Notebook: Olson honored in ‘overwhelming’ tribute

VINTON - The racing community has, unfortunately, had several opportunities this year to prove how well it can rally around members in times of mourning.

From the Urbana 5 to Joan Feller and now to Russ Olson, times of tragedy and loss bring out the best in a group that - in overall terms, anyway - is small but tight-knit. After Olson's unexpected death Aug. 15, family and friends of the former IMCA Modified racer came together to reinforce how much racers care about each other, even while trying as hard as they can to beat one another on the track.

Russ' son Kyle and his nephew Tony led a group of 16 cars - also including Russ' niece Stacy, great-nephew Kaden Reynolds and family friend Scott Hogan - in a salute to 'B3” on Sunday while other racers and fans lined the front stretch and Turns 1 and 2 at Benton County Speedway in Vinton. It was a moment the former national champion's family will certainly never forget.

'It was really overwhelming,” Kyle Olson said on Monday. 'It was really important to me. It was obviously super emotional. It was awesome to see the whole racing family support me as another racer. It was a cool thing to see. I know my dad would've loved it.

'When I was going around the track and saw everyone clapping, it was truly overwhelming, but in a good way.”

This weekend marked the first time Kyle returned to the track since Russ died, running Saturday night at Independence Motor Speedway and Sunday in Vinton. He briefly considered racing the previous Sunday, but with everything so fresh, he simply couldn't.

In the intervening days, Kyle and his family planned and had a celebration of life for Russ at Ellis Park in Cedar Rapids that overflowed the pavilion and saw cars parked all along Ellis Road. After being able to share happy memories of his father with family and friends, Kyle returned to his racecar and a note Russ had written on the dash for his son. He drove to a third-place finish in his return.

'I wanted to race (that first) Sunday, but I just wasn't in the right state of mind,” Kyle Olson said. 'When I got back in the car Saturday, I knew it's what he would want me to do. It's what he wanted me to do my entire life, was race. He was always proud of me - even if I'd come in last or whatever. I knew getting back in the car, he was right there with me and just as proud as ever.

'On the inside of my car, he wrote a note when I was having all those troubles halfway through this season. He wrote a note on the dash that just said, ‘Easy in, smooth off. Love, Dad.' It means a lot and it lets me know he's right there with me in whatever I do.”

Kyle's cousin Tony - whose dad, Randy, is Russ' twin brother - actually raced the night the family found out about Russ' death and picked up the win at Independence Motor Speedway.

Randy made the call to carry on through the immediate aftermath - while most everyone outside the family hadn't heard - and race as they believe Russ would've wanted.

'That was one of the hardest nights I've ever had,” Tony Olson said. 'It was one of those deals, we were sitting in the shop talking about it and he would've wanted us to be at the track. We were sitting there overthinking everything. It was hard on us. Dad made the choice to go racing and get a win for him.

'That's all we were thinking about the whole night. Luckily we were able to go out and get a win.”

Kyle and Tony were in the mix for the feature win Sunday, first with Tony trading the lead with Danny Dvorak before a mechanical failure, then with Kyle doing the same before a brake line failure took him out as well.

Though they didn't get the win on the night Russ was honored at his former regular stamping grounds, Russ wasn't forgotten in Victory Lane. Dvorak, who has had a fierce - but by their assessment friendly - rivalry with the Olsons over the years, dedicated his win to Russ.

The dedication further defined why so many refer to the racing community as a racing family.

'When I heard he dedicated it to us, I was blown away. It means a lot and I really appreciate he did that,” Kyle Olson said. 'The amount of support I've gotten, from people I've raced with to people he raced with; (the tribute lap) just truly showed people care about other people. It doesn't matter if you've had differences with anyone in the past. People come together when there's tough times.”

HAWKEYE DOWNS CARRYING ON

Hawkeye Downs Speedway wrapped up its points racing season last Friday, and has just one more racing event this season - the Coors Light Shootout on Sept. 5 featuring ARCA Midwest Tour Super Late Models, Mid-American Stock Car Series and INEX Legends.

Despite all that's happened this season and continued struggles to become financially viable and increase car counts, the plan is to soldier on and continue the efforts to restore the storied track.

'I think we've made some progress,” promoter and racer Kevin Korsmo said. 'We told the board of directors it was going to take some time and wasn't going to happen overnight and I stand by that. We'll keep the lights on out here and keep trucking.

'I wouldn't say we're knocking it out of the ballpark (financially) by any means, but with the increased sponsorship this year, we're in better shape than we were in last year. With some hard work, next year can be better. I have no reason to think not.”

Many have asked if the death of 53-year-old INEX Legends racer Joan Feller would impact racing for 2016. Korsmo was resolute in that not being the case.

'Absolutely not,” Korsmo said. 'That's why we have insurance. It was a racing incident and that's why we have it for when accidents happen. We're all still heartbroken for her. Joan would want us to move on, and that's exactly what we're doing.”

l Comments: (319) 368-8884; jeremiah.davis@thegazette.com