PORTAGE, Wis. (September 4, 2021) –Mike Olson has expanded his horizons in the 2021 season traveling with the TUNDRA Super Late Model Series.  After visiting some new facilities hours away from his hometown of Dorchester, Olson is excited to get closer to his back yard this Monday when the series visits Golden Sands Speedway.

“We been having a blast running with the TUNDRA series,” Olson said. “It’s been fun to race with cars that we normally wouldn’t have and race at a couple tracks that I’d never seen before.”

The learning curve has been a bit tough for Olson with his first visits to Wisconsin International Raceway and Jefferson.  But in some familiar territory at Marshfield for the Bev Aschenbrenner Memorial, Olson was able to secure a Tenth Place finish. He’s hoping that returning to some familiar territory at Golden Sands – where he made his TUNDRA debut in 2016 – will bring similar or even better results.

“I’m really excited to get back to Golden Sands,” Olson said. “We raced there weekly for several years and usually ran pretty well. It’s been a few years since we last raced there, but I’m hopeful we can get back into a rhythm and have good speed right away.”

Olson made some noise amongst the TUNDRA travelers in 2016 when he made his debut.  Olson qualified into the dash and ran inside the Top Ten for much of the race before settling for a 12^th Place finish.  Golden Sands is a very unique track where experience can pay major dividends.  Olson has been on the right side of having that experience before.  Despite being away from the third-mile, he’s confident that his knowledge can translate to success on Monday.

“My favorite part about Golden Sands is the banking. Prior to racing at Golden Sands we were used to the much flatter State Park Speedway, so it was always fun to go to Sands and feel like you could drive the car a lot harder,” Olson said.  “What Stands out to me most me is the people, we made a lot of friends racing at sands over the years  and I’m excited to get back there The Smileys have a great facility and run a good show.”

Among the TUNDRA drivers and racers across the Midwest, Golden Sands is known as a finesse track.  It’s a track that doesn’t have a ton of grip and requires a skilled set up and some technicality behind the wheel.  Olson is ready to put both on display.

“To have a good run on Monday I think you really have to have a car that gets off the corner well,
 Olson said. “There isn’t a lot of grip there, so I think that for the 75-lapper on Monday not abusing the rear tires and saving some for the end is going to be important.”

In all Olson is looking forward to the chance to get over the learning hurdle and joust with his fellow travelers within the Top Ten, or Top Five, or at the very front of the field.  He hopes a solid run Monday can give him a boost of momentum for the series finale, as well.

“We knew that coming into this season with the TUNDRA series it was going to be tough, especially going to a few tracks that we’d never raced on, so our goal is to keep learning and building notes on what we need to improve on,” Olson said. “But thanks to the guys at Pathfinder Chassis, we’ve had a good car to work with when we unload and I can focus on how to drive the track.  I try to keep realistic expectations and get better every time the car rolls onto the track.”

TUNDRA Round Five takes place this Monday, September 6 at Golden Sands Speedway in Plover, Wis.  TUNDRA will be joined by the WIR Quarter-Mile Late Models, Wisconsin Sport Trucks, and 4 Cylinder Stocks. Fan gates open at noon, qualifying is at 12:15, and racing begins at 2 pm.

Golden Sands Speedway is located at 11000 Hwy. 54 between Wisconsin Rapids and Plover.  For more information visit http://www.gssraces.com