When it came to the most recent Cheaters Race, brothers Kelby Norwood (757) and Tyler Norwood (7) finished one-two. They also shattered the track record at Mountain View Raceway in Spring City, Tennessee. Kelby turned a blistering 10.026-second lap around the ¼-mile dirt oval.
(For more on Cheaters Races, read “Cheaters Race: Relaxing the Rules Results in Wild Cars.”)
“We’re both in victory lane — it doesn’t matter who is first or second,” said Tyler, of Soddy Daisy, Tennessee. “We studied together all winter, discussing how to make our cars faster with aero for the Cheaters races.”
While the Norwoods kept their speed secrets close to their vest, the biggest answer to their speed is in plain sight.
“Study air,” Tyler advised. “Learn to understand angles and how leverage works to make a car faster.”
The brothers and their father, Shannon, studied the aerodynamics of Formula 1 cars, NASCAR cars, and 1980s-1990s dirt late models. They also made calls to National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame inductee Ronnie Johnson.
“The changes we made to our cars allowed us to stay on the throttle wide-open all the way around the track,” said Tyler. “It was insane to be able to do that.”
The Norwoods started on the front row. Kelby took off into the lead on the first lap.
“I only had to pass lapped cars,” Kelby, of Athens, Tennessee, said. “I kept looking at the scoreboard to see if Tyler was coming. He was battling with the 24 car [of Barry Goodman] because they changed positions a few times.”
Mountain View Raceway started the 2024 schedule of with two Cheaters races, but now will revert to more conventional rules for the bulk of the season. Kelby Norwood and Tyler Norwood will compete against each other throughout the year. The two have a friendly rivalry.
“For me, it is the best thing to outrun Tyler, just for the bragging rights,” said Kelby. “The worst thing is having to deal with each other later in the shop if there is an incident between us on the track.”
Last year, the two tangled at Sugar Creek Raceway in Blue Ridge, Georgia.
“I got around Tyler and he turned me to the infield,” Kelby said. “We’re low-budget racers, so that kind of stuff isn’t good for either of us.”
Nevertheless, the two work through their on-track differences and aren’t afraid to race each other hard.
“Yes, the competitiveness sometimes throws a wrench in our relationship, but I love it,” Tyler said. “I’ll drop him like I will drop anyone else on the racetrack.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
