MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- NASCAR Southeast Series Rookie of the Year J.R. Norris is hoping his first trip to the state of California is a memorable one. Competing in the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway on Saturday evening, Norris and the No. 5 RW Motorsports team are focusing their sights on capturing the victory and the spotlight.
“This is going to be an exciting week,” says Norris of Mulga, Ala. “Not only am I going to California for the first time, but I am going to be competing against some of the best racers in the country in the most prestigious race of the year. We know we have one of the best race cars, and everyone else will find that out once we hit the track.”
NASCAR’s Toyota All-Star Showdown features the top-10 drivers from NASCAR’s four regional touring series (Southwest, Southeast, Midwest and Northwest). Norris finished second in the Southeast Series standings, 21 points behind champion Jeff Fultz. Norris also captured the Auto Meter Rookie of the Year award for being the highest-finishing first-year competitor and won his first career SES race at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway in June.
“I’m really looking forward to competing in the Showdown,” said an enthusiastic Norris. “After our season ended, we turned our focus to this race because it simply is the best of the best, and I want to win this one. This race is on live national television (SPEED Channel) and will give racers like myself the exposure we need to capture the interest of team owners in the upper echelons of NASCAR.”
Norris competed last weekend at the Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway in hopes to gain experience at a new track and meet some of his fellow competitors that he will be racing with this weekend at Irwindale. Norris’ No. 52 Victor Ford/UPI Painting Ford fell out of the race with engine trouble, but not before moving up to the 11th position in just 66 laps after starting in 22nd place.
“I had a great time in Phoenix,” Norris commented. “We were coming up through the field pretty well then the motor started fluttering and I was losing oil pressure. We decided to just bring it in and not do any more damage to the engine. Thankfully, we were just using this race to earn more experience, but it was fun while it lasted. We were going to have something for those guys.”
J.R. Norris and the Ritchie Wauters-owned No. 5 Victor Ford/UPI Painting Ford will compete in the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown this weekend. Heat races will be run on Friday night, with the main event set to roll off at 5:05 p.m. PST. The race will be broadcast live on the SPEED Channel with coverage beginning at 5:00 p.m. PST. For more information on J.R. Norris, check out his website at JRNorris.com.
