Olson a close runner-up in Skagit 410’s ALK Promotions, August 18After sitting out a week because of rainfall, Puyallup, Wash. driver Mitch Olson returned to action Saturday night at Skagit Speedway. In the night’s main event, the former feature winner in 360 sprint cars just missed out on his first 410 sprint car victory, coming home in second place.Olson, driving the Mike Olson No. 98m Shark-powered KPC sponsored by SC Fuels, Olson Bros. Excavating, Pro-Vac and PRS Group, finished third at Skagit Speedway just two weeks earlier in the Skagit 360 Nationals. Olson backed that finish up by leading Saturday’s 410 sprint car feature until the very end, when Seth Bergman pulled off a last lap slide job to win it.Olson started the evening by qualifying sixth fastest out of 21 cars with a time of 11.918 seconds around the 3/10-mile, high-banked clay oval. Finishing third in the third heat race, Olson ended up starting at the front of the field for the 25-lap A-Main event. Olson took the lead on the initial start and his first lap ended up being the quickest of the race, clocking in at 12.145 seconds.Olson had led from the start, picking his way through traffic until two slower cars battling for position in front him slowed him up on the final lap while Bergman had just cleared his last lapped car between himself and Olson. Bergman immediately ran down Olson as they rounded the track for the last time. Olson, not knowing that Bergman was coming, went high entering turn three and Bergman dove low around the turn, pulling off a slide job coming around turn four, just perfect enough to barely clear Olson as they entered the front stretch for the checkered flag.Losing the race on the last corner was a tough one to swallow for Olson, but he still finished a strong second ahead of hot shoes Colton Heath, Nick Engberg and Danielle Huson. Olson was accepting of his second place finish as another lesson learned. Having just missed his first 410 victory, Olson will be back at Skagit Speedway this Saturday, August 23 to take another crack at it. At the same time, Mitch and everyone else will be getting ready to race with the best in the business when the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series returns to Skagit Speedway Friday and Saturday, August 29 and 30.Over the last few years, Mitch Olson has established himself as one of the top sprint car drivers in the Pacific Northwest, with victories at Skagit and Grays Harbor Raceway to his credit, along with numerous top-five efforts at other tracks in Oregon. Olson is looking for experienced people, preferably living in Washington’s Pierce County, who may be interested in joining the No. 98m team.- - -Mitch Olson’s sponsorsSC Fuels Olson Bros. Excavating Pro-Vac PRS Group- - -Skagit Speedway - Alger, WA: http://www.skagitspeedway.com
|