With each season that comes up in the Ontario short tracks, there is always a list of drivers that everyone is keeping an eye on with each other division, wondering how they’re going to perform.

When the fans and fellow competitors were asked about the Pure Stock class, there were ultimately over 70 names that came up throughout the discussions – bringing us to this point. Each of those drivers have been ranked, with their final position on the list being determined based on a combination of fan votes, fellow competitor votes, and last year’s success.

As always, be sure to comment with your thoughts – whether positive or negative, and enjoy getting to know these competitors a little more.

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3. Shawn Solomon
2021 Ranking: 6th

After winning the Peterborough Speedway Championship last season with a feature victory and five top-five’s, it was easy to understand why he was on the radar for many fans and competitors of the division. However, he has since moved up to the Mini Stock division, currently ranked fourth in the standings.

2. Kris Lawrence
2021 Ranking: 3rd

2022 Plans: I’m going to be racing my 28 car at Delaware full time as well as running my rental car/driver development program. Kassy Howard will be driving the 59 car again this season, Phil Givens is running the 50 car at Delaware and I have a 2 seat automatic I’m building to run as the number 4 race4trades car which has several available races. On top of Delaware, I would like to try and travel to the big races at other tracks and maybe try out dirt. Depending on what late models/APC cars I might be helping with will decide what races I can make it to.
2022 Goals: I would like to win a feature race at Delaware this season as well as a top-five finish at tracks I travel to. It would be nice to have success with the rental car drivers and hopefully field a handful of cars for the endurance races this year.
Drivers to watch: Some of the drivers I will be watching are some of the young guns at Delaware like Connor Ellis and Jay cox as well as the handful of rookies joining the class this year. The ladies in the sport are always good to watch out for like Reece and Nicole. Hopefully my better half, Penny, will be getting behind the wheel for a race or two this season.
Mostm Memorable Moment: Most memorable moment for me so far is winning back to back championships at Delaware and doing the biggest burnout I have ever done. I am also really happy with what my team has been able to do with the rental car program. We had almost 30 different drivers in our cars last season.

Kris Lawrence enters the frame for many people in the division, simply because of how much we have seen him give back through the years. The aforementioned rental car program, combined with his free advertising for companies during COVID-19 and helpful tips for the young talent does not go unnoticed. Though on top of being someone to admire, he knows how to get the job done behind the wheel. The 2020 Delaware Speedway Champion scored a feature victory already this year at half-mile while currently ranked 10th in the standings, to go along with podium performances at Flamboro Speedway.

1. Mark Merritt
2021 Ranking: 2nd

2022 Plans: Race again at Full throttle Motor Speedway at Varney in the Fun Stock again
2022 Goals: Go out and have fun, hopefully stay consistent near the front.
Drivers to Watch: I can really only speak to Full Throttle Speedway drivers. But I would say they would be Nathan Dettwiler, Michael Peterson, Julia Bos would all be drivers to watch.
Most Memorable Moment: Winning the track championship for Full Throttle Speedway In 2021.

Mark Merritt knows his way around Full Throttle Motor Speedway, as we have seen through the past couple seasons. After winning the track championship last season, he currently leads the standings once again in 2022 a month into the year.