Ryan Norman on the fast track to IndyCars

In the active world of racing, the cycle of aspiring racers falling into the professional pathway is never ending. The cycle can even be found here at home, Aurora High School Alumni, Ryan Norman, is on the fast track towards IndyCar racing. From the age of three all the way up to his current age of eighteen, Norman began his journey towards racing IndyCars.

The start of his continually growing racing career began at the age of three when he received his first Honda 50. It was no surprise that from here Norman had worked his way up to larger bikes to further pursue Motocross racing. At the age of twelve he received his AMA license to compete in regional races, riding a KTM 250SX and eventually a KTM 350SX. Motocross is one of the most competitive and possibly one of the most difficult styles of racing on a motorcycle.

After being on a bike for many years and the end of his motocross days, Norman had begun testing his skills with FMX, freestyle motocross. With freestyle, the riders are put to the test each time the launch themselves into the air to attempt seemingly impossible tricks while defying gravity. Norman had a natural knack for freestyle and honed in on his skills in the previous two years. However, freestyle comes paired with a whole new risk, the amount of injury a rider can sustain is far more.

Norman said, “At the end of my Motocross endeavors I started to experiment with freestyle motocross and I had a lot of fun doing it but I just wasn't looking forward to the fact that I would probably end up breaking every bone in my body. But my heart is fully into IndyCar Racing and that's where I want to be.”

Motocross and FMX proved to be successful for Norman, but he now looks towards moving up to the next level of racing, IndyCars. At the age of 16, he was attended the Skip Barber three day racing school in Atlanta. From here, open wheel racing became Norman’s new obsession. His previous experience in motocross proved to be a key element to his success in open wheel racing. It was no surprise that he had captured the attention of several coaches at Skip Barber. He then attended the advanced two day racing school and became one of the fastest drivers in the class.

However, Norman soon came to realize that he was not satisfied with the Skip Barber car, the speed and precision driving that he desired were evidently lacking. To fulfill everything he wanted, he had purchased a Formula Enterprise car and threw himself into SCCA Majors to race alongside FC, FM and P2 series cars. The Formula Enterprise car brought Norman even more success with seven first place finishes, four second place finishes, and one third place finish.

Even with all of his success, racing still comes with the inevitable feeling of stress on race day. The feeling of being on the grid and waiting for the flag to drop can feel like an eternity as the stress continues to build up. Nerves can either make or break a race for a driver, in the past some of the greats such as F1 Driver James Hunt had even thrown up in his helmet before the race. Over the years the stress is still evident for Norman, but he has found ways in dealing with the stress of race day in order to be able perform at his best ability.

“What's interesting with the stress and nerves before a race is that it has never improved over the years. To this day I still almost get sick to my stomach whenever I'm getting ready for a race. What really helps make it manageable for me is to listen to music. Usually 30 minutes before a race I will go into the trailer and put on my headphones and try to relax myself and get in the right mindset,” said Norman.

Although the amount of stress never actually goes away, racing still brings the exhilaration of testing your skills against other drivers, and if you’re lucky, being on the podium. Traveling is another aspect of racing that adds to the excitement. Within Norman’s growing racing career, he has raced at Road Atlanta in Georgia, Mid-Ohio in Ohio, Road America in Elkhart Lake in Wisconsin, Watkins Glen in New York and Daytona in Florida.

“My favorite track that I have raced at has to be Watkins Glen in New York. The track is so fast and has a lot of elevation change so it really makes for a fun race. I am more excited to race Indianapolis this year where I will run the IndyLights Indy GP race and also the IndyLights Freedom 100 race at Indianapolis speedway. There is so much history in this track and it's such a huge place. Also it is where my journey has technically started so it will be cool to finally race there,”said Norman

Even though Norman is only eighteen, he certainly made his run in several aspects of racing and gained a considerable amount of experience. For any up and coming racers, Norman surely can give helpful advice.

“The most valuable thing I can tell an up and coming Driver is to make friends in the industry. It's a very small and close community so if you can make a lot of friends and connections you will be better off. Also it can't hurt if you are fast,” Norman said.

Within the next five years, Norman strives to be a full time IndyCar driver. Racing fan or not, you’d better look out for Norman in the Indy 500 in the next few years and other IndyCar drivers better hope that they are faster than he is.