GARY NORMAN IS FAVORITE TO WIN TRI-CITY’S CSONLINE APPLEFEST 100
by Brian Spaid

                With the seventh running of the Applefest 100 slated at Tri-City Speedway on Sept. 28, the buzz circulating among the pit paddock and racing enthusiasts is trying to predict the race winner.

                And the name most often mentioned is two-time track champion Gary Norman of New Castle.

                Over the last two weekends, Norman, 54, and his race team established themselves as the men to beat. With big wins at Tri-City, Mercer Raceway Park and Sharon Speedway, Norman captured a total of $2,200 in purse money. He also brought back memories of his dominance in the late 1990s.

                “There’s no reason for our success other than we’ve hit on a good setup,” said Norman. “My brother, Larry, and I changed things a little bit here and there testing different things over the last few weeks, and the it’s all started to come together.”

                In 1997 and 1998, Norman captured two consecutive track championships at Tri-City. Those two seasons included 10 feature wins combined at the Venango County half-mile oval in addition to multiple victories and titles at other tracks. It culminated with a win in the 1998 Applefest 100.

                Then, the bottom fell out of from under him.

                “I got rid of my old car after that season, and lost interest in racing when I didn’t do well,” recalled Norman.

                The native West Virginian with a Texan racing background started to run a leaf spring setup on his Pro Stock, instead of a familiar coil spring setup after an adventure south.

                “We went to a big Pro Stock race in Oklahoma, and our car couldn’t compete with the leaf spring cars down there. We thought it was the right setup to try up here. It just didn’t work.”

                From 1999 to 2001, Norman struggled. He didn’t win as much and started to devote his time to other passions like hunting and fishing.

Last year, he constructed a new car with a coil spring setup and quickly started to gain ground on his competitors. He won the 2002 Detroit Iron Pro Stock Series title at Tri-City. This season, he earned four victories at Tri-City to raise his career total at the track to 21. Overall, he has captured 10 feature wins to date in the region.

                “We’re real happy with the car now. We think we’ve got as good a chance as any to win the Applefest 100 again. I think some of the toughest guys in that race this year will be Doug Iorio Sr., Darrell Bossard and Bruce Smith. Bobby Whitling’s a good racer too, but he’s having some trouble getting the front of his car to hookup.”

                Although Norman mentions a few of the other drivers to watch, when it comes to racing against them, he demonstrates a level of patience that belies his 25 years of racing experience.

                “I don’t race to compete against the other drivers. I race against myself. I don’t worry about the other guy when I’m racing. I focus on getting better laps. If you race too hard against the other drivers and they’re running better then you, you’ll drive over your head and crash or get hurt. It’s better to bring the car home in one piece and try next time.”

                That philosophy shined last weekend. On Friday night, Norman raced in an event at Raceway 7 in Conneaut, Ohio. With larger tires allowed on the cars, his familiar orange Buick No. 9N was uncompetitive.

                “Some of the guys on the team wanted to buy some new tires to run better. We could have even messed with the setup on the car too. But, you can’t do any of that for just one race. We decided to run the best we could and load it on the trailer if it didn’t work out. We failed to qualify for the feature race, so we went home.”

                Not to be deterred, Norman towed to Sharon on Saturday night, and scored a big $1,000 win.

                “You have to be patient. Wait and see what happens. Feature wins will come to you. You just have to do better each lap.”

                For Norman’s team, little preparation is needed to get ready to run 100 laps at Tri-City.

                “All we need to do is put in a different fuel cell. When running that race, the key is to stay in the top ten until about laps 75 to 80. Then, you really start to race for the win. If you race too hard at the start, you’re going use your tires up too fast, and you’ll drop to the back.”

                Norman knows what he’s talking about because he won the race in 1998. This year, he has the best opportunity to win again. And the other drivers know he’s the man to beat next weekend.

               Norman's sponsors include Triple S Auto Sales and Rich and Freed Auto Parts of New Castle, Gabany's Machine Shop of Mercer, and Ken Neely Lumber of Titusville.