Model dirt track race team. His top driver, Don O'Neal, recently suffered a severe injury to his knee in an off-track accident and will miss up to 12 weeks.
Bowyer was looking for a driver to fill in this weekend in Tazewell, Tenn., and Union, Ky.
Names were bandied about.
One of them was Mike Norris.
It culminated with a call from Bowyer to Norris Wednesday night.
Bowyer asked if Norris was available and Norris jumped at the chance.
Since, he's done a lot of pinching himself.
“I've had to do it the whole time,” Norris said. “Clint Bowyer called me. The actual Clint Bowyer. I'm trying not to be star-struck and trying to be professional, but it isn't easy.”
Bowyer took to Twitter Thursday to sing the praises of his newest driver, who will climb into the No. 5 DeKalb/Crawford Outdoor Rocket that O'Neal has made famous.
“Made me feel good listening how excited he was,” Bowyer tweeted. “He's been kicking (butt) last few weeks. Excited to see him fill in for (Don O'Neal) and watch him take advantage of his opportunity.”Norris will get at least two races in O'Neal's car.Norris will drive at Tazewell Speedway Friday night and then again at Florence Speedway Saturday as a part of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series.Norris took his own Late Model seat with him to be installed in O'Neal's No. 5 car.That car is very similar to his own, Norris said.“The chassis and shocks are the same brand,” Norris said. “So it's pretty familiar to me. That might be one of the reasons they thought of me.”Norris spent his Thursday at Bowyer's garage near Winston-Salem, N.C., getting the car ready and getting acclimated to his new team.“Words can't even describe it,” Norris said. “I'm walking around trying to pick my jaw up off the floor.”Norris said even when he was writing where he wanted to be in his yearbook 10 years ago, he never thought he'd have the chance he has now.“Not in a million year,” he said. “This just shows if you work hard, anything is possible. I'm grateful for all the people who have been behind me from the start. They're the only reason I'm in the position I'm in.”
