Each week, this will be the column that takes a look at a division’s past weekend of racing, combined with the week ahead to highlight what should be on the minds of all race fans.

Another two weeks of competition in the books at Sunset Speedway, and a new face has emerged at the top of the headlines for everyone. Surprise? Absolutely not.

After fixing the damage sustained on opening night, Matt Boyes has essentially been unstoppable as he backed it up with a pair of dominating wins. Now it’s a question who can find the speed to stop the No. 78 Honda Civic from reaching victory lane, but those opportunities are wide.

The man to defeat him may come from his own stable, with John Bird showing a ton of speed the past two weeks with a third and a runner-up. If he can break out ahead of the field before Boyes is able to, could he run away to the checkered?

Our predictions were right about Cameron McGlashan in the last piece, as he has found the speed we predicted with a pair of thirds over the past two weeks since returning the mustang to the track.

Notably, Josh Bullen and Cole Quinton have not been at Sunset the past two weeks, and both have shown speed this year. Bullen won opening night if you recall, while Quinton was fast enough before a mid-race incident at the third event. They could be good predictions.

Flamboro Speedway put another pair of features in the books, but it was not Bobby Mercer extending his streak as expected. Instead, Shawn Taylor and Samantha Shaw took the speed they showed at Sunset to the Millgrove, Ontario oval victory lane in the pair of features.

Taylor and Shaw having success surprises nobody given their past victories at the speedway. Notably, though, Mercer will be the first to state a weight penalty has been applied to him – and rightfully so, if you want to keep competition in mind. However, he’s still fast as evident by a pair of runner-ups so it would not be surprise to see his total extended.

Cole Quinton continues to show why he’s one of the strongest drivers in the province, as his absence from Sunset allowed his presence to be felt at Flamboro. He ran both features there on May 28, scoring a fourth and third respectively. To place this into perspective, the teenager has ran six races this season at two different facilities with no results worse than fourth.

Mike Thomson may be the underdog to watch at Flamboro if you’re looking for a new winner to visit victory lane, as he continues to find more speed in his mustang by placing fifth and fourth in the pair of May 28 features.

Youth seems to be the name of the game at Full Throttle Motor Speedway, with teenagers showcasing the way. Thomas Wunsch backed up his win on opening night with another on June 4, while Brian Wilson Jr. won the second race. With Wunsch having no finishes off of the podium to kick off 2022, he is easily on the right road to backing up his title campaign.

If you’re looking for the variety of winners to continue, Scott Schluter was second in both features on June 4, while Mitch Wilkin has only one finish worse than third in four races.

After the storm that blew through, Peterborough Speedway has kicked off their 2022 campaign with two different faces capturing checkered flags in Tyler Junkin and Jeremy Kelly. Neither was a surprise for regulars at the speedway, having watched the pair do this over the past couple years consistently.

Shawn Solomon, though, may have surprised many in his jump from Bone Stocks to Mini Stocks on opening night, virtue of a runner-up finish. Another pair to watch as contenders for victory lane would be Ryan Edwards-Kiss and Kevin Strutt. Both showed speed across the province the past couple years, and top-fives to kick off 2022 help with momentum.