Mitch Olson races to 3rd in the Grove ClassicMitch Olson had another strong finish Saturday night in Oregon, as he finished third in the Burdett Racing Grove Classic for winged 360 sprint cars at Cottage Grove Speedway.The Tacoma, Washington driver, piloting the Mike Olson No. 98m Shark-powered KPC sponsored by SC Fuels, Olson Bros. Excavating, Pro-Vac, PRS Group and PMI Truck Bodies & Powder Coating, has put together a string a good runs in the past month across three states, racking up finishes of eighth, sixth, second, and now a third place finish in his last five 360 sprint car races.Olson drove to an 11th place finish in Friday’s preliminary event Cottage Grove, where he finished sixth in a weekly show two weeks prior. Things were more to Mitch’s liking on Saturday, despite the fact the weather was often ominous and persistent light rain forced the track to be repacked by cars and push trucks a few times. Olson was the first car out for qualifying and his time held up well, being third fastest with a time of 10.657 seconds around the ¼-mile, high-banked clay oval.Olson started fifth in the evening’s third 10-lap heat race. He needed only five laps to work his way to the front to take the lead, and he would win it by a full second and half. Olson’s qualifying time and heat race finish were more than enough for him to get into the pill draw for the top six starting positions in the 30-lap main event. Olson drew the fourth starting position.Mitch was never out of the top five at any point in the main event, racing with the Jared Ridge and Dale Smith throughout the race and was running in third or fourth almost the entire race. After a spirited battle between the two Evergreen State racers Ridge ended the race ahead of Olson at the finish line. When an apparent scoring error from a prior restart line-up was discovered, Ridge was moved back accordingly and Olson was credited with the third place finish.Mitch and the crew next plan to race this Saturday at Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Washington in weekly 360 sprint car competition, and then will keep going with the 360ci motor under the hood as he heads down to Southern Oregon Speedway for the two night season opener for the ASCS Northwest Region on May 8th and 9th.Over the last few years, Mitch Olson has established himself as one of the top sprint car racers in the Pacific Northwest, having main event victories at Skagit Speedway and Grays Harbor Raceway and several more Top 5 and Top 10 finishes elsewhere on the west coast to his credit. More information on Mitch Olson and his race team can be found online at http://www.mitcholsonracing.com.- - -Mitch Olson’s sponsorsSC Fuels
Olson Bros. Excavating
Pro-Vac
PRS Group
PMI Truck Bodies & Powder Coating
ConocoPhillips- - -Mitch Olson
http://www.mitcholsonracing.com
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