Norman Francis, like many others, was born into racing. It was a family tradition, and Norm loved it. He rides to take on the challenges of nature and engineering. He likes it to feel real, tactile, tangible. And that is what he loves about the Vintage class. Norm made it his life’s goal to resurect and immortialize the cars that he grew up along side of. He eats, sleeps, and breathes classic motorcross. He works closely with the The Offroad Motorsports Hall of Fame restoring vehicles, paints his cars in the style of Tracy Valentina (with permission), and reunites old racers, like KJ Howe, with their beloved vehicles.

Tommy Croft is one of those racers. He is a pioneer of American motorsports, a multi-time national motorcross winner. He rode for both factory Honda and Kawasaki starting back in the 70s.

It’s this admiration and appreciation for handmade vehicles that brought these two together. The two of them are legends who won’t quit and are determined to show just how amazing the vintage class is.

And it was from this dedication to these cars that The Mint 400 was reborn. With Norm in the garage and Tommy behind the wheel, they have taken home 1 first place, 4 second place, 2 third places trophies with only 2 DNFs.

Norm is not just a mechanic, he is artist of his trade with a real passion for racing. With the Mint 400 coming back, Norm and Tommy are gearing up and restoring a beautiful Chenowth 5-Link. We look forward to being at the race to support this incredible team!