In the past, Aaron Olson sped in the wrong direction; now he’s racing for Christ.

“2 Extreme” is the number/logo printed on the side of Aaron Olson’s race car. That’s because this former alcohol abuser and drug dealer’s life always ran in the wrong direction — to the extreme.

“I’ve always been a person who has passion for everything I do,” Olson said. “Now that my focus is redirected, (God) has become my passion.”

But 23-year-old Olson didn’t arrive at faith the easy way. It wasn’t until he’d spent six months in jail, facing the frightening probability of a 72-month prison sentence, that he found himself truly seeking God. Then God began to show Olson His power to intercede.

Olson grew up in the Lake Kelly area around Hibbing, Minn., in what he described as “an elite lifestyle” where it was easy to become enmeshed in a partying atmosphere and have access to illegal substances at a young age. At 8, he began smoking cigarettes and sampling marijuana, and by the time he was 11 he was drinking frequently and experimenting with other drugs at school.

But even at that tender age, recalled Olson, “I always felt there was something more for me. There could be something great in my life.”

In junior high, Olson began selling pot for his older brother.

“The money started adding up,” he said. He also began stealing four-wheelers and dirt bikes to satisfy his “need for speed.”

Even though he’d decided never to use heavy drugs, he eventually found himself in the presidential suite of an upscale Twin Cities hotel with his older brother, buying methamphetamine to deal on the streets. That night he tried meth, and for the next several months the euphoric feeling associated with the drug had him hooked.

His brother eventually spent time in federal prison. Meanwhile, to break the meth addiction, Olson turned back to his original drug of choice — alcohol. After that, Olson said, “I just drank. I was trying to get through life. I turned to drinking, but I feared who I was when I did it.”

He also battled with pride that made him always want to be the best at everything, even drinking. He said he was caught in a “warped, perfectionist trap.”

His father, who had suffered a brain tumor when Olson was 6, then had a stroke that left him in need of constant care.

“That was a reality check. I had to be like the man of the house, but I couldn’t do it,” Olson said.So, his drinking began drifting more and more to the extreme. Eventually he wound up with three DUIs and a prison sentence staring him in the face.

Fear laid hold of his heart when he thought about what those 72 months could mean. But a programs director in the jail suggested looking into Teen Challenge. Olson also began meeting with a jail chaplain who offered him counsel, prayer and Bible study.

At first, Olson’s prayers were those of simple desperation, but the time spent in jail was what he needed for his faith to grow, he said.

Many times he was told that God could work things out for him to be able to go to Teen Challenge and that he should keep praying and not give up.

“My faith developed through that process,” he said. “I started praying for people I never thought I’d be praying for: the judge, the prosecutor, everyone.”

He knew God had answered those prayers when the judge finally said, “I’m sentencing you to the Teen Challenge program. Don’t let me down.”

“I was fired up,” Olson said. “I wanted to change. I wanted to be a leader.”

On April 8, Olson graduated from the Minnesota Teen Challenge program in Duluth. While faith-based programs that fight chemical dependency sometimes get an erroneous “brain-washing” rap, Olson said, “It’s more of a heart wash, and it’s real.”

Through the Teen Challenge program in Duluth, Olson was able not only to break free from alcohol dependency, but also become grounded and strengthened in his Christian faith. He said the program helped him to see himself “in a different image — the image of Christ,” and to model Romans 12:2: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. … ”

Now Olson, who’s always believed that he was “born to race,” longs to turn that lifelong love into an outreach ministry to other youth.

As part of the organization called Good News Racing, he believes the best way is to be an example.

“I want to be that person in the pits who people can walk up to and say, ‘Will you pray for me?’, or start a garage where kids can come and say, ‘Will you help me work on this?’”

He hopes that others will join him in this ministry, perhaps as Christian business sponsors.

Graduates of the Teen Challenge program are matched with mentors who help them find a church home and make the transition back to society and work. Bob Rauch of Ely, Minn., became Olson’s mentor and racing sponsor after meeting him at a church concert performed by the Teen Challenge choir.

“We talked about racing,” said Rauch, a self-described “gear-head” like Olson. Rauch then contacted Teen Challenge and went through rigorous paperwork and training to become Olson’s mentor.

Rauch said that it’s the mentor’s job “to show them how a Christian lives. Many of them have sold drugs or been tied to alcohol,” he said. “They might not know how to keep a job or treat a woman or normal things.”

But Rauch added that “working as a mentor with Teen Challenge gives back way more than you could ever give. It’s a very rewarding ministry.”

Olson has experienced setbacks such as the sudden death of a young man named Ben Erickson, his best friend in the program. But God used even that sad time to show Olson that He could turn a painful event into something good for the future. Now Ben is being remembered through plans to open a transitional home called Benjamin’s House, which will house graduates just coming out of the program.

Meanwhile, God continues to bring support to Olson. While finishing his final credits for his auto body degree, God sent fellow student Lon Ellingsen, whom Olson fondly calls his “sidekick.”

“It seemed out of the ordinary for us to become friends. God put him in my life,” Olson said. “I couldn’t have built my race car without him.”

Ellingsen, who is also a Christian, said, “God just wanted me to help (Aaron) out. God will push you to your max, but not more than you can handle.”

Olson isn’t wasting time with regrets. He believes God’s in control and that going through the Teen Challenge program was no accident. He also compares growing spiritually to working on his race car.

“I’m still diagnosing my problems,” he said. “I don’t have everything I need under the hood yet.”But Olson knows that God and His Word hold the key to success.“‘We are more than conquerors through Him that loved us,’” said Olson, quoting Romans 8:37.

Smiling, he added, “I love beating the odds.”