Henderson’s Todd Olcott competes close to home in Superkarts USA Supernationals

By Sean Ammerman

Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2008 | 6 a.m.

Todd Olcott didn't think much of kart racing when he was introduced to the sport 13 years ago.

It seemed like child's play compared to the off-road ATV racing he was used to — more for amusement parks than serious competition.

Olcott, a South Valley resident, changed his mind after his first race, when he discovered kart races generate the same amount of gravity pulls in turns as a Formula One racer.

"It really scared me at first," Olcott said. "It's like you're in a jet airplane."

Olcott, 43, made kart racing his No. 1 sport and has competed off-and-on in competitions ever since.

He recently clinched his third Las Vegas Kart Club series victory and decided to step up by entering the Superkarts USA SuperNationals Nov. 16 to 20 at the Rio.

Olcott nearly totaled his kart in a crash during a heat race two days before the main event, but he regrouped to take 26th out of 39 in the G1 division, which is a step below the top SuperPro class.

"After what happened, I was pretty happy how everything turned out," he said. "I couldn't turn right after I clipped the barrier, but I didn't know it until the next turn and I crashed."

The competition, which features the top racers in the world, was a new experience for Olcott, whose pool-cleaning business funds his racing dreams.

"I usually race on a concrete track with a lot of run-off room," he said. "Here, you don't have a lot of room for a mistake. This is also a lot faster than what I'm used to."

As an independently financed racer, Olcott was at a disadvantage with many of his nationally sponsored competitors.

He relied on his own drive and support from his kart racing mentor, Matt Jaskol, a Southern Nevadan competiting in the IndyCar Lights Series and NASCAR All-American Series.

Jaskol, a former national kart champion, persuaded IndyCar mechanic Dave McCollough to be Olcott's sole crew member for the race.

"He (Olcott) is really adamant about learning everything he can," McCollough said. "This race is huge. This is the kind of competition where you can get noticed."

Olcott also enlisted the help of his girlfriend, Diana Holinski, who has slowly turned into an amateur mechanic to help Olcott's efforts.

"He eats, breathes and sleeps it," Holinski said. "Most of what he does isn't even driving it. He spends all day tinkering with the kart and finding things to fix."

Even with the extra help, Olcott was forced to cut corners at the SuperNationals. He had to rebuild his kart with McCollough after his crash in the preliminary heats.

"These guys have unlimited parts out here while I have one kart and one motor," Olcott said. "If I screw this one up, I'm pretty much done."

After the local race season ends, Olcott hopes to start his own kart team for youth drivers.

"This kind of racing really taught me how to drive," he said. "I wish I did this kind of racing before I got into off-road."

Sean Ammerman can be reached at 990-2661 or [email protected].