Homewood police Officer Ken Norbut has a new appreciation when he watches NASCAR drivers on TV.

Norbut, who recently joined the force in Homewood after 25 years in Chicago Ridge, has driven in just two auto races in his lifetime. The 51-year-old competed in the Illinois Special Olympics Five-O race at Grundy County Speedway in Morris the past two years representing the Chicago Ridge department.

So, when NASCAR stars such as Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin and the others race around the tracks for hours during an afternoon or evening event, Norbut has a keen admiration for them.

One hundred percent I do, Norbut said. Those guys, man. We only do 25 laps. It is tiring. When that adrenaline wears off and you are sore the next day because you are getting rocked and rolled in the car, its something else.

You do appreciate the NASCAR drivers. They are athletes themselves.

Norbut is planning on getting rocked and rolled again for a third time C this time representing the Homewood department.

This years running of the Five-O is back at the Grundy County track. It gets rolling after the gates open at 4 p.m. Saturday in Morris.

As of Friday, Norbut was among the top 10 in donations collected for Special Olympics in connection with the race, joining Hometowns Nate Haubenreiser, Midlothians Adam Thibo, Orland Hills James Molloy, Crestwoods David Alexander, retired Chicago Ridge member Jake Cholke and Chicago Ridges Jon Hill.

Last years event raised $190,000, and donations for this years race are being collected at support.soill.org/fiveo2025.

Cholke is the defending champion of the race. In 2024, he won a close battle over state police officer Howard Hanson.

I was going to do everything I had to do on that last lap, Cholke said in a news release issued by the speedway. I saw him (Hanson) out there and I had to run him up high.

The race is made up of police personnel around the state driving Ford Crown Victorias.

Norbut drove a 2003 Crown Vic in his first two years of racing, but this year, he has a 2010 model with the No. 13 on it. His daughter, Zoe Monroe, picked the number.

I know that 13 is unlucky but I asked her to pick it and she picked No. 13 because she is a Taylor Swift fan and she said Taylor Swifts favorite number is 13. So, Im going with it, Norbut said.

The old car is not gone, It is staying in the family.

Norbuts brother, Chicago Ridge officer Hank Dropkowski, will take that car and race at the track in Morris so its possible the two brothers could be trading some paint.

In 2023, Norbut finished 14th out of 18 competitors and was knocked out of the race after 22 laps with engine woes. In 2024 he was able to complete the race, finishing in 8th place.

Norbut said it didnt take much convincing to allow his new bosses in Homewood to let him represent the force in his third race at Grundy.

So the 2010 No. 13 car will be making its racing debut.

Crown Vic racing is huge around the country because its supposed to be this affordable car, he said. But its still expensive. But its still good as opposed to other expensive cars out there.

He said he doesnt mind the expense of maintaining a car that he competes with just once a year. Norbut is a proponent of Special Olympics Illinois, which offers competition in a plethora of sports for athletes of various abilities.

I was involved with Special Olympics for the Cop on Top, the Torch Run and Polar Plunge, Norbut said of three of the biggest fundraisers police are involved in for Special Olympics. This race is something else to be a part of in giving back to the community.

With the Special Olympics athletes, I wanted to do something more. You know what? Lets go out and do it. It looked fun.

As it turned out, it was fun indeed.

Its good camaraderie, Norbut said. The other police come out. The athletes come on the track with us and we get to meet them. Its a great day.

It was like a no-brainer for me. Get in a car and raise some money.

Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.

霍姆伍德市警官肯·诺伯特在电视上观看纳斯卡车手比赛时，有了新的感悟。

诺伯特在芝加哥里奇市任职25年后，近期加入霍姆伍德市警队。他一生仅参加过两场汽车比赛——这位51岁的警官过去两年代表芝加哥里奇警局，在莫里斯市格兰迪郡赛道的伊利诺伊特奥会50组别赛事中出赛。

因此，当凯尔·拉森（Kyle Larson）、丹尼·哈姆林（Denny Hamlin）等NASCAR明星在下午或晚上的赛事中连续数小时驰骋赛道时，诺伯特（Norbut）对他们怀有由衷的钦佩。

“我百分之百确定，”诺伯特说道，“那些家伙啊，伙计。我们只跑了25圈。这很累人。当肾上腺素消退后，第二天你会浑身酸痛，因为在车里被颠来颠去，那感觉真是难以形容。

你确实很欣赏NASCAR赛车手。他们本身就是运动员。

诺伯特（Norbut）正计划第三次迎接摇滚乐的震撼洗礼——这一次他将代表霍姆伍德（Homewood）部门出战。

今年的“五零”赛车活动重返格伦迪县赛道，将于周六下午4点在莫里斯市开闸启程。

截至周五，诺伯特（Norbut）已成为本次赛事相关特奥会募捐活动的前十名捐赠者之一，同列榜单的还有霍姆敦镇的纳特·豪本瑞瑟（Nate Haubenreiser）、中洛锡安镇的亚当·蒂博（Adam Thibo）、奥兰山镇的詹姆斯·莫洛伊（James Molloy）、克雷斯特伍德镇的大卫·亚历山大（David Alexander）、已退休的芝加哥里奇镇成员杰克·乔尔克（Jake Cholke）以及芝加哥里奇镇的乔恩·希尔（Jon Hill）。

去年的活动募集了19万美元，今年赛事的捐款正在support.soill.org/fiveo2025页面上进行收集。

乔尔克是该赛事的卫冕冠军。2024年，他在一场势均力敌的较量中击败了州警霍华德·汉森。

“最后一圈我必须全力以赴，”乔尔克（Cholke）在赛道发布的新闻稿中表示。“我看到汉森（Hanson）在那里，不得不把他逼到外道。”

这场赛事由全州各地驾驶福特维多利亚皇冠警车的警务人员组成。

诺伯特在职业生涯前两年驾驶的是2003款维多利亚皇冠赛车，但今年他换成了2010款车型，车身印有13号。这个号码是他的女儿佐伊·门罗选的。

诺伯特表示：“我知道13是个不吉利的数字，但我让她选号码时，她选了13号，因为她是泰勒·斯威夫特的粉丝，她说13是泰勒·斯威夫特最爱的数字。所以我就随她选了。”

这辆旧车并未离开，它将留在家族中传承。

诺伯特（Norbut）的兄弟、芝加哥里奇警员汉克·德罗普科夫斯基（Hank Dropkowski）将驾驶该车参加莫里斯赛道的比赛，因此兄弟俩可能在赛道上上演激烈角逐。

2023年，诺伯特在18名选手中排名第14，因引擎故障在完成22圈后退赛。2024年，他成功完赛并获得第8名。

诺伯特表示，他几乎没费什么口舌就说服了霍姆伍德的新上司们，同意让他代表警队第三次参加格伦迪站的比赛。

因此，2010年款的13号赛车将首次亮相赛场。

“维多利亚皇冠赛车在全国范围内非常受欢迎，因为它本应是一款经济实惠的车型，”他说道，“但它依然价格不菲。不过与其他昂贵的车型相比，它仍然物有所值。”

他表示并不介意每年仅参赛一次却仍需承担车辆维护费用。诺伯特（Norbut）是伊利诺伊州特殊奥林匹克运动会的支持者，该赛事为不同能力的运动员提供多种体育项目的竞赛机会。

诺伯特（Norbut）提到警察为特奥会参与的三大筹款活动——'警察上屋顶'、'火炬跑'和'极地跳水'时说：'我曾参与过这些活动。而这次赛跑是另一种回馈社区的方式。'

我想为特奥会运动员们做更多事情。知道吗？我们行动起来吧！这看起来会很有趣。

事实证明，这确实很有趣。

“这种战友之情很棒，”诺伯特说道，“其他警察也来了。运动员们和我们一起走上赛道，我们有机会与他们见面。这是美好的一天。”

这对我来说根本不用考虑。上车就能筹到钱。

杰夫·沃尔瓦（Jeff Vorva）是《南城日报》的自由撰稿记者。