OSCAAR, OOSLM and Can-Am Midgets headline a trio of Ontario tracks, the Southern Ontario Sprints go south of the border, CASC-OR visits Calabogie, NASCAR Xfinity and IndyCar return from breaks, an SLMS champion will be crowned, and DIRTcar gets set for weeknight racing at Ransomville; here’s what you need to know.
Road Racing
CASC-OR will be in action at Calabogie Motorsports Park this weekend for the OSCC Calabogie Summer Classic. There will be six grids of CASC/VARAC classes racing on Saturday and Sunday, with the Miata Canada Cup, Pirelli Super Touring Sprints, Pirelli Grand Touring Sprints, Formula Classic/F1200/Formula Libre, Vintage Historic/Classic 4/Classic 5, and Formula Prototype Challenge. Notably, Calabogie is the home track for several Miata Canada Cup drivers, with the track already running a Miata spec series prior to the inaugural Miata Canada Cup season.
The Toyo Tires F1600 Championship will also take part in the Calabogie Summer Classic. Connor Clubine enters having won 11 of 12 races so far this season, giving him a 75-point lead over Antonio Costantino (who has the other win), with two events/six races remaining. Clubine is also fresh off of two F1600 Canada victories on the streets of Trois-Rivières last weekend.
In other road racing news, the countdown to Targa Newfoundland continues. The renowned tarmac rally will run from September 12-19. For more information about the event, click here.
Ontario Short Tracks
There will be six Canadian touring series in and around Ontario this weekend:
- The Just Foam It OSCAAR Modifieds and JRS Auctions OSCAAR Hot Rods will visit Sauble Speedway on Saturday night. Wally Wilson (Mods) and Kenny McNicol Jr. (Hot Rods) recorded victories in the most recent event, on the August long weekend at Peterborough Speedway. TJ Edwards leads the Modifieds standings by four points over Jason Keen and 12 markers over Steve Trendell; the series now has nine different winners in the last nine points-paying races. Tyler Hawn leads the Hot Rods standings by 12 points over Rob Bromley; McNicol (-20) and Steve Book (-21) are also in the mix.
Kenny McNicol Jr. recorded his first career OSCAAR Hot Rods win at Peterborough. COURTESY: Ashley McCubbin - The Canadian Vintage Modifieds will compete at Flamboro Speedway on Saturday night. Mike Podd and Jake Gilbert recorded victories the last time out, on the August long weekend. Ricky Willigar leads the standings by 14 points over Rodney Rutherford; TJ Marshall (-19), Podd (-26) and Jae Pepin (-34) round out the top-five.
- The Ontario Outlaw Super Late Models will race for the second time in four days, at Delaware Speedway on Friday night. Visiting drivers Kyle Crump and Blake Childers finished first and second, respectively, in the Gold Rush 124 at Flamboro on Tuesday night; series regular J.R. Fitzpatrick rounded out the podium. Fitzpatrick and Shawn Chenoweth lead the series with two wins each, through five races.
- The Southern Ontario Sprints will travel south of the border to compete at Ransomville Speedway on Friday night. Dylan Westbrook recorded his fifth win in seven races this season, on July 20 at Merrittville. Westbrook leads the standings by 100 points over Ryan Turner and 132 markers over Darren Dryden and D.J. Christie.
Dylan Westbrook won the most recent SOS race, at Merrittville. CREDIT: Steve Ruddy - The Can-Am TQ Midgets will visit Sunset Speedway on Saturday night. Jeff Blackburn and Daniel Hawn each claimed a win at the last stop, on the August long weekend at Sauble Speedway. Defending champion Hawn leads the standings by 37 points over Blackburn and Darren McLennan with three events remaining.
- DATE CHANGE: The NASCAR Canada Series race scheduled for Saturday night at Delaware Speedway has been postponed due to weather. With a large amount of rain in the forecast, an early decision was made to re-schedule the race to Sunday, September 8. It will now serve as the penultimate round of the season and re-unite NASCAR with the APC Series and Dayco Super Stock Series championships, as part of the Great Canadian Race Weekend. Marc-Antoine Camirand leads the standings by 29 points over Andrew Ranger and 36 points over Kevin Lacroix.
Atlantic Canada Short Tracks
There will be a trio of Atlantic Canada touring series in action this weekend:
- The Super Late Model Series championship will be decided at Speedway 660 on Saturday. Cory Hall won the most recent event, at Oyster Bed Speedway, giving him a slim three-point lead over Ashton Tucker entering the last of six races on the 2024 calendar. Hall, from Pictou, NS, has two wins this season, while Tucker, from Miramichi, NB, won the other three races.
- The Maritime All Star Series will have two of its tours on track at Riverside International Speedway on Saturday. The Sportsman series will hold its sixth event of the season, while the inaugural two-race Mini Stock Showdown, known as ‘Rumble of the Rivers,’ will contest the first of its back-to-back events. Dylan Dowe won the most recent Sportsman race, last month at Riverside.
- The Maritime League of Legends will visit Riverside International Speedway on Saturday. Ayden Christensen leads the standings by 17 points over Josh Langille and 18 points over Tanton Wooldridge through four of ten events.
International Series
There will also be some international series to watch for:
- The NASCAR Cup Series will race at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday afternoon. Twelve drivers have secured a playoff spot with a win, meaning that four drivers are currently above the cut-line on points, with three races remaining in the regular season. Only 18 points separate 14th-place Ty Gibbs from 17th-place Ross Chastain, with Bubba Wallace and Chris Buescher in between.
- The NASCAR Xfinity Series returns from its Olympics break to race at Michigan on Saturday afternoon. With a smaller 12-driver playoff field, meaning one less round, there are still six races remaining in the regular season. Three points separate Ryan Sieg and Sammy Smith on the playoff bubble.
- The IndyCar Series returns from its break to visit World Wide Technology Raceway (Gateway) on Saturday night. Defending champion Alex Palou leads the standings by 49 points over Will Power, with five races remaining. Mary Bignotti Mendez wrote about Canadian Michael Cannon, who is currently the Technical Director at AJ Foyt Racing, after winning recent championships with Ganassi. To read Mary’s article, click here.
- The CARS Late Model Tour will compete at Ace Speedway, in Altamahaw, NC, on Friday night. Canadian Treyten Lapcevich was initially scored the winner of the last race, at North Wilkesboro Speedway, in an event featuring the likes of Kevin Harvick, Corey Heim, Brandon Jones and Sammy Smith, however, Lapcevich was later disqualified, handing the win to Heim. It was determined that Lapcevich’s Chad Bryant Racing team used an unapproved part after misinterpreting a rule. The disqualification wiped out any points, dropping Lapcevich to seventh in the standings, 53 points behind Connor Hall.
- DATE CHANGE: The ASA STARS National Tour was scheduled to return on Saturday at Michigan’s Owosso Speedway, but a poor weather forecast has led to an early postponement. The race will now take place next Sunday, August 25. Canadian Cole Butcher is currently second in the standings, by a mere two points, while Kyle Steckly is currently seventh after a win in the most recent event.
- The DIRTcar Sportsman Series championship season will continue at Ransomville Speedway on Tuesday night. Gavin Eisele opened the championship portion of the schedule with two straight wins, his first victories in the series. Canadian Cody McPherson, who won the west region title, finished fourth at Glen Ridge and runner-up at Fulton, with his regular season bonus helping give him an early 18-point lead over Eisele in the standings.
- The Super DIRTcar Series will visit Ransomville Speedway on Tuesday night. Canadian Mat Williamson recorded a win and a 12th-place finish in two races earlier this week; he’s currently second in the standings, 32 points behind Matt Sheppard.
