Loudon, NH (June 28, 2008): Mike Olsen has been a mainstay around the garage area at all the NASCAR Camping World Series East events despite his departure from full-time driving duties at the conclusion of the 2007 season. Only this year, Olsen’s been there strictly as a car owner. On Friday night, Olsen dusted off the helmet, put on a new driver’s suit, and got behind the wheel himself to compete in the Heluva Good Summer 125 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in a second Fadden Racing entry. His first start this season, and his 283rd career start, yielded a seventh place finish.

“I enjoyed myself tremendously! It was a lot of fun to be back in the driver’s seat, to have my friends and family here helping me out. It was a great day,” said Olsen. “I’ve missed doing this.”

Olsen started the race with a past champion’s provisional when rain washed out qualifying and put him 21st in the lineup. At the drop of the green, Olsen used his trademark patience to get up to 19th before pulling onto pit road at lap 23 for fuel.

Olsen restarted the race in 25th, but an early pit strategy paid off with track position when the rest of the field had to come in. By lap 50, Olsen was running eighth and by lap 90, he was fifth. He was poised for a top-five run until a lap 102 restart when the #61, with some support from K.D.D. Auto Parts, got tangled up in a wreck off of turn two.

“I almost had it cleared and somebody came out of the smoke and hit me in the right front. It knocked the toe out really bad, but I kept it going. NASCAR went back a lap, then penalized the 15, so I got back in the top-five. We went back to green and I didn’t know if the right front would hold out,” he explained.

But Olsen decided to gamble and he didn’t pit. The race was under caution for several laps due to the wreck that Olsen was involved in, which was fortunate for Olsen. The field didn’t go back to green until lap 117, and was back under caution at lap 122. The tire only had to hold up through a green-white-checker finish.

When the green dropped, Olsen was running eighth, and in two laps, with a questionable tire, the North Haverhill, N.H. driver was able to pick up the seventh position before the checkers fell.

“The car was so tight and the toe was knocked out so I was lucky to finish where I did,” said Olsen. “It was a good day and there was no pressure with points so it was a lot of fun.”