INNISFIL, Ontario — With varying degrees of experience and always expanding car counts across the province, the Pure / Bone Stocks have earned a legion of followers of their own. Whether it’s enjoying the close competition, or the exciting three-wide racing through traffic, there’s something for every fan in the grandstands.

It’s why OSCAAR is proud to host a 40-lap invitational this Sunday, August 8 at Sunset Speedway, putting some of the best up against each other.

Here are just some of the competitors you may want to keep an eye on this weekend.

With having played the role of crew chief through the Sunset Speedway regular season this far, Chris Allard will be jumping behind the wheel of the No. 2 car normally campaigned by Calvin Reesor on a regular basis. Allard is no stranger to being behind the wheel, though, having won his fair share of features in the past.

Craig Cole cannot be overlooked when it comes to drivers to watch, as you do not win Flamboro’s year-end Frostoberfest by accident, which he accomplished in 2020. He’s also not just a one-track jack, having found success at Delaware Speedway.

Connor Ellis is one of the newer drivers in the division, but he cannot be overlooked when you’re glancing over the competition. He has already feature victory lane this season at Flamboro Speedway, and has picked up six top-five’s at Full Throttle Motor Speedway, including a season-best runner-up.

Phil Givens is one of the early favourites, having already won a feature at Sunset this season, after winning both of his heats. His 2020 success does not stop there, though, as he also was victorious at Flamboro and Full Throttle.

Zach Hatch is another young driver in the division, but cannot be overlooked. After all, he has experience surrounding him in giving advice, and has won a pair of features at Grand Bend Speedway this season.

If you follow Pure / Bone Stock competition, you have absolutely heard of Kris Khan. The man is known for having one of the quickest cars in the province, with multiple victories at Flamboro and Peterborough Speedway. The past Autumn Colours Champion will hope to write his name in the history books, again.

Past Sunset Mini Stock Track Champion Cameron McGlashan will be jumping behind the wheel of his girlfriend Aundrea Lusk’s ride on Sunday. McGlashan has competed in the Bone Stock division previously, scoring a top-five at the 2019 Velocity 250.

Jordan Morris knows what it takes to get to victory lane, having already done so this year at Flamboro Speedway. In fact, he’s the only driver this season to win more than one feature at the Millgrove, Ontario track.

Keith Parkes has ran strong at Peterborough on a regular basis, having scored a couple heat victories through past seasons.

Nic Ramsay has shown his speed behind the wheel, no matter what event he has entered and track. He won the Sunset Speedway season opener, and that was after capturing checkered flags at Peterborough and Flamboro in 2020.

Rodney Rutherford has grown a reputation of winning the big events at Flamboro Speedway, with multiple pure stock and endure victories to his credit over the years. He will look to carry that success over to Sunset on Sunday.

Billy Schwartzenburg is no stranger to success in Ontario, having won features in both Pro Late Model and Mini Stock competition. He has also competed in Pure Stocks before, scoring a heat victory at Sunset.

Courtney Scott is known for being a regular at Flamboro, and has proven her ability to run with the regulars, parking the No. 10 in victory lane on a couple occasions.

Gary Slama is also a past feature winner at Flamboro, actually having accomplished this feat this season in their season opener. A veteran of the sport, it should not take long for him to adapt to Sunset.

Eric Stewart has continued to get stronger with each race under his belt behind the wheel, and will enter this weekend with momentum after scoring a fifth at Flamboro last week.

Wayde Thorne continues to build his resume with each race that he competes in, whether that’s in Pure / Bone Stock competition, or Mini Stocks. He proved his talent behind the wheel last weekend at Flamboro, driving a car that was still bent from a wreck the week before to a third-place finish.

Matt Young has not ran a lot of Pure Stock events the past couple seasons, but he’s no stranger behind the wheel. He has a lot of previous experience in this division, and shown speed in the Mini Stock class.

With over 20 names on the early entry list and others possibly showing up, it’s anybody guess who will be gracing victory lane when the checkered flag flies on Lap 40. It is why you need to be in attendance to see the action, alongside the Queenston Chevrolet Buick GMC OSCAAR Modifieds presented by Just Foam It, and the Knightworks Design OSCAAR Hot Rods.

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