Mike Olsen Pitches A Perfect Game At Lake Erie Speedway; Wins Busch Pole & Local Dodge Dealers 150 Race While Taking Over Busch East Point Lead
NORTH EAST, Pa. – Mike Olsen achieved the NASCAR equivalent of baseball’s perfect game Saturday night at Lake Erie Speedway. He started by winning the 13th Busch Pole of his career, then he won the Local Dodge Dealers 150 presented by Hamot & Highmark for his fifth career race victory. In the process, he gained the NASCAR Grand National Division, Busch East Series point lead as the season nears its halfway point.
Just as a pitcher seeking his no-hitter must get the tough outs in the middle of the lineup, Olsen had to repeatedly put down a strong challenges from Sean Caisse, who was seeking his third win of the season. The pair monopolized the contest, racing side-by-side on restarts and swapping the lead six times before Olsen gained the upper hand for good on lap 128. Caisse made a desperate charge on the final lap which fell short by just 0.189 seconds. Brian Hoar came back from a mid-race spin to take third ahead of Joey McCarthy and Mike Johnson.
Matt Kobyluck , who entered the night as the point leader, rallied from the tail of the field after spinning with 60 laps to go to finish sixth, followed by Rogelio Lopez, Eddie MacDonald, Bryon Chew, and Ruben Pardo. The result left Olsen with an unofficial 21-point margin over Kobyluck, with Caisse 49 points behind the leader. Chew and Johnson trail Olsen by 73 and 97 points respectively.
Carlos Pardo earned the POWERade Power Move of the Race Award for advancing 12 positions from start to finish, while Caisse captured the Featherlite Most Improved Driver Award by picking up 26 spots from last week’s race at Thompson, Conn. Ruben Pardo was the highest placed Sunoco Rookie contender, stretching his lead in the rookie standings.
While the caution flag was displayed nine times for 59 laps, only one incident send cars to the sidelines when Pierre Bourque and Kip Stockwell were involved on the back straight at lap 65. No drivers were injured. Of the 25 starters, 21 were running at the finish with 14 on the lead lap. Olsen averaged 53.459 miles per hour and won $8,500, including the $1,000 Busch Pole Award.
The Busch East Series faces its first superspeedway test of the 2006 season next Friday, July 14, in the New England 125 at New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, N.H.
NASCAR GRAND NATIONAL DIVISION, BUSCH EAST SERIES
Local Dodge Dealers 150 Presented by Hamot & Highmark
Lake Erie Speedway, North East, Penn., Saturday, July 8, 2006
Finish
Start
Car #
Driver
Hometown
Car
Laps
Money Won
Reason Out
1
1
61
Mike Olsen
N. Haverhill, N.H.
Little Trees Chevrolet
150
$8,500
2
3
44
Sean Caisse
Pelham, N.H.
Casella Waste Systems Chevrolet
150
$4,650
3
4
45
Brian Hoar
Williston, Vt.
Goss Dodge Dodge
150
$3,350
4
13
3
Joey McCarthy
Randolph, N.J.
STI Motorsports Chevrolet
150
$3,025
5
6
96
Mike Johnson
Salisbury, Mass.
Johnson Lumber Ford
150
$2,445
6
2
40
Matt Kobyluck
Uncasville, Conn.
Mohegan Sun Chevrolet
150
$1,975
7
10
03
Rogelio Lopez
Mexico City, Mexico
Telmex Chevrolet
150
$1,300
8
9
48
Eddie MacDonald
Rowley, Mass.
N.E. Mechanical Overlay Chevrolet
150
$1,700
9
5
99
Bryon Chew
Mattituck, N.Y.
Buzz Chew Chevrolet Chevrolet
150
$1,650
10
15
12
Ruben Pardo
Mexico
Supercuts Dodge
150
$1,550
11
14
30
Jeff Anton
Russell, Mass.
Engineered Floors Chevrolet
150
$1,475
12
24
21
Carlos Pardo
Mexico City, Mexico
Tia Bonita Chevrolet
150
$1,950
13
23
26
Scott Bouley
Thomaston, Conn.
IGS Propane Chevrolet
150
$1,425
14
11
14
Joe Masessa
Franklin Lakes, N.J.
Skin Cancer Foundation Chevrolet
150
$1,400
15
20
75
Tim Cowen
Ashland, Ohio
Cowen Logistics Ford
149
$875
16
21
97
Brent Cross
Cortland, N.Y.
Cummings Auto Machine Chevrolet
149
$1,350
17
22
84
Dion Ciccarelli*
Severn, Md.
Jamerson Motorsports/Star Sales Ford
149
$1,325
18
18
24
Patrick Dupree
Onchiota, N.Y.
Outback Steakhouse Chevrolet
148
$1,295
19
16
25
Jeremy Clark*
Cortland, N.Y.
Drake Oil Chevrolet
148
$1,250
20
7
01
Charles Lewandoski
Stafford Springs, Conn.
Lewandoski Construction Chevrolet
147
$1,250
21
8
8
Rich Gould
N. Brunswick, N.J.
Nassau Painting Chevrolet
146
$1,250
22
12
16
Kip Stockwell
Braintree, Vt.
Stockwell Racing Chevrolet
65
$1,250
Steering
23
19
10
Pierre Borque*
Ottawa, Ont.
Full Metal Minerals Chevrolet
63
$1,250
Accident
24
17
15
John Salemi
Nashua, N.H.
Waste Management Chevrolet
36
$1,250
Radiator
25
25
5
John Freeman
Huntersville, N.C.
Goss Dodge Dodge
5
$1,250
Handling
26
26
05
Guy Pierre Pavageau
Columbia, Md.
Chevrolet
0
$750
DNS
TIME OF RACE: 1 hour, 3 minutes, 6 seconds
AVERAGE SPEED: 53.459 mph
MARGIN OF VICTORY: 0.189 seconds
CAUTION PERIODS: 9 for 59 laps
LEAD CHANGES: 6 between 2 drivers
LAP LEADERS: Olsen 1-12, Caisse 13-53, Olsen 54-75, Caisse 76-90, Olsen 91-95, Caisse 96-127, Olsen 128-150
BUSCH POLE AWARD: Mike Olsen, Little Trees Chevrolet (15.388 seconds @ 87.73 mph)
POWERADE POWER MOVE OF THE RACE AWARD: Carlos Pardo, tia Bonita Chevrolet
FEATHERLITE MOST IMPROVED DRIVER AWARD: Sean Caisse, Casella Waste Systems Chevrolet
UNOFFICIAL BUSCH EAST SERIES POINT STANDINGS (wins)
1, Mike Olsen (1) 840
2. Matt Kobyluck (1) 819
3. Sean Caisse (2) 791
4. Bryon Chew (1) 767
5. Mike Johnson 743
6. Charles Lewandoski 702
7. Brian Hoar 690
8. Joey McCarthy 664
9. Eddie MacDonald 630
10. Kip Stockwell 629
NEXT RACE: New Hampshire International Speedway, Loudon, N.H., Friday, July 14, 2006
