ROBBY NORRIS
Dirt Racing
After countless hours on my simulator at home, I made my first start on real dirt in late 2022. I would run full time the following year, capturing a win and the rookie of the year honors at my local track. Since then, I've won 3 more races and captured 9 top fives in 14 starts on a part time basis.
​
The car is a 1976 Chevrolet Nova with a 350 SBC set up for Barona Speedway's rulebook. It weighs 3500 lbs, makes just under 300 horsepower, and is linked with a Muncie 4 speed transmission. The vast majority of my starts are at Barona Speedway, but I've also made one start at both Imperial Valley Speedway and Perris Auto Speedway, the latter of which I won.
My time dirt racing has taught me much about the world of motorsports and about myself. Making setup changes and feeling the effects first hand behind the wheel taught me about vehicle dynamics, and repairing damage after incidents or mechanical failures made me very familiar with turning wrenches. More importantly, it taught me the worth of quality and perseverance. Taking the cheaper or easier route to "get the job done" more often than not resulted in a broken racecar. Learning from these mistakes and understanding what it takes to field a competitive entry was a long and sometimes painful process, but through it I gained a deep appreciation for the importance of quality workmanship and persistance.