Catchfence

Loudon, N.H. (June 27, 2009): Two-time NASCAR Camping World Series East Champion Mike Olsen made his season debut at New Hampshire Motor Speedway Friday night behind the wheel of the No. 61 KDD Auto Parts Chevrolet, but a missed set up made for a frustrating and long day for the car owner of Fadden Racing. Olsen finished the Heluva Good! Summer 125 with a 13th place finish.

“I do this to have fun, and it wasn’t a lot of fun out there today,” said Olsen. “The car was tight early and it wasn’t coming into it. I was just kind of riding and we weren’t that good.”

Olsen started the race in the 21st starting position after a qualifying effort of 31.462 seconds (121.060 mph). The team was still optimistic, however, for a solid run.

“We weren’t really worried about our starting position,” said Olsen. “We set the car up for the long run and hoped that it would come to us as the race went on. Unfortunately, it didn’t.”

The No. 61 KDD Auto Parts Chevrolet was tight right from the green flag, and Olsen struggled to gain position. A long green flag run didn’t help matters, and Olsen found himself a lap down before the first caution flag flew at lap 39. He had just gone the lap down when the caution dropped and was awarded his lap back through the beneficiary rule.

“We caught a break there,” said Olsen. “We came down pit road for fuel and an adjustment, which helped a little bit.”

Olsen came back down pit road for tires following a caution period just past the halfway mark, and was assessed a penalty by NASCAR for a blend line violation.

The team continued to persevere and rallied to a 13th place finish before the checkers dropped. Still, with only limited appearances on the schedule, he had hoped for a better finish.

“I don’t want to come here and look in the mirror and see only three cars behind me,” said Olsen. “I come here to be competitive. I come here to try and win the race. We got off our strategy early today and we were off.”

- Fadden Racing Press Release