Kris Kelly’s No. 77 Chevrolet fills Victory Lane at Wisconsin International Raceway in Buchanan, Wis., after an Aug. 31, 2023, Super Late Model feature win.

NORWAY — When the ASA Midwest Tour made its first visit to Norway Speedway in 2007, the local fans got to watch some of their local weekend warriors compete against the best in the Midwest.

Starting from qualifying until the final checkered flag of the evening, the fans would keep their eyes on two of their heroes, Jamie Iverson and Kris Kelly.

Iverson would take home the checkered flag the first four years he visited the track. But a local driver racing in his hometown would also get the loud cheers each night.

Kris Kelly was a driver who competed in the ASA Midwest Tour in its infancy. He has made 36 starts with two top-fives and three top-ten finishes.

Tonight, he returns to his home track after a short hiatus to compete in the ASA Midwest Tour’s Norway 100 presented by Weimar Bearing and Transmission.

“I was excited when the schedule came out and we saw Norway on there,” Kelly said. “I was hoping to practice at Norway but with my business and family schedules, unfortunately, that wasn’t in the cards, plus we haven’t raced at Norway since July 2020, so we are definitely behind the eight-ball going into (tonight).”

Kelly recalled the first-ever ASAMT event at Norway Speedway back on June 22, 2007.

“We raced the first-ever tour race at Norway in 2007. I remember passing Steve Carlson in the 100-lap feature, and I thought that alone was a victory since he’s one of the ‘GOATs’ in the short-track racing world,” Kelly remembered. “It’s cool to see the tour thriving and kicking in the Midwest. Nothing better than asphalt super late model racing.”

With the Dickinson County Fairgrounds racetrack practically in his backyard, Kelly offered his insight about the facility.

“Norway is quite interesting. It’s now mainly a crate motor track since 95 percent of the cars that race their weekly are 604s,” Kelly explained. “It’s always been a challenge to get grip up off the corners, plus even though the track looks symmetrical, the entries on both ends are different. Plus, they got brand-new LED lighting now, so that’s a huge bonus.”

Coming into the Norway 100, Kelly, along with his family and crew, will honor a special person.

“This is our first race of the year and the first race since we lost our Uncle Timmy Faull (aka Uncle Pimps) this past late November,” Kelly said. “He was way more than an uncle to Toby and I. He was more of a second dad. His son-in-law and his grandson are on our race team. Uncle Pimps went to every single race with us. To honor him, we are running his Flying 0 numbers on the car Saturday that he ran when we all raced karts together.”

With a special tribute to his uncle, along with basically getting his pit crew back together, Kelly will be ready to contend tonight.

“Our team is excited to be back. We have a ton of great fans there,” Kelly said. “I miss those people and hopefully, with some luck, we can have a strong run and our guys can fire the cooler open with a smile on their face to end the night.”

Today’s schedule:

2 p.m. Pit Gate Opens

4 p.m. Spectator Gates Open

4 p.m. Practice Begins

5:45 p.m. Qualifying Begins

7 p.m. Racing Begins

Tickets:

Adults: $20

Senior (65 and older): $15

Students (ages 7-17): $15

Children 6 and younger free

Divisions: The ASA Midwest Tour will be joined by the Sportsman, Super Stock and 4 cylinder divisions

Past ASA Midwest Tour Winners at Norway

2007 Jamie Iverson

2008 Jamie Iverson

2009 Jamie Iverson

2010 Jamie Iverson

2012 Nathan Haseleu

2013 Nathan Haseleu

2014 Nathan Haseleu

2015 Ty Majeski