Homestead, Miami
February 16th - 18th, 2007

Garrett Olsen added two more wins in the Florida Winter Tour circuit with an international field of competitors from as far as England, Italy, and Brazil at the Homestead Karting facility.

On Saturday, Olsen qualified first to take the pole position for the TaG Heavy class by half a second over the rest of the field. He won the 12-lap Prefinal round, and continued on to win the 20-lap Final, leading the field by over two and a half seconds.

The weather on Sunday brought 30 mph winds and a deluge of rain that started during practice and continued into qualifying, forcing the sanctioning body to declare an official rain race. Olsen opted out of the practice round after team director Derrick Lesinski of DL Racing noticed the rain was subsiding and qualifying would most likely be a drying-track condition. In racing, rain is the great equalizer since drivers must rely more on their skill and finesse than on the engines and equipment that give them advantages in the dry. Olsen’s first time out on the track on rain tires for qualifying would see him take pole position for the TaG Heavy class by over 2 seconds and still qualify only 2 tenths of a second off the TaG Senior class pole position—despite being 38 pounds heavier.

In the 20-lap Final round, Olsen faced a start from 18th position overall, due to a wheel failure that prevented him from finishing in the Prefinal round. Still, Olsen gunned for a top spot in the lighter class, even though he weighed at least thirty pounds more than any TaG Senior competitor. In the first lap, two wrecks tangled racers. Undaunted, Olsen finished 7th place overall in the mixed field, winning in his TaG Heavy class by a staggering 8.7 seconds!

The last rounds of the Florida Winter Tour will be taking place in Ocala, FL on March 16-17, 2007. Olsen will enter with the points lead for the TaG Heavy class at 390 points of the 400 available points.

http://www.garrettolsen.com/

February 18th, 2007 | Posted in News