Olson does double duty at Skagit, takes 2nd in 360’s
April 20thMitch Olson was a busy man on Saturday night, racing both 410 and 360 sprint cars at Skagit Speedway’s season opener. At the end of the night, the Tacoma, Wash. racer had his third straight Top 10 finish in 360 competition when he finished runner-up in the main event.Driving the Mike Olson No. 98m Shark-powered KPC sponsored by SC Fuels, Olson Bros. Excavating, Pro Vac and PRS Group, Olson started inside the third row of the 25-lap main event and stayed in the Top 10 the entire race, running no worse than sixth throughout an event that saw a lot of attrition and many cars not finish. Olson was one of the handful of drivers who managed to stay out of trouble in that 360 sprint car main event.A lap 11 incident took out two cars running in front of Olson, which put him up to fourth place. Olson kept that fourth position for the next ten laps, running behind Jared Peterson. With just four laps left in the main event, the race leader tangled with a slower car and also collected the second place car in the process. That in turn moved Peterson and Olson, who had kept their noses clean throughout the race, up into the top two positions.After inheriting second place, Olson held that position for the last few laps and earned his best finish of the young season so far. His last two times out on the track in his 360 sprint car produced Top 10 finishes also. He finished eighth at the Silver Cup at Silver Dollar Speedway in California and a couple of weeks later he finished sixth at the season opening weekly show at Cottage Grove Speedway in Oregon.Later that evening, Olson was credited with an 11th place finish after spending much of his time driving in the Top 10 in that event as well. Olson was running in fifth place and seemingly on his way to another good main event finish when a car attempting to pass him accidentally clipped Mitch’s front end, tearing off a wheel. The front axle, still on the car, dug into the clay and Mitch went upside down, ending his bid at another Top 5 finish.In qualifying, Olson started his evening as second quickest with a time of 12.028 seconds around the 3/10-mile, high-banked clay oval in his 410 sprint car, bested only by former World of Outlaws star Shane Stewart. In 360 qualifying, he was third fastest with a time of 12.602 seconds. In his 360 sprint car heat race, Olson finished fourth to lock himself into the A-Main event. He also posted the fastest lap of that heat race when he went around the track in 12.511 seconds. He also posted a fourth place finish in his 410 sprint car heat.Despite the setback in the 410 sprint car main event following his runner-up in the 360 sprint car main, Olson is keeping his spirits high. Mitch is next scheduled to race this Friday and Saturday at Cottage Grove in the annual Grove Classic event, which will feature several of the top 360 sprint car teams from Oregon and elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest. Saturday’s main event will pay $2,500 to win.Over the last few years, Mitch Olson has established himself as one of the top sprint car drivers in the region, with victories at Skagit Speedway and Grays Harbor Raceway to his credit, along with numerous Top 5 and Top 10 efforts elsewhere around the west coast. More information on Mitch Olson and his team including schedules, sponsors and photos can be found online at http://www.mitcholsonracing.com.- - -Mitch Olson’s sponsorsSC Fuels
Olson Bros. Excavating
Pro-Vac
PRS Group
Conoco Phillips- - -Mitch Olson online
http://www.mitcholsonracing.com
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