INNISFIL, Ontario — After a successful season opener, the Knightworks Design OSCAAR Hot Rods return to Sunset Speedway on Sunday, August 8 for the second event of 2021.

It will mark the 12th time the Hot Rods have raced at Sunset Speedway, following their inaugural appearance at the Velocity 250 in September 2017. Thus far, we’ve seen Dan Archibald and Tyler Hawn score four wins a piece, and a single victories for Billy Alderson Jr., Jesse Kennedy and Tom Walters.

Following each of the events, regardless of the winner, the fans have left the speedway talking about the racing, as the stars of the series have battled side-by-side for multiple laps without a single fender touch.

Hawn will hoping to pick up his fifth Sunset Speedway victory, and notably has just two finishes outside the top-five in nine starts. He enters this weekend as the all-time series leader in race wins, hoping to return to victory lane after a third to start the year.

Jeremy McLean hopes the speed shown with a 10th in the season opener, combined with a pair of 10ths last year carries to this weekend. Sunset Speedway has been a mixed bag of luck for McLean in the past, but he does have a track-best eighth-place finish.

Jesse Kennedy will be looking to make two in a row after scoring the victory a couple weeks ago following a mid-race pass on Amanda Balson.

Steve Book heads into this weekend with a smile on his face following no finishes worse than sixth in his last five series starts. In nine Sunset Speedway races, he has no finishes outside the top-10, with just one appearance outside the top-seven and a track-best second in June 2019.

Paul Senior hopes to have a good outing as he ran strong last season, with no finishes worse than sixth. Unfortunately, he did start this year off with a 17th but in his prior four appearances at Sunset, he has only scored one result outside the top-five.

Dalen Martin spent last season working out some new car bugs, but was able to score a top-10 finish with a ninth at Sauble Speedway. He hopes to repeat the same success, following an 11th to kick off 2021. He knows what it takes to be successful at Sunset, having scored a heat victory and a track-best fifth in June 2019.

Sean Walker will hope to improve the season opener, where he placed 15th. Notably, he scored a track-best ninth in June 2019. Walker will also have a teammate this weekend, as the team enters a second entry with Gary Hannah behind the wheel; Hannah placed 21st in the season opener.

Robertson and Co. Racing has made a statement in their short time on the OSCAAR tour with the Ford Torino, with Brandon Robertson scoring a sixth at Jukasa Motor Speedway last season. Robertson has ran with the tour at Sunset previously, scoring a 12th at the 2019 Velocity 250, but the team was able to visit victory lane in the heats and place third in the feature with Drew Robertson driving in June 2019.

The team will also expand their footprint in the series, set entering a second car this season with Marty Monette behind the wheel. Monette got off on a good note, scoring a heat victory and a sixth in the feature.

Billy Alderson Jr. is no stranger to Sunset Speedway victory lane, scoring a Velocity 250 victory a couple years ago. He hopes to repeat the feat after placing eighth in the season opener.

Dan Rothwell will hope to break into the top-10 this weekend, after coming close last season with a season best 13th-place finish. His best result at Sunset previously was 12th in June 2019, and he started off the year with a 19th.

Trevor Thompson made a big splash in his limited appearances on the tour last season, including a victory in the season-finale at Jukasa. Now contending for Rookie of the Year, he has scored a top-five in his last two appearances at Sunset Speedway, including a runner-up last year.

Jim Blackwell got his feet wet on the tour last season, scoring a best finish of 12th in two appearances. He will hope to turn his early bad luck around, as he crashed out of the season opener.

The division will have a couple ladies in the field, with both Amanda Balson and Jaymee Adams set to join the division this season. Balson kicked off her Hot Rod season on a high note, pacing laps before a second in the feature. Adams, meanwhile, will be hoping to work her way towards the front after 16th in the season opener.

The 1965 Rambler Ambassador that visited victory lane last year in September will be in the field, but not with the same driver behind the wheel. Mini Stock competitor Kyle Fetterly purchased the car over the winter, and drove it to a seventh in the season opener.

His teammate John Lavalle also made his debut, scoring a 12th place finish a couple weeks ago.

A couple other rookies to watch are Dave Waite and Jeremy Taggert. While they are new to the series, both have several years of racing under their belt in the past at Peterborough Speedway and Delaware Speedway, respectively. They both participated in the season opener, placing 20th and 14th respectively.

The Fosters have been involved in motorsports for a number of years, and will look to carry their success that saw them score a feature victory in the series in 2019 forward. Notably, Adrian Foster delivered the team a season-best eighth at Jukasa Motor Speedway and placed ninth in the season opener.

Beyond the drivers mentioned here, there is the possibility to see other faces make an appearance this weekend at Sunset Speedway. The class is expected to grow through the summer, with several drivers already stating that they will be ready in the coming weeks.

Be sure to keep up with OSCAAR by staying tuned to the series website at http://www.oscaar.ca. Also, make sure to “like” the official OSCAAR Racing Facebook page, while following both the Twitter and Instagram accounts (@OSCAARRacing) to keep up to date on everything you need to know.

Preview written by Ashley McCubbin