Oscar L ""Ozzie"" Olson of Olsonite Corporation is recognized as one of America's great Indy Race Sponsors. During the late 60s and early 70s, Ozzie Olson played an empowering role in ""raising the bar"" of national racing competition.
Ozzie Olson was much more than a sponsoring Business Executive, content to enjoy elevated corporate exposure and a Sunday afternoon draw. Olson rather, was a dedicated Sportsman who was personally engaged in nearly all aspects of his racing programs. One need look no further than Olson's roster of sponsored Drivers to understand. Such inimitable talent as Gurney, B Unser, Savage, Grant, Dallenbach, Hulme and Malloy illustrate this point well. Ozzie Olson was in it to compete.
Olson, in addition to owning a host of Indy cars, also owned a B5 blue street version of the AAR Cuda. Olson obtained his AAR new in Detroit in 1970 and titled it in the name of his Company: Swedish Crucible Steel (Olsonite). His ownership of this Cuda becomes a bit more personal when one understands that the AAR Cuda was designed and raced by Dan Gurney, Olson's personal friend, Driver and Chassis Builder. Another Olsonite Driver also championed the AAR Cuda during the 1970 Trans Am Series: David Earle ""Swede"" Savage.
Both the Gurney racer and the Savage racer bore the Olsonite logos throughout the 1970 Trans Am series. During this same time, Olson personalized his street AAR by having ""Gurney Eagle"" embossed across the rear tail panel and by adding ""Olsonite Eagle"" imaging to the rear quarters, in bold reference to the Indy Eagle chassis. The ""Olsonite AAR"" has survived the decades and has been meticulously restored.
