Ty Norris builds more than just good race teams.

In the mid-1990s the now 44-year-old Delaware native was part of the team which helped the late Dale Earnhardt create Dale Earnhardt Inc. (DEI) and guided that company to unprecedented success on and off the track. The NASCAR industry took notice.

When Michael Waltrip began laying the foundation for his 40-employee Nationwide team's move into a Sprint Cup program in 2005 he selected Norris as one of the cornerstone employees. His 15 plus years experience in the sport with some of the most recognizable companies like DEI, Speedway Motorsports, Inc. and RJ Reynolds would be a key in surviving in the ultra-competitive Sprint Cup arena.

After just four years, it appears Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) is now positioned to take a place among the elite teams in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series. MWR boasts over 200 employees and long-term relationships with corporate partners like NAPA AUTO PARTS, Aaron's, Toyota, Best Western and TUMS.

In 2009 after three seasons of competition, MWR earned its maiden trip to victory lane when David Reutimann won the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. In the offseason the team aggressively pursued and signed the top free agent driver in Martin Truex Jr. and hired Pat Tryson as his crew chief.

Norris' career didn't start out in a family run racing business like so many in the sport nor did he walk in the garage handing out resumes to fulfill his lifelong dream. Instead, Norris started in NASCAR as a sports writer after studying journalism at Delaware State University. After covering several races for the Delaware State, Norris left journalism for a job as the manager of media relations and event operations with RJ Reynolds in 1990.

Norris caught the attention of Earnhardt as the seven-time champion began building his own organization. In 1996, Earnhardt hired Norris to serve as executive vice president of motorsports for DEI. He played an integral role in helping the organization prepare for its entry into NASCAR's top level of competition in 1998. During the next eight years, Norris, Earnhardt and others helped build DEI into a motorsports juggernaut with DEI winning 65 NASCAR races and four championships from 1996 to 2004.

In 2004, successful businessman Bruton Smith hired Norris to serve as the vice president of special projects for Speedway Motorsports, Inc., (SMI). Norris oversaw the special projects associated with Smith's motorsports conglomerate, which features ownership of tracks in Atlanta, Ga., Bristol, Tenn., Charlotte, N.C., Las Vegas, Nev., Fort Worth, Tex., and Sonoma, Calif., as well as several industry-supporting companies including the Performance Racing Radio Network (PRN), The Source International (QVC's motorsports merchandise partner) and SMI Properties.

But Norris' true passion is guiding team's that put on the show for the sport's millions of fans each weekend. So, when Waltrip began making overtures to Norris about growing MWR it didn't take long to ignite the passion that continues to drive him to this day.

MWR endured the growing pains as expected in its early years, but emerged in 2009 as a team that could contend each weekend. In 2010 those years of hard work should pay even bigger dividends.