Mitch Olson takes 2nd in Elma 360's

Mitch Olson at Grays Harbor Raceway. Fletch photo

Mitch Olson takes 2nd in Elma 360’s

Tacoma, Washington sprint car racer Mitch Olson continued his string of strong finishes Saturday, finishing second place in the weekly 360 sprint car main event at Grays Harbor Raceway.

Driving 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, Olson has now finished in the Top 10 in seven of his last eight starts in 360 sprint cars, including finishing in the Top 5 the last four races now.

Olson started his evening by qualifying fourth with a time of 12.597 seconds around the big 3/8-mile, high-banked clay oval. That time put him in the evening’s first heat race, where Mitch would run second to defending track champion Jay Cole.

Starting fifth in the 25-lap feature, Olson jumped up to third place on the first lap and then had a battle with Dan Dunlap for second place. Olson got the spot on Lap 2, only to see Dunlap get it back on the next lap. On Lap 5, Olson passed Dunlap for second again and this time held it.

After moving in to second place, Olson had the same situation he had in the heat race earlier in the evening as Jay Cole was in front of him. For 21 laps, Olson gave chase to Cole, but could not catch him. Cole and Olson were clearly the fastest drivers on the track, being the only two drivers who were clocking laps in the 13-second range. Olson’s fastest lap, a 13.533 second run on Lap 6, was a hair under 100 mph average speed around the track.

Olson felt that he would’ve had a shot at Cole if they had been in traffic long enough. On one long green run, Cole started to get held up by slower cars and Olson was closing in, only to see the caution flag come out and open the track back up for Cole. Despite the untimely cautions, Olson was satisfied with his third straight Top 3 finish.

Mitch will next race this Saturday and Sunday at Grays Harbor Raceway again as the ASCS Northwest Region is in town for two nights of racing. After a pair of third place finishes on opening weekend at Southern Oregon Speedway on May 8th and 9th, Olson is tied with Steven Tiner for the lead in the ASCS Northwest Region point standings.

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 sponsors

SC Fuels
Olson Bros. Excavating
Pro-Vac
PRS Group
PMI Truck Bodies & Powder Coating
ConocoPhillips

Mitch Olson
http://www.mitcholsonracing.com