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Budd Olsen

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Not to be confused with Bud Olsen or Bud Olson.
Budd Olsen
BornPurdy G. Olsen
October 16, 1924
Thorofare, New Jersey
DiedDecember 26, 1991(1991-12-26) (aged 67)
Thorofare, New Jersey[1]
Retired1973
Debut season1948
Modified racing career
Car number0, 44, 92
Championships1
Wins73[2]
Previous series
1948-1956Sprint cars
Championship titles
1951 National Auto Racers Sprint Car Champion[3]
1958 NASCAR National Modified Champion[4]
NASCAR Cup Series career
2 races run over 2 years
Best finish51st (1949)
First race1949 Langhorne Speedway PA
Last race1961 Norwood Arena Speedway MA[5]
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0

Purdy “Budd” Olsen (October 16, 1924 – December 26, 1991) was an American national champion stock car and sprint car racing driver from the Thorofare section of West Deptford Township, New Jersey.

Racing career

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Budd Olsen made two appearances in the NASCAR Grand National Series, the first of which was in 1949, the inaugural year of the series, where he finished 12th.[5] He otherwise spent the majority of his career racing in the Modified division, and won the 1958 NASCAR Modified Championship.[4]

Olsen competed at the renowned tracks of the northeast, including Nazareth Speedway and Reading Fairgrounds Speedway in Pennsylvania, and Flemington Speedway and Wall Stadium in New Jersey. Olsen was inducted into the Eastern Motorsports Press Association and the Northeast Dirt Modified Halls of Fame.[6][7]

Personal life

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Budd Olsen was the brother-in-law of Jackie McLaughlin, who suffered a fatal racing accident in 1964. Olsen was a skilled fabricator and began building race chassis with his son Doug. Their chassis was a dominant player in the racing world for over two decades until Doug's 2019 death.[8]

Motorsports career results

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NASCAR

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(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Grand National Series

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NASCAR Grand National Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 NGNC Pts Ref
1949 Walt Frank 39 Mercury CLT DAB HBO LAN
12 		HAM MAR HEI NWS 51st 180 [9]
1961 Budd Olsen 56 Chevy CLT JSP DAY DAY DAY PIF AWS HMS ATL GPS HBO BGS MAR NWS CLB HCY RCH MAR DAR CLT CLT RSD ASP CLT PIF BIR GPS BGS NOR
13 		HAS STR DAY ATL CLB MBS BRI NSV BGS AWS RCH SBO DAR HCY RCH CSF ATL MAR NWS CLT BRI GPS HBO 42 [10]

References

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  1. ^ "Budd Olsen former race car driver". The Morning Call. Allentown PA. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
  2. ^ "Bud Olsen Record". Auto Racing Research Associates. Retrieved June 11, 2025.
  3. ^ "Budd Olsen, Former Race-Car Driver, Dies". AP News. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
  4. ^ a b "NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Central". The Third Turn. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
  5. ^ a b "Budd Olsen-NASCAR Cup Series". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  6. ^ "For DIRT racing legends, a long road to Hall of Fame". The Post-Standard. Syracuse NY. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
  7. ^ "EMPA Hall of Fame – Budd Olsen". Eastern Motorsports Press Association. Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  8. ^ Donnelly, Jim (December 9, 2023). "A Modified Racing Dynasty". Speed Sport. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  9. ^ "Budd Olsen – 1949 NASCAR Strictly Stock Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  10. ^ "Budd Olsen – 1961 NASCAR Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
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