Driving the No. 19 Dodge Ram for Walker Evans Racing with sponsorship from Macklanburg-Duncan, Norick made his NASCAR debut in 1996 at the Miami-Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex, qualifying and finishing eighteenth in his first race in the series. Norick posted his best finish of the season, ninth, at Bristol Motor Speedway in the Coca-Cola 200 in June; midway through the season Norick's father purchased the team from Evans, switching to the No. 90 and Ford with sponsorship from the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce; now named L & R Motorsports, they completed the season with a best finish in the second half of 13th at Sears Point Raceway, and Norick finished eighteenth in the final season points standings.