Aryton Olsen claims victory in first visit for the 305 Race Saver Sprint tour at Wayne County Speedway

By: Randy Worrell ORRVILLE – Third-generation open wheel racer Aryton Olsen is certainly no stranger to victory lane. The Indianapolis, IN., driver has chocked up wins from micro sprints early in his career to 360 and 410 cubic inch full-blown winged sprint cars.On Monday evening, the 20-year old added another chapter to his resume. Olsen led wire-to-wire in capturing his first-ever RaceSaver 305 checkered flag during the 25-lap IMCA Allegheny Sprint Tour-Ohio Thunder Series co-sanctioned event at the Wayne County Speedway near Orrville. The inaugural RaceSaver 305 event at the lightning-fast 3-8 mile oval was part of the All Star Circuit of Champions annual week-long pilgrimage through the Buckeye state.Olsen grabbed the point from his outside front row starting spot, and despite a series of cautions over the events’ opening laps, built a nearly straightaway advantage over current Allegheny Sprint Tour point leader Logan McCandless, while series regulars Tommy Jasen, 2020 champion Jake Gomola, Jordan Welch, Jarrett Rosencrance, and Michael Helterbran swapped positions three through seven before the leaders entered heavy lapped traffic on lap 17.McCandless, searching for his fifth win of the season, pulled to the back bumper of Olsen two laps later before a brief red flag halted action nearing completion of lap 18.“I started to fade a little there in the middle of the race, but the red kind of gave me a little time to think about what l was going to do (the rest of the race)”, said Olsen. “I knew l had to do something different, and l felt a lot faster when we went back to racing.”Olsen, however, was unaware that the stoppage in action was caused by McCandless, who was making a bid for the lead before clipping an inside track barrier exiting turn 4 that nearly catapulted the No. 29 machine of the Mercer, PA., pilot airborn. McCandless retired pitside, enabling Olsen to speed away the remaining six circuits.Jasen crossed the line next, with Gomola, welch, and Helterbran completing the top five.“I work for Tony Stewart Racing, and even though we don’t get to race much, we got a motor to use and all those guys at the shop helped me to get over here,” Olsen said standing beside his family-owned jet-black colored No. 71. “It was a lot of fun racing here tonight with these guys.”The Allegheny Sprint Tour-Ohio Thunder series will return to WCS for an encore appearance on Saturday, July 10.Fast Qualifier: 9K K. Kruger 16:815Heat One – 12G T. Jasen, 56 S. Cousins, 00H M. Helterbram, B15 B. Reber, 60 S. Richards, 07 C. HagueHeat Two – 71 A. Olsen, 4J J. Gomola, 23J J. Welch, 8C L. Christian, 78 J. Clark, 23 R. HamlinHeat Three – 29 L. McCandless, 9K K. Kruger, 16E C. Erwin, 97 C. Hyatt, 25 J. Rosencrance, 14S J. StickleFeature Finish – 71 A. Olsen, 12G T. Jasen, 4J J. Gomola, 23J J. Welch, 00H M. Helterbran, 25 J. Rosencrance, 97 J. Clark, 14S J. Stickle, 07 C. Hague, 29 L. McCandless, 16E C. Erwin, 8C L. Christian, 9K K. Kruger, 23 R. Hamlin, B15 B. Reber, 60 S. Richards, 56 S. Cousins