BNS: Holland: Round four preview

BUSCH NORTH SERIES TAKES SUMMER ROAD TRIP WEST FOR HOLLAND INTL SPEEDWAY'S FUCCILLO AUTO PARK HUGE 150, SATURDAY, JUNE 25

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 16, 2005) -- Summer has arrived, and that means it's time for that great American tradition, the road trip. With school out, the weather hot, and the swimming pools open, it's time to pack up the RV and head for a traditional destination.

For the NASCAR Grand National Division, Busch North Series, the destination on Saturday, June 25 is Holland International Speedway in Holland, N.Y., the high-banked 3/8 mile oval located in the hill country south of Buffalo. For the series' predominantly New England- and New Jersey-based teams, it truly is a major road trip, but they should know the way to the Fuccillo Auto Park HUGE NASCAR Busch North Series 150, as Holland has been a part of the Busch North Series schedule for each of its 19 seasons.

No team will travel the New York Thruway westbound in more style than Mike Olsen's Little Trees Chevrolet. The team from North Haverhill, N.H., Busch North champion in 2001 and last year's runner-up for the title, recently took delivery of their new 53-foor Featherlite trailer. "It's almost too nice to be taking to the races every weekend but it makes it good and comfortable for the guys and for myself when we're at the track," Olsen said while giving the grand tour of the new rig. "We can take everything we need to do away from the shop. When we go to Holland or Lake Erie we need to be as prepared as possible," he added.

"We've definitely got a lot more storage and it's a little more user-friendly. We got the graphics updated for Little Trees so going down the highway it looks pretty nice," Olsen continued. "We had the other one for ten years. We thought it was time to upgrade a little bit, so we put in some features we wished we'd had before. We've got a shock dyno on here, which is pretty important."

The importance of getting the car's set-up right is amplified at Holland where the infield pit configuration permits stops only for emergency service. "You don't have the opportunity to make adjustments so you have to be pretty good right at the start," Mike noted.

While it's a long trip from northern New Hampshire (over 500 miles be the most direct route on interstate highways) Mike Olsen will feel at home when he arrives at Holland. Not only does he have five top-five finishes there including a trio of seconds, but the layout reminds him of a scaled-up Thunder Road, the Vermont track where his career started, and even more of the now-closed Catamount Stadium in Milton, Vt., where he accompanied his grandfather, Stub Fadden, many nights as a teenager. Not surprisingly, the master of Catamount and Thunder Road, Dave Dion, is the only three-time Busch North Series winner at Holland.

As any dedicated traveler who has upgraded to a larger motorhome or RV can attest, there's one final hurdle to overcome when that shiny new unit arrives at its destination, whether it's a state park, a campground, or in Mike Olsen's case, the garage area. Will the new rig fit the same parking place? Olsen has no doubts on that one.

"My stepfather (John Aldrich) drives it and he hauls milk in bulk for a living, so he's used to backing into tight spots. It doesn't seem to be a problem," he said with a smile.

The Fuccillo Auto Park HUGE NASCAR Busch North Series 150 is scheduled as a one-day event on Saturday, June 25, with practice starting at 2:00 p.m., and Busch Pole Qualifying at 5:00 p.m. Race time is 8:00 p.m. with HDNet providing live high definition television coverage. An enhanced replay will be presented on SPEED Channel Friday, July 15, at 5:30 p.m. Holland's regular NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series classes will also be in action.

NEWS OF NOTE

* Andy Santerre won the 2004 Busch North Series race at Holland, his second in three years. In typical Santerre short track style, he qualified in the middle of the pack (11th), but became a man on a mission at the green flag, taking the lead from Mike Johnson at lap 100. Mike Olsen, who led the first 14 laps, finished second, followed by Kelly Moore, Ryan Moore, and Tim Andrews. Johnson lost five laps in the pits and finished 23rd. Busch Pole winner Dave Dion never led a lap but hung on to finish eighth.

* Every one of the 24 starters at Holland in 2004 was running at the finish. It was the second time a 100 percent finishing record had been achieved by the Busch North Series in three races.

*The Busch Pole Qualifying record at Holland was set by Martin Truex Jr. in June 2002 at 13.373 seconds, 93.926 miles per hour.

* Dave Dion won three Busch North Series races in a row at Holland from 1995 through 1997. Andy Santerre (2002, 2004) is the only other multiple winner. Dale Shaw, victorious in the 1987 inaugural, and Joey McCarthy, who scored his first Busch North win at Holland in 2003, are the other past Holland winners expected to compete in 2005.

* Holland has produced a number of first career Busch North wins. In addition to Shaw and McCarthy, Brian Ross (1993), John Preston (1994), and Bryan Wall (1999) made their victory lane debuts at Holland.

* Ricky Craven (1991), Dave Dion (1996), and Andy Santerre (2002, 2004) have won at Holland during Busch North championship seasons.

* Holland International Speedway opened as a dirt track in 1960 and was paved for the 1968 season. Even before becoming a charter member of the Busch North Series in 1987, Holland was noted as the premier track for late model racing in New York State. Operated by the Bennett family, it is the only track to have scheduled the Busch North Series in each of the circuit's 19 seasons.

FAST FACTS

What: Fuccillo Auto Park HUGE NASCAR Busch North Series 150, Busch North Series Race #4 of 14

Where: Holland International Speedway, Holland, N.Y.

When: Saturday, June 25, 2005, 8:00 p.m.

Track layout: .375 mile paved oval
Race distance: 150 laps, 56.25 miles

Television: HDNet live
SPEED Channel enhanced replay, Friday, July 15, 5:30 p.m.

2004 Fuccillo Auto Park HUGE 150 race winner: Andy Santerre
2004 Fuccillo Auto Park HUGE 150 Busch Pole winner: Dave Dion

2004 Fuccillo Auto Park HUGE 150 top ten: 1. Andy Santerre, 2. Mike Olsen, 3. Kelly Moore, 4. Ryan Moore, 5. Tim Andrews, 6. Matt Kobyluck, 7. Joey McCarthy, 8. Dave Dion, 9. Jamie Aube, 10. Paul Wolfe

Schedule: Saturday, June 25 -- Practice 2:00 to 2:45 p.m. & 3:15 to 4:00 p.m., Busch Pole Qualifying 5:00 p.m., Fuccillo Auto Park HUGE NASCAR Busch North Series 150 8:00 p.m.

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