Across the province, there were several Mini Stock drivers that made headlines with great performances, championships, and great debuts behind the wheel.

With some input from the readers, here are 10 drivers that were impressive in 2021. Feel free to share who you feel should also had been included.

Cole Burrows put his experience gained en route to Jr. Late Model Championship into good use with solid performances across the province behind the wheel of his Mini Stock. The success included a couple heat wins at Sauble Speedway this past summer. But let’s face it – we all knew he’d be good with a 17th-place ranking on our driver’s to watch list. With the team acquiring a Pro Late Model this winter, it appears the sky is the limit.

Ranked eighth on the pre-season driver’s to watch list, Cole Quinton proved he is no ordinary rookie in finding success at Flamboro Speedway this year. He drove his No. 18 Mustang to three wins and 11 top-five’s. He also traveled to Sunset speedway, scored a third, followed by a sixth at Fall Velocity after starting at the back. Expect him to be a championship contender in 2022.

Eric Yorke capped off the year by winning the Autumn Colours Classic once again, and to nobody’s surprise. It is why he was ranked fourth on the pre-season to watch list. He also had success at Sunset in his shortened schedule with three trips to victory lane, and rebounded from a practice crash at Frostoberfest to finish fifth.

Dylan Sharpe did not come out a bunch, but he was fast when he visited Flamboro on eight occasions, scoring four wins and just one result worse than third. That’s why he was ranked 12th on the pre-season to watch list.

Gillian Hils caught everyone’s attention when she debuted her new ride, for the unique factor as who would expect a station wagon? It worked really well at Flamboro, as she took home the championship with four wins and just one finish outside the top-five in 21 races. It will be interesting to see what the new owner has ins tore for 2022, and what Hils finds herself behind the wheel of.

Josh Bullen started off the year leaving everybody wondering when he’d park the No. 67 Mustang in victory lane. After all, he started off the year with a third and three runner-ups at Sunset. He was able to score his first win of the season on the fifth night, and was consistent through the remaining four races to be crowned the 2021 Sunset Speedway Champion. Oh, and you also cannot forget driving through the field twice for a podium at Peterborough Speedway’s Autumn Colours Classic either.

Karl Sault did not run the full 2021 schedule at Flamboro Speedway, but he showed why he was the 2019 track champion with three wins, nine top-five’s and a sixth in 10 starts. Oh, and he scored his second career Frostoberfest victory to cap off the year. Will we see him full-time in 2022? Hopefully.

Shawn Taylor knows what it’s like to have things not go your way, as evident by having to build a new car after 2019. It appears he got the bugs worked out, as evident by four trips to victory lane at Flamboro this year. He continues to remain a stand0out in the division, as seen with being ranked 15th pre-season.

Thomas Wunsch was one of the drivers to watch when we made the pre-season list (ranked 22nd out of 33) and for good reason. He was fast all season at Full Throttle Motor Speedway en route to winning the championship.

Will Gibbons has shown each year that he is one of the fastest in the province, and that was shown with a pre-season ranking of second on our drivers to watch list. That is why he scored three wins and a pair of runner-ups at Flamboro, along with a second and sixth at Speedway.