Upgrades lead to success for driver Reece Norton

     For his first season of full-time auto racing at Dubuque Speedway, driver Reece Norton of Monticello felt he needed to make some improvements.

     “I spent a little bit more money on my setup,” said Norton, 22. “We got some guys in to help us technology-wise and car setup-wise.

     “I partnered up with Rev Chassis in Clarence. They helped me out tremendously this year, told me different setups to try. Corey Rupp (of Monticello) has been scaling my car, doing all the brain work on it, trying to get it to go faster.”

     Modest improvement came right away. After never finishing higher than seventh in a race during his 2018, part-time season, he was never lower than fourth in a Dubuque race this year.

     But it wasn’t until he won a heat race in Dubuque, about mid-season, that he realized he could be even more competitive.

     “Right after my heat race win, things just started coming into place,” Norton said. “We were throwing out the bad setups and adding new setups and building from there.”

     It culminated with a second place finish in points for the season, in the IMCA Stock Car Division, at Dubuque.

     Racing has been in the family since Reece’s father, Shane Norton, raced in the Hobby Stock division in 2005.

     When Reece became old enough, the car was turned into a two-man cruiser, and Reece and his father raced that way for a few years.

     “My senior year in high school, I was like, ‘Man, this would be fun to do,’ ” said Norton, a 2015 graduate of Monticello High School.

     Last year, Reece began racing in the IMCA Stock Car division, having little success.

     “I was always in the back of the pack. I was still trying to get my feet wet, trying to feel the car, and not wreck people,” Norton said. “Last year, half the season was did-not-finishes, because we blew through three clutches, and blew through a transmission,” he recalled. “It wasn’t our year.”

     He did have one highlight, going neck-and-neck with Johnny Spaw, one of Eastern Iowa’s top drivers, and coming out ahead of Spaw for a seventh place finish.

     This year, he had plenty of help as he started to race every weekend in Dubuque. He quickly became aware of the racecar drivers’ tradition of helping one another.

     “I was talking to a bunch of locals around here, like Bader, Hinrichs, the Davises, the Rupps,” Norton said. “They’ve been doing it forever, so they gave me some pointers, told me what to do and what not to do.

     “This whole season, I’ve had different people (help), from all over the place. I go to a track, and they’d come up to me and say, ‘Are you Reece Norton?’ I’d say ‘Yeah,’ and they’d say, ‘Let me tell you some tips on what I did with my car.’ I tried a bunch of people’s tips.”

     Norton is also grateful for the many sponsors who have helped with expenses.

     “They played a big role in my racing,” he said. “If it wasn’t for them, I probably wouldn’t have the setup I have.”

     Norton said he takes after NASCAR drivers Martin Truex, Jr. and Chase Elliott, hoping to work his way up the ladder like they have.

     “They’re up-and-coming,” Norton said. “They didn’t start out with a lot of money, and now they are booming.”

     As a driver, Norton describes himself as aggressive at the beginning of a race, then patient, looking for openings.

     “I treat drivers how I’d want to be treated. I don’t want to wreck them or have them wreck me,” he said.

     Norton has raced at four tracks this year. Along with Dubuque, he went once to Tipton, once to Maquoketa, and raced at the Great Jones County Fair, where he had a sixth place finish.

     He is exploring some September races, and plans to finish the season at the Fall Bash Oct. 3-5 in Tipton.

     Norton, who works for the U.S. Postal Service in Cedar Rapids and serves in the Monticello Fire Department, has already begun work on a new car for next season.

     “I’ll be busting it all winter just to try to get my new car done,” he said.

     The work, Norton added, will be worth it.

     “I love it,” he said. “I don’t love to spend the money, but I love racing.”