Biography

Norris was born in Redondo Beach, California

Redondo Beach, California

Redondo Beach is one of the three Beach Cities located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 66,748 at the 2010 census, up from 63,261 at the 2000 census. The city is located in the South Bay region of the greater Los Angeles area.Redondo Beach was originally part of...

, the son of Dianne (née

Married and maiden names

A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....

 Holecheck) and Walker, Texas Ranger

Walker, Texas Ranger

Walker, Texas Ranger is an American television action crime drama series created by Leslie Greif and Paul Haggis, and starring Chuck Norris as a member of the Texas Ranger Division. The show aired on CBS in the spring of 1993, with the first season consisting of three pilot episodes. Eight full...

star Chuck Norris

Chuck Norris

Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris is an American martial artist and actor. After serving in the United States Air Force, he began his rise to fame as a martial artist and has since founded his own school, Chun Kuk Do...

. He won the 2002 NASCAR Winston West Championship during a limited schedule in major league NASCAR

NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

 racing.

Norris began racing in 1982 with his father in the SCORE

SCORE International

SCORE International is an off-road sanctioning body in the sport of desert racing and is famous for its flagship event, the Baja 1000 as well as the Baja 500 and San Felipe 250. SCORE races are held in United States and Mexico...

 Off-Road Series, but retired to study at Arizona State University

Arizona State University

Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...

. Following his graduation, he began racing at Willow Springs Raceway and the Formula Ford

Formula Ford

Formula Ford is a single seater, open wheel class in motorsport which exists in some form in many countries around the world. It is an entry-level series to motor racing....

 Series.

Norris made his Craftsman Truck Series

Craftsman Truck Series

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing...

 debut in 1997, running five races in the #02 Wolverine Vinyl Siding Ford F-150 for Ultra Motorsports

Ultra Motorsports

Ultra Motorsports was a NASCAR Winston Cup & Craftsman Truck Series racing team. Jim Smith helped start the team and the Craftsman Truck Series. It ran full time in the Craftsman Truck Series from 1994 to 2005, earning many wins and a 2005 championship with Ted Musgrave...

. His best finish that season came at Watkins Glen International

Watkins Glen International

Watkins Glen International is an auto race track located near Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. The facility is owned by International Speedway Corporation...

, where he finished thirteenth. He did not run again until 1999, when he ran both races at Texas Motor Speedway

Texas Motor Speedway

Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas....

. He finished 35th in the first race, which he ran with Ultra's #02 Ford, and 22nd in the second race, driving the #4 Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...

 Dodge Ram

Dodge Ram

The Dodge Ram is a full-size pickup truck manufactured by the Chrysler Group LLC. As of late 2010, it has been sold under the Ram Trucks brand. Previously, Ram was part of the Dodge lineup of light trucks...

 for Bobby Hamilton Racing

Bobby Hamilton Racing

Bobby Hamilton Racing-Virginia was a former NASCAR racing team. It was owned by four-time NEXTEL Cup winner and 2004 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Bobby Hamilton until his death on January 7, 2007. Bobby Hamilton, Jr. was given ownership after the death of his father, but the younger...

. That season, he began running in the West Series full-time, finishing tenth in points. In 2000, he made one start in the #5 Ultra truck at Texas, but finished 35th after being caught up in a lap 2 crash. He also won his first NASCAR race at Mesa Marin Raceway

Mesa Marin Raceway

Mesa Marin Raceway was a NASCAR affiliated oval racetrack located in Bakersfield, California from 1977 until 2005. It was leveled in the fall of 2005 after being sold to developers....

 in the West Series and finished seventh in the series points.

Norris ran the #32 Jani-King

Jani-King

Jani-King is the world's largest commercial cleaning franchise company reporting more than 12,000 franchisees serving tens of thousands of customers worldwide....

 Silverado

Chevrolet Silverado

The Chevrolet Silverado , is the latest line of full-size pickup trucks from General Motors.-History:...

 for Matt Stowe in three 2001 races. His best finish of the season was a 17th at Texas. In the fall, a 23rd at California Speedway

California Speedway

Auto Club Speedway is a two-mile , low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in Fontana, California which has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1997. The track was also used for open wheel racing events until 2005. The racetrack is located near the former locations of Ontario Motor Speedway and...

 was the first time that Norris ran at a track other than Texas since 1997. He finished fifth in the standings in the West Series, but did not win another race. He won the championship by 119 points in 2002, winning twice and leading the most laps of any driver during the season.

Norris did not return to the Craftsman Truck Series until 2004, when once again, Jim Smith and Ultra Motorsports gave Norris a two-race deal. Norris was 36th in his first start at Texas, but in his next start at Homestead-Miami

Homestead-Miami Speedway

Homestead-Miami Speedway is a race track in Homestead, Florida southwest of Miami.Since 2002 Homestead has hosted the final races of the season in all three of NASCAR's series: the Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series, and the Camping World Truck Series...

, Norris fnished 14th. In 2005, Norris ran four races, all for Green Light Racing

Green Light Racing

SS-Green Light Racing is a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team. Owned and operated by businessmen Ken Smith and Steve Urvan and former driver Bobby Dotter, the team fields the #07 Toyota Tundra for several drivers and the #81 Zachry Industrial, Inc. Toyota for David Starr...

. In his first start of the year at Texas, Norris had his best career weekend to date, churning in his best career start and best career finish of 12th. There, he also led his first career lap. He only finished one of the other three starts, which was a 20th at Kansas Speedway

Kansas Speedway

Kansas Speedway is a tri-oval race track in Kansas City, Kansas. The speedway was built in 2001 and currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The IndyCar Series also raced at the speedway until 2011...

. He made his Busch Series debut in 2005, running a pair of races for MacDonald Motorsports

MacDonald Motorsports

MacDonald Motorsports is a NASCAR team owned by former driver Randy MacDonald and his wife Pat. They field the #81 Eagle Convenience Stores/Heartland Harley Davidson Dodge Challenger for Donnie Neuenberger, Scott Wimmer and rookie Blake Koch in the NASCAR Nationwide Series...

. He qualified 35th and finished 41st in his debut at California in February, after the #72 P4OT.com Chevy broke an engine. Norris then returned at Las Vegas

Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada near Las Vegas, is a complex of multiple tracks for automobile racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.-History:...

, finishing 35th, ten laps off the pace.

Norris returned to Green Light early in 2006, running their #07 truck at California. However, an early crash put him to 35th in the results. Norris competed in some more races for Green Light in 2006 with some good runs.

Stunt career/acting

In addition to his racing career, Norris has done many stunt performances and acting, often working alongside his father. Similar to fellow driver and stuntman Stanton Barrett

Stanton Barrett

Stanton Thomas Barrett is a NASCAR driver and Hollywood stuntman. He has driven in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series, as well in the IZOD IndyCar Series.-NASCAR:...

, Norris has done stunts for Office Space

Office Space

Office Space is a 1999 American comedy film satirizing work life in a typical 1990s software company. Written and directed by Mike Judge, it focuses on a handful of individuals fed up with their jobs portrayed by Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston, Gary Cole, David Herman, Ajay Naidu, and Diedrich...

, National Treasure

National Treasure (film)

National Treasure is a 2004 mystery adventure heist film from the Walt Disney Studios under Walt Disney Pictures. It was written by Jim Kouf, Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Cormac Wibberley, and Marianne Wibberley, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and directed by Jon Turteltaub...

, and Walker, Texas Ranger

Walker, Texas Ranger

Walker, Texas Ranger is an American television action crime drama series created by Leslie Greif and Paul Haggis, and starring Chuck Norris as a member of the Texas Ranger Division. The show aired on CBS in the spring of 1993, with the first season consisting of three pilot episodes. Eight full...

, among many others. He has also appeared in Walker, The Delta Force, Top Dog

Top Dog (film)

Top Dog is a 1995 comedy action film, directed by Aaron Norris and starring Chuck Norris.-Plot:The film opens as two white nationalists destroy an apartment complex where most of the residents are minorities....

, Sidekicks, Invaders from Mars

Invaders from Mars (1986 film)

Invaders from Mars is a 1986 science fiction film directed by Tobe Hooper from a screenplay by Dan O'Bannon and Don Jakoby. It is a remake of the 1953 science fiction film Invaders from Mars, and is a reworking of that film's screenplay by Richard Blake from an original story by John Tucker Battle...

, Universal Soldier

Universal Soldier (1992 film)

Universal Soldier is a 1992 American science fiction action film directed by Roland Emmerich and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren as soldiers who kill each other in Vietnam but are reanimated in a secret Army project along with a large group of other previously dead...

and Rescue Me

Rescue Me (TV series)

Rescue Me is an American television drama series that premiered on the FX Network on July 21, 2004, and concluded on September 7, 2011. The series focuses on the professional and personal lives of a group of New York City firefighters in the fictitious Ladder 62 / Engine 99 firehouse.The show...

.

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