Olson family is at home in the Benton County Speedway winner’s circle

VINTON — Benton County Speedway continues to be good to the Olson clan.

Known as “The Bullring,” BCS’ quarter-mile dirt oval race track has hosted International Motor Contest Association (IMCA) Sunday night racing events for years.

On any given Sunday night, it is normally a good bet that an Olson family member will find their way to the winner’s circle.

“It's definitely my home track,” said Cedar Rapids’ Tony Olson, who entered Sunday as the points leader in the IMCA Northern SportMod Division. “It's 20 minutes from my house, so that's a huge deal for us. A lot of family and friends can make it there easier. It was the very first track I ever raced at and that's definitely been our go-to ever since.”

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Olson, 37, has two wins and two second-place finishes through this season’s first four BCS events. Olson’s May 5 triumph propelled him past Vinton’s Danny Dvorak for tops in career SportMod Division victories at BCS.

The mark is 62 wins … and counting.

“That's huge,” Olson said. “He was one I grew up watching racing. And beginning racing, he was the one we were trying to catch and trying to beat because he was, at the time, the best of the best. So for me to be able to take over that title is pretty huge.”

Olson clearly has a long, decorated history racing SportMods. In addition to the BCS wins record, the Cedar Rapids Jefferson graduate won an IMCA national championship in the Northern SportMod Division in 2016. With that distinction on his resume, Olson has shifted his focus from racing for national points to “hitting specials,” which entails competing at larger events with the potential for better and bigger winning payouts.

“Sometimes you have to miss a point race here and there to hit some of the bigger money specials and some of the bigger shows,” Olson said. “So yeah, after we won the national title, then we started racing more for just switching it up a little bit and trying some different tracks and having some fun.”

Olson is the son of Randy Olson, who began racing dirt tracks in Eastern Iowa 35 years ago. These days, Randy is a permanent fixture in Tony’s crew alongside Tony’s uncle Dave Olson, Tony’s wife, Bryanna and 6-year-old son Cru.

“My dad is the reason I got into racing in the first place,” Olson said. “He has always been one of my biggest supporters. He is still a huge, huge part of my racing and he really doesn't miss a race.”

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Tony Olson is not the only family member finding continued success at BCS. His younger cousin, Kyle Olson, is racing in the SportMod and IMCA Stock Car divisions at BCS this season and is third in the SportMod points standings, just 17 points behind Tony.

“Kyle and I have raced together for forever,” Tony said. “Since we were kids racing in the backyard and go-karts and paddle bikes. We've always been really good friends and we've always had a great racing relationship. … We've always had, I'd say, some of the best side-by-side racing out of anyone. … Racing him is always a highlight.”

The family’s racing future also appears set. Tony’s 22-year-old nephew, Kaden Reynolds, already has piled up three wins in the IMCA Stock Car Division this season at BCS.

“(Tony) and my cousin Kyle have been huge mentors for me over my whole career,” Reynolds said. “They’ve had a lot of good pointers and a lot of teaching moments. They’ve taught me everything I know about racing.”

Reynolds’ career accolades include winning the first IMCA junior national championship (2020), plus a pair of IMCA Rookie of the Year national honors in Hobby Stocks (2019) and Stock Cars (2021).

“I've been lucky enough to be there for pretty much every step of his career,” Olson said of Reynolds. “It’s been fun. I taught him to drive a go-cart originally, hanging on the side of it, hanging on for dear life. To watch him learn his way through the Micro Mods and then the hobby stocks and now to a stock car … We park by each other at every track we go and it's been fun watching his success.”

Olson and Reynolds have raced a full BCS schedule since both were young teens. These days, the pair also are regular participants at area dirt tracks in places like Independence and Marshalltown, all with an eager eye fixed toward the IMCA Super Nationals in Boone Sept. 2-7.

“That’s always the biggest race of the year,” Olson said. “That’s always the one we work for all year long.”