CHANCE BENSMILLER NOW THE NEW TRACK RECORD HOLDER AT CENTURY DOWNS WORLD CHUCKWAGON FINALS
2023 Century Downs World Chuckwagon Finals – Rocky View, Alberta
Night two of the Century Downs World Chuckwagon Finals was run under a few clouds and very good racetrack conditions that saw a second track record established in as many nights. Some outstanding races were once again witnessed by a packed grandstand, and when the sun set on Century Downs Racetrack and Casino, Layne MacGillivray is the man rising to the top.
A day money run on opening night combined with a third place run tonight has given MacGillivray a commanding lead in the Century Downs “Winners’ Zone” Championship Playoff round with 23 playoff points after two runs. That puts him 6 points ahead of Chanse Vigen who sits alone in second place. Defending “Winners’ Zone” Champion Kris Molle is third with Ross Knight fourth, with Kurt Bensmiller and Evan Salmond splitting fifth and sixth. The 4 drivers in the playoff points standings after Saturday night will compete in the Century Downs “Winners’ Zone” Championship Dash where they will be racing for $75,000.00 cash and the prestige of being recognized as the inaugural Century Downs “Winners’ Zone” Champion.
On the night, Chance Bensmiller now has the track record at Century Downs after he piloted his Rocky Mountain Aircraft outfit to the top time after posting a 1:21.48 from barrel 4 in heat number 5. That was 8 one-hundredths of a second faster than Kris Molle, followed closely by Layne MacGillivray in third, while Chad Fike and Wade Salmond placed fourth and fifth on the night respectively.
For the 36 drivers who are racing for the Century Downs Racetrack and Casino Aggregate Championship, Layne MacGillivray leads the overall aggregate standings with a two-run total of 2:43.55. That puts him just 21 one-hundredths of a second faster than Chance Bensmiller, with Chanse Vigen, Ross Knight and Evan Salmond in close pursuit. The driver posting the best 4-day aggregate time after Saturday’s run will be declared the champion of the Century Downs Racetrack and Casino race meet
In the race for the World Chuckwagon Championship, Chanse Vigen has now taken a slim 14 point lead over Jamie Laboucane, with Evan Salmond and Jason Glass still mathematically in the mix. The World Champion Chuckwagon Driver will be declared on Saturday night as the driver who accumulated the most number of points over the course of the season.
In the season long Elite Team Series, five teams representing five show locations – Grande Prairie, Ponoka, Strathmore, Rocky Mountain House and Century Downs – are competing for points at these respective locations only in an attempt to win the Elite Team Series Championship. Overall, Team Strathmore Stampede, consisting of Chad Fike, Kris Molle, Jason Glass and Chance Bensmiller are leading the way with 2,409.5 points. That puts them 43 points ahead of Team Century Downs represented by Dustin Gorst, Layne MacGillivray, Jordie Fike and Chanse Vigen. The Elite Team series will conclude this week at the Century Downs World Chuckwagon Finals.
Night 3 of the Century Downs World Chuckwagon Finals can be heard live on Thursday night, August 25, 2023 on Real Country 910am starting at 8:30pm Eastern, 7:30pm Central and 6:30pm Mountain Time. In addition, race fans can watch the races live on the watch.wpca.comstreaming platform.
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Century Downs “Winners’ Zone” Championship Playoff Standings |
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|
Rank |
Driver |
2 Day Playoff Total |
|
1 |
Layne MacGillivray |
23 |
|
2 |
Chanse Vigen |
17 |
|
3 |
Kris Molle |
16 |
|
4 |
Ross Knight |
15 |
|
5 |
Kurt Bensmiller |
13 |
|
5 |
Evan Salmond |
13 |
|
7 |
Jason Glass |
12 |
|
7 |
Wade Salmond |
12 |
|
7 |
Chad Fike |
12 |
|
10 |
Jamie Laboucane |
9 |
|
11 |
Rae Croteau Jr. |
4 |
|
11 |
Obrey Motowylo |
4 |
|
Note: Top 4 after Saturday will qualify for the Century Downs “Winners’ Zone” Championship Dash. |
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Day 2 Results |
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|
Rank |
Driver |
Sponsor |
Total Time |
|
1 |
Chance Bensmiller * |
Rocky Mountain Aircraft |
1:21.48 |
|
2 |
Kris Molle |
Chariot Express |
1:21.56 |
|
3 |
Layne MacGillivray |
Spray Lakes Sawmills |
1:21.61 |
|
4 |
Chad Fike |
West Land Livestock Inc. |
1:21.64 |
|
5 |
Wade Salmond |
Pidherney’s |
1:21.84 |
|
6 |
Ross Knight |
Optimum Equipment Solutions |
1:22.06 |
|
7 |
Cody Ridsdale |
O’Chiese Business & Investment Centre |
1:22.17 |
|
8 |
Chanse Vigen |
Banks Family Auto Ltd. |
1:22.19 |
|
9 |
Jason Glass |
Birchcliff Energy Ltd. |
1:22.39 |
|
10 |
Evan Salmond |
De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd. |
1:22.40 |
|
11 |
Dustin Gorst |
Big Time Towing & Recovery Ltd. |
1:22.61 |
|
12 |
Jamie Laboucane |
Pidherney’s |
1:22.62 |
|
13 |
Obrey Motowylo |
The Co-operators |
1:22.66 |
|
14 |
Evan Magee |
Crush it – Hard Iced Tea – made with Provincial Vodka! |
1:22.86 |
|
15 |
Roger Moore |
Midwest Pipelines Inc. |
1:22.89 |
|
16 |
Cruise Bensmiller |
Stormy River Ranch |
1:22.95 |
|
17 |
Josh Hrynyk |
Shel-Bar Electronic Industries Ltd. |
1:23.09 |
|
18 |
Kurt Bensmiller |
Versatile Energy Services Ltd. |
1:23.19 |
|
19 |
Todd McCracken |
Friends of Century Downs Racetrack and Casino |
1:23.33 |
|
20 |
Jordie Fike |
Rafter G Land and Cattle Company |
1:23.59 |
|
21 |
Troy Dorchester |
Dal-Tek Interiors Ltd. |
1:23.64 |
|
21 |
Brad McMann ** |
Optimum Equipment Solutions |
1:23.64 |
|
23 |
Chance Flad |
Control Tech |
1:23.66 |
|
24 |
Kirk Sutherland |
Pacesetter Equipment Ltd. |
1:23.70 |
|
25 |
Kelly Morin |
Century Casinos Horse Racing Club |
1:23.88 |
|
26 |
Tuff Dreger |
Wild Rows Pump & Compression Ltd, |
1:23.93 |
|
27 |
Mitch Sutherland |
The Brakeman Foundation |
1:24.08 |
|
28 |
Troy Flad |
Mr. Fireplace |
1:24.33 |
|
29 |
Dayton Sutherland |
Friends of Century Downs Racetrack and Casino |
1:24.35 |
|
30 |
Layne Flad |
The Broda Group |
1:24.55 |
|
31 |
Chance Thomson |
Davis Chevrolet GMC Buick |
1:24.60 |
|
32 |
Dean Dreger |
Northern Mat & Bridge |
1:24.97 |
|
33 |
Darcy Flad |
Ference Land & Cattle Corp. |
1:25.21 |
|
34 |
Rae Croteau Jr. |
TOMCO Group of Companies |
1:25.79 |
|
35 |
Doug Irvine |
Recon Metal |
1:25.89 |
|
36 |
Derek Aebly |
Jag Flocomponents LLP |
1:30.27 |
|
* Track Record Run |
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** Kris Molle drove for Brad McMann |
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2 Day Aggregate Standings |
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|
Rank |
Driver |
Sponsor |
2 Day Total |
|
1 |
Layne MacGillivray |
Spray Lakes Sawmills |
2:43.55 |
|
2 |
Chance Bensmiller |
Rocky Mountain Aircraft |
2:43.76 |
|
3 |
Chanse Vigen |
Banks Family Auto Ltd. |
2:44.71 |
|
4 |
Ross Knight |
Optimum Equipment Solutions |
2:45.00 |
|
5 |
Evan Salmond |
De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd. |
2:45.02 |
|
6 |
Cody Ridsdale |
O’Chiese Business & Investment Centre |
2:45.05 |
|
7 |
Dustin Gorst |
Cleanest Way |
2:45.24 |
|
8 |
Kurt Bensmiller |
Versatile Energy Services Ltd. |
2:45.52 |
|
9 |
Jason Glass |
Birchcliff Energy Ltd. |
2:45.54 |
|
10 |
Jamie Laboucane |
Pidherney’s |
2:45.79 |
|
11 |
Kris Molle |
Chariot Express |
2:45.80 |
|
12 |
Evan Magee |
Crush it – Hard Iced Tea – made with Provincial Vodka! |
2:45.85 |
|
13 |
Josh Hrynyk |
Shel-Bar Electronic Industries Ltd. |
2:45.98 |
|
14 |
Troy Dorchester |
FBM – Foundation Building Materials |
2:46.15 |
|
15 |
Roger Moore |
Midwest Pipelines Inc. |
2:46.59 |
|
16 |
Wade Salmond |
Pidherney’s |
2:46.77 |
|
17 |
Chad Fike |
West Land Livestock Inc. |
2:46.89 |
|
18 |
Kirk Sutherland |
Pacesetter Equipment Ltd. |
2:47.08 |
|
19 |
Dayton Sutherland |
Friends of Century Downs Racetrack and Casino |
2:47.18 |
|
20 |
Jordie Fike |
Rafter G Land and Cattle Company |
2:47.25 |
|
21 |
Todd McCracken |
Friends of Century Downs Racetrack and Casino |
2:47.33 |
|
22 |
Doug Irvine |
Recon Metal |
2:47.96 |
|
23 |
Layne Flad |
The Broda Group |
2:48.09 |
|
24 |
Mitch Sutherland |
The Brakeman Foundation |
2:48.23 |
|
25 |
Rae Croteau Jr. |
TOMCO Group of Companies |
2:48.34 |
|
26 |
Dean Dreger |
Northern Mat & Bridge |
2:48.63 |
|
27 |
Chance Flad |
Aspen Crossing |
2:48.80 |
|
28 |
Troy Flad |
Mr. Fireplace |
2:49.03 |
|
29 |
Tuff Dreger |
Wild Rows Pump & Compression Ltd, |
2:50.47 |
|
30 |
Kelly Morin |
Century Casinos Horse Racing Club |
2:51.75 |
|
31 |
Darcy Flad |
Ference Land & Cattle Corp. |
2:52.44 |
|
32 |
Chance Thomson |
Davis Chevrolet GMC Buick |
2:53.59 |
|
33 |
Derek Aebly |
Jag Flocomponents LLP |
2:54.31 |
|
34 |
Obrey Motowylo |
The Co-operators |
3:00.67 |
|
35 |
Cruise Bensmiller |
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