Peter Olson is a Chevy Chase native and a graduate of Bethesda’s Landon School and Boston University’s undergraduate and MBA programs. He’s also a professional race-car driver. Olson got the gig after working in finance for years and racing as a hobby in his free time. He’s raced in Hong Kong, California, Taiwan and mainland China. Last year, he won the Bridgestone Formula 2000 race series against 35 drivers from around the world. Now he’s based in Toronto, where he races Formula 2000 cars for Bridgestone and is a full-time racing instructor.
You’ve gone from a career in finance to the world of racing. How do they compare?
Before I was paying for myself to race and now I’m getting paid. Instead of sitting at a desk from 9 to 5, I’m behind the wheel of a 150-mile-per-hour car for my work day — it’s the greatest thing in the world.
Any downsides?
Sometimes we have a lot of mechanical work and we’re out in the pouring rain.
What kind of people do you give lessons to?
Mostly corporate groups. Instead of a golf outing, they’ll do an introduction to racing day. There are aspiring professional racers as well.
Who’s your sponsor?
The Christian Children’s Fund. I’m not earning anything from it — a typical sponsor is IBM or a local auto parts company. When I started racing cars, I didn’t have any sponsor offers, but I had sponsored two children through them for years, so I asked if I could put their name on the car to generate publicity for them.
Do the kids you sponsor know what you do?
I sponsor a girl in Vietnam who is 10 years old and a boy in Haiti who is 8 years old. The boy in Haiti, his dream is to be a professional cricket player, so he says I am a big inspiration for him and he likes to collect my racing photos.
