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View Full Version : Mike Norris Motorsports News - Moving To The Indianapolis Area


Mike Norris
10-25-2009, 06:37 PM
Hey Everyone,

A lot of big changes are coming for both my family and Norris Motorsports. My wonderful wife was looking to get back into the Department of Defense employment again after 10 years and has landed a great opportunity. For me this means a lot less stress of being the only income for my family and be able to enjoy a lot more personal things in the near future.

Now the downside for my local Central Florida customers. The new job is in the Indianapolis area which is where we were before moving down here to Florida. Now my wife is actually leaving here first thing Monday AM for Indy and I will still be here with my 10 year old son. I will not be leaving until mid December when he gets into Christmas break. We figure this is the best transition time for him as far as school goes.

What does this mean for Norris Motorsports here in Central Florida? Well, things have been quite busy here and I actually have enough work at the shop and scheduled to pretty much get me right up to when I leave. I can still get a few smaller jobs in as well as some tuning as needed. The condensed version of my schedule is as follows.

My daily schedule with having to drop off and pick up my son from school will be about 8:30 AM to 4PM. Of course I will still have my cell phone at all times.

I will be out of town to Las Vegas for the SEMA Show from Weds, Nov 4th to Sunday Nov 8th. I will be out of town to Indy Saturday, Nov 21st to Saturday, Nov 28th.

My last work day is tentatively planned to be Dec 11th or 12th and that should give me a week to pack up the shop to leave for Indy the weekend of Dec 18th.

A lot of folks always want to try to get in for Saturday appointments and there is very little of that time left available. I have a couple tunes scheduled for this coming Saturday on Halloween. I will be in Las Vegas for the Optima Battery Ultimate Street Car Challenge after SEMA. I have a dyno day at the shop Nov 14th being run by Covert Motorsports. I will be in Indy for the next two Saturdays, Nov 21st and Nov 28th. That, at this point leaves Dec 5th and Dec 12th.

As far as what folks can do in the meantime or after I close, most know I have worked with quite a few other local shops over the years and I have set up a support system that folks can call me and I can recommend the right place for you to go for your needs.

At this time I am tentatively set up to be traveling back to Florida about once a month for a week at a time to help out the other Florida shops I tune and do specific jobs for. This includes Prodigy Customs, II Much Fabrication, Extreme Performance and Miranda Built as the main point of contact shops. We will be setting up different dyno rentals for the different areas I travel to.

With all that said, the last 10+ years with owning Norris Motorsports has had its ups and downs for sure. It has been an honor and a pleasure to work with and for so many great people that I am so lucky to call customers, allies and friends. It is not easy to leave, but I must do what is right for my family. But I do promise to do my best to not leave folks hanging and with me coming back from time to time it may feel like I never left.

I am sure there will be more to say as time goes on, but for now, thanks to everyone :cheers:

Mike Norris

camcojb
10-25-2009, 07:00 PM
good luck in the move Mike. I'm sure your local customers will miss you, but you'll find plenty of new fans in Indy!!!!!!!!

Jody

eville
10-25-2009, 07:09 PM
Good Luck Mike.
I sort of know what you're going through. I got laid off back in August and just recently found work in Southern CA. So last week I started commuting home for the weekends until January when my wife can finish her semester of teaching. She's got our two boys 4-1/2 and 1 during the week with her full time teaching job.
These are difficult times and we are the lucky ones.

I hope it all works out well for you.

wiedemab
10-25-2009, 07:11 PM
I'm sure you will be missed in Florida. I'm also sure that you will welcomed in Indiana.

What part of Indy are you moving to? I live about 50 mins or so from Indy, closer to Cincinnati.

Good luck with the move. You will be smack dab in the middle of Winter when you get here - That won't make you miss Florida ;)

70rs
10-25-2009, 07:39 PM
Good luck Mike. I wish you and your family the best!:cheers:

waynieZ
10-25-2009, 08:13 PM
Godd luck with the move and with the new job for the wife.

awr68
10-25-2009, 09:13 PM
Best of luck with the move Mike! Will you be setting up a new shop?

Steve68
10-26-2009, 05:05 AM
Now thats a big move, I guess I'll catch you on one of your return trips, Good Luck,

OLDFLM
10-26-2009, 05:38 AM
Good Luck Mike!!

Is she going to work for Crane? (I have family in that area...)

All the best to you and yours my friend!!! :thumbsup:

Neil B
10-26-2009, 07:55 AM
Mike,

Best of luck to you and your family. Thanks so much for your help with my Corvette this past year.

--Neil

130fe
10-26-2009, 09:21 AM
Bad news for the FL guys but all in all you have to do whats best for your family. Like said earlier, I am sure you will miss the FL winters. Best of luck in the move!

Mike Norris
10-29-2009, 06:55 PM
Thanks Jody, looking forward to seeing you out in Vegas next week.

Hi eville, this is actually going to end being very good for us and the sacrifces short term will pay off long term for sure. Life is an adventure.

wiedemab, I will be in the NE area of Indianapolis and actually in Fishers. We have lived there before and love the area and the schools. As far as the weather, the humidity has its pros and cons here for sure and it will be nice after 11 or 12 years to see and feel the change of seasons.

Thanks 70rs and waynieZ :cheers:

awr68, definitely a new shop coming in the Fishers area as well as more travel for tuning by the looks of things. Working on some cost effective tuning packages for folks in far off cities ;)

Steve68, look forward to it for sure :thumbsup:

OLDFLM, she will actually be working for the Dept of Defense in DFAS at Ft Benjamin Harrison. Or I should say "IS" working there now.

NeilB, it was a pleasure and do not hesitate to call if you have any questions on anything.

Thanks 130fe, it will end being great for sure.

Mike Norris

awr68
10-29-2009, 09:44 PM
awr68, Working on some cost effective tuning packages for folks in far off cities ;)

Mike Norris

How about the Portland, OR area? :unibrow:

Mike Norris
11-01-2009, 06:01 PM
If the money is right I will go anywhere. It is always best to get a group of folks together to disperse the costs a bit. What I was thinking is something in the area of $2500 for a 5 day week plus dyno, flights and hotel. Even at 1 car per day it would make the cost pretty reasonable for folks.

Just let me know, it could be my first trip :thumbsup:

Mike Norris

Garage Dog 65
11-01-2009, 07:03 PM
Hi Mike,

Welcome back to Indy ! I live in Brownsburg just north of Raceway Park and the Brownsburg Mortorsports park. Thought you might be coming to my part of the city. Good luck in Fishers.

Small world - my sister also works at the DFAS center as a systems analysist. How weird huh.

:lateral:

Jim