Six touring series will visit Flamboro Speedway for the annual Frostoberfest, the CASC-OR and VARAC seasons conclude at the Celebration of Motorsport, the Southern Ontario Sprints will crown a champion, the penultimate ECI Pro Stock Tour race will take place, and more; here’s what you need to know for this week in racing.
Flamboro Speedway Frostoberfest
The prestigious Frostoberfest will take place at Flamboro Speedway this weekend, with a handful of touring series headlining the action on Saturday. For most tours, this will mark the start of two consecutive weekends to close the season, with the Autumn Colours Classic at Peterborough Speedway coming up on Thanksgiving weekend.
The one exception to the back-to-back schedule is the Ontario Outlaw Super Late Models series, which will crown a champion at Frostoberfest. Shawn Chenoweth recorded the victory in the last race, two weeks ago at Sunset Speedway, ahead of Glenn Watson and J.R. Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick enters the finale with a 10-point lead over defending champion Watson, with Dario Capirchio an additional four points back; Fitzpatrick can clinch the title with a top-nine finish, regardless of Watson’s result.
The United Racing Series will be represented by the Just Foam It OSCAAR Modifieds and JRS Auctions OSCAAR Hot Rods at Flamboro. TJ Edwards recorded his third win of the season in the last Modifieds event, during the Great Canadian Race Weekend at Delaware Speedway; Edwards leads the standings by 26 points over Jason Keen. Tyler Hawn recorded his fourth win of the year in the last Hot Rods event, at Brighton Speedway; Hawn leads the standings by 17 points over Kenny McNicol Jr.
The Great Lakes Legends (GLL) and Ontario Legend Car Series (OLCS) will join forces for a combined field at Flamboro. Austin Arnel won the last GLL race, two weeks ago at Buxton Speedway (formerly Southern Ontario Motor Speedway). Arnel leads the standings by 46 points over Zach Hatch. Dawson Drimmie won the most recent OLCS event, during the Fall Velocity weekend at Sunset Speedway, for his third win of the season.
The Outlaw Midgets complete the line-up of touring series at Frostoberfest. Jason Metcalfe claimed his fifth win of the year in the series’ last outing, two weeks ago at Sunset. Metcalfe leads the standings by 145 points over Kevin Spiesz.
Celebration of Motorsport
The CASC-OR and VARAC seasons will conclude this weekend during the Celebration of Motorsport at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Seven grids of cars will take to the track on Saturday and Sunday: VARAC Classic/Modern Classic, Miata Canada Cup, Formula Classic + Formula Libre/F4, VARAC Vintage Historic + Classic/Modern Classic, Pirelli Super Touring, Pirelli Grand Touring, and Formula Prototype Challenge.
Most grids will have three 25-minute races, while the Formula Prototype Challenge will contest two longer events with almost the same amount of total track time. Each grid features multiple classes, meaning there will be many championships on the line.
The inaugural Miata Canada Cup campaign will see three champions crowned. FEL Radical Cup Canada regular Owen Clarke leads the standings in the largest class (MCC1) by 56 points over Matt White; the two drivers have battled close all season, finishing on the podium together in seven of nine races. Stephen Di Cesare (MCCU) and Ron Rhead (MCC2) lead their classes.
The fastest cars and some of the more aggressive racing can be found in the Pirelli Super Touring Sprints (GT1 and GT2) and Pirelli Grand Touring Sprints (GT3-GT5). Rocco Marciello leads Dan Corcoran by 55 points in GT1, Patrick Cyr leads Geoff Johnson by 81 points in GT2, Krystian Palka leads Daria Khachi by 45 points in GT3, Hugo Girard leads Michael Sylvestre by 43 points in GT4, and Di Cesare and Rhead are tied for the GT5 lead by 86 points over Ted Michalos.
For full standings, click here for CASC and click here for VARAC.
Canadian Series News & Notes
There will be four additional Canadian touring series to watch this weekend:
- The Southern Ontario Sprints will race at Humberstone Speedway on Saturday. Humberstone will close its gates one final time after the Fall Classic, which also includes some local divisions. With last weekend’s race at Buxton Speedway rained out and the Friday feature at Humberstone cancelled, the Saturday race will mark the championship finale for the Southern Ontario Sprints. Dylan Westbrook enters with a 93-point lead over Ryan Turner.
- The East Coast International Pro Stock Tour will hold its penultimate race at Petty International Raceway on Saturday. Ashton Tucker, fresh off of a Super Late Model Series title, recorded the ECI Pro Stock victory two weeks ago at Scotia Speedworld. Jarrett Butcher leads the standings by 31 points over Austin MacDonald and 44 points over Gage Gilby.
- The Maritime All Star Series street stock tour will visit Speedway Miramichi for the penultimate round on Saturday. Mitchell Arsenault won the last event, two weeks ago at Scotia Speedworld. Brodie MacQuarrie leads the standings by 11 points over Arsenault, with Michael Cormier sitting 12 points back.
- The Maritime League of Legends will conclude its season at Petty International Raceway on Saturday. Ayden Christensen leads the championship points on the strength of five wins in nine races, including the last three events.
International Series News & Notes
There will be some international series to watch this coming week:
- The NASCAR Cup Series will race at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday afternoon. Non-playoff driver Ross Chastain won at Kansas, meaning no driver is locked into the next round entering the middle race of the Round of 12. The margin at the cut-line is four points, with Chase Elliott and Joey Logano just above the line to advance and Tyler Reddick just below; Daniel Suarez, Chase Briscoe and Austin Cindric enter Talladega below the line.
- The NASCAR Xfinity Series will visit Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday afternoon, also for the middle race of the Round of 12. Aric Almirola won at Kansas to advance the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 car in the owner bracket. In the driver standings, Jesse Love and Riley Herbst are just above the cut-line, with a wreck putting Justin Allgaier one point below the line to advance; A.J. Allmendinger, Parker Kligerman and Sammy Smith enter Talladega below the line.
- The NASCAR Truck Series will begin the Round of 8 at Talladega Superspeedway on Friday afternoon. Ben Rhodes and Daniel Dye were eliminated from the playoffs after last weekend’s race; Rajah Caruth, Tyler Ankrum, Grant Enfinger and Taylor Gray sit below the cut-line after the points reset. Canadian Stewart Friesen continues his full-time Trucks campaign; he has two top-tens in seven starts at Talladega. Canadian Jason White will make his first start since the Daytona opener, where he finished 12th.
- The DIRTcar Sportsman Series championship season continues on Tuesday night, with the Hurricane Harvey at Brewerton Speedway, part of Super DIRT Week. Chris Crane Jr. won the last race, at Albany-Saratoga Speedway, ahead of his brother Connor Crane. Canadian Cody McPherson finished third to extend his lead in the standings to 29 points over Gavin Eisele, who finished 15th.
- The Super DIRTcar Series will return to action during the 52nd running of Super DIRT Week, starting with qualifying heats next Thursday at Oswego Speedway. Matt Sheppard leads the standings by 27 points over Canadian Mat Williamson, with Super DIRT Week and the World of Outlaws World Finals rounding out the 2024 schedule.
