CHANSE VIGEN SETS TRACK RECORD EN ROUTE TO CAPTURING THE 2023 BATTLE OF THE ROCKIES
It was a big day in Rocky Mountain House, Alberta as the 2023 Battle of the Rockies wrapped up Monday evening. In the chase for the Battle of the Rockies championship it was Chanse Vigen, driving the Terrafirma Resources outfit, and outriders Tyer DeSutter and Ethan Motowylo, not only established a new track record, but emerged as champions of the 2023 Battle of the Rockies after posting the best 4-day aggregate time of 5:00.61. That put him 2.12 second in front of runner-up Evan Salmond, followed closely by Wade Salmond, with Jaon Glass and Chad Fike completing the top five overall. It’s the third show win on the season for Chanse Vigen who won the Grande Prairie Stompede and the Ponoka Stampede earlier this season.
As mentioned Chanse Vigen not only posted the fast time of the evening, but established a new track record in the process. Vigen’s 1:13.52 from barrel number 1 in the 10th heat was just one one-hundredth of a second faster than the previous track record set by his father Mike Vigen back in 2013. Despite the track record , Vigen only won the day money by a mere 2 one-hundredths of a second over Kirk Sutherland who placed second, with Jamie Laboucane, Brad McMann and Cody Ridsdale rounding out the top five on the evening. Veteran driver Roy Romanow, who announced his retirement earlier on in the week, made his final run as a chuckwagon driver tonight in the opening heat.
The win has Chanse Vigen and Jamie Laboucane deadlocked atop the Worl\d Standings heading into Century Downs Racetrack and Casino World Chuckwagon Finals which starts Wednesday night. 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.
The twelve drivers who have now officially qualified for the Century Downs Winner’s Zone Playoff Round include Chanse Vigen, Jamie Laboucane, Jason Glass, Evan Salmond, Chad Fike, Layne MacGillivray, Obrey Motowylo, Rae Croteau Jr., Wade Salmond, Kris Molle, Kurt Bensmiller and Ross Knight. Chance Thomson ended up in the crying hole, 138 points behind Ross Knight.
These 12 drivers have now qualified for the 4-day playoff round at Century Downs. The top 4 drivers with the most playoff points will advance to the Century Downs WINNERS’ ZONE Year End Championship Dash. $75,000.00 will be awarded in the final race.
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 2,201.5 points. That puts them just 53.5 points ahead of Team Century Downs. The Elite Team series will conclude this week at the Century Downs World Chuckwagon Finals.
The 2023 WPCA Pro Tour will move to Century Downs Racetrack and Casino just outside of Calgary, Alberta for the season ending Century Downs World Finals starting on Wednesday, August 23, 2023 and running through to Sunday, August 27, 2023. Live radio coverage of the Century Downs Word Finals can be heard Wednesday through Saturday on Real Country 910, starting at 8:30pm Eastern, 7:30pm Central and 6:30pm Mountain Time, with Sundays final starting at 4:00pm Eastern, 3:00pm Central and 2:00pm Mountain Time. Plus, race fans can watch the races live on the watch.wpca.comstreaming platform.
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2023 Battle of the Rockies Champions |
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Terrafirma Resources |
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Chanse Vigen – Driver |
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Ethan Motowylo, Tyler DeSutter – Outriders |
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Day 4 Results |
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Rank |
Driver |
Sponsor |
Total Time |
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1 |
Chanse Vigen * |
Terrafirma Resources |
1:13.52 |
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2 |
Kirk Sutherland |
Morskate Manufacturing |
1:13.54 |
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3 |
Jamie Laboucane |
Davco Industrial Construction Services |
1:14.06 |
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4 |
Brad McMann |
Optimum Equipment Solutions |
1:14.46 |
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5 |
Cody Ridsdale |
O’Chiese Business & Investment Centre |
1:14.56 |
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6 |
Troy Dorchester |
Eldorado Pressure Services Ltd. |
1:14.58 |
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7 |
Layne MacGillivray |
Rocky Mountain Hydraulic & Bearing Inc./GT Hydraulic & Bearing Inc. |
1:14.60 |
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8 |
Chad Fike |
TOMCO Group of Companies |
1:14.62 |
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9 |
Evan Salmond |
De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd. |
1:14.87 |
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10 |
Mitch Sutherland |
Edwards Garage – Chevrolet, GMC and Buick |
1:14.89 |
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11 |
Rae Croteau Jr. |
TeKh Group Inc. |
1:14.99 |
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12 |
Ross Knight |
Henry’s Western Wear |
1:15.00 |
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13 |
Chance Thomson |
Nelson Bros Oilfield Services Ltd. |
1:15.03 |
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14 |
Roger Moore |
Red Deer Lock & Safe Ltd. |
1:15.07 |
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15 |
Dayton Sutherland |
Double H Machine Shop Ltd. |
1:15.26 |
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16 |
Wade Salmond |
Pidherney’s |
1:15.36 |
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17 |
Obrey Motowylo |
Topline Oilfield Hauling Ltd. |
1:15.43 |
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18 |
Jordie Fike |
XACT Pressure Services |
1:15.47 |
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19 |
Doug Irvine |
Redline Athletics |
1:15.50 |
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20 |
Kurt Bensmiller |
Versatile Energy Services Ltd. |
1:15.62 |
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21 |
Evan Magee |
FluidPRO Oilfield Services Ltd. |
1:15.96 |
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22 |
Jason Glass |
Birchcliff Energy Ltd. |
1:16.44 |
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23 |
Dustin Gorst |
BrokerLink |
1:16.45 |
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24 |
Chance Flad |
Aspen Crossing |
1:16.46 |
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25 |
Dean Dreger |
Reinhart Oilfield Services Ltd. |
1:16.51 |
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26 |
Layne Flad |
Kelts Transport Ltd. |
1:16.53 |
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27 |
Darcy Flad |
Sniper Services |
1:16.55 |
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28 |
Cruise Bensmiller |
Excel Projects Ltd. |
1:16.73 |
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29 |
Troy Flad |
Mr. Fireplace |
1:16.96 |
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30 |
Derek Aebly |
Jag Flocomponents LLP |
1:16.99 |
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31 |
Kris Molle |
Hayshakers Bobcat Services Ltd. |
1:17.25 |
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32 |
Josh Hrynyk |
AIC Construction Ltd. |
1:17.25 |
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33 |
Chance Bensmiller |
DEL Construction |
1:17.47 |
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34 |
Kelly Morin |
Mud Creek Medics Ltd. |
1:17.66 |
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35 |
Tuff Dreger |
Pomeroy Inn & Suites |
1:17.86 |
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36 |
Gage Flad |
Battle of the Rockies |
1:18.10 |
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37 |
Todd McCracken |
Obsidian Energy Ltd. |
1:18.13 |
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38 |
Roy Romanow |
Alberta Veterinary Center |
1:22.65 |
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* Track Record Run |
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4 Day Aggregate |
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Rank |
Driver |
Sponsor |
4 Day Total |
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1 |
Chanse Vigen |
Terrafirma Resources |
5:00.61 |
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2 |
Evan Salmond |
De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd. |
5:02.73 |
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3 |
Wade Salmond |
Pidherney’s |
5:03.41 |
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4 |
Jason Glass |
Birchcliff Energy Ltd. |
5:04.03 |
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5 |
Chad Fike |
TOMCO Group of Companies |
5:04.44 |
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6 |
Jamie Laboucane |
Davco Industrial Construction Services |
5:04.45 |
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7 |
Layne MacGillivray |
Rocky Mountain Hydraulic & Bearing Inc./GT Hydraulic & Bearing Inc. |
5:05.18 |
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8 |
Obrey Motowylo |
Topline Oilfield Hauling Ltd. |
5:06.48 |
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9 |
Kurt Bensmiller |
Versatile Energy Services Ltd. |
5:06.53 |
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10 |
Rae Croteau Jr. |
TeKh Group Inc./Cinch Oilfield Hauling Ltd. |
5:06.96 |
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11 |
Troy Dorchester |
Eldorado Pressure Services Ltd. |
5:08.14 |
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12 |
Mitch Sutherland |
Edwards Garage – Chevrolet, GMC and Buick |
5:08.21 |
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13 |
Darcy Flad |
Sniper Services |
5:08.91 |
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14 |
Roger Moore |
Red Deer Lock & Safe Ltd. |
5:09.26 |
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15 |
Jordie Fike |
XACT Pressure Services |
5:09.27 |
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16 |
Dayton Sutherland |
Double H Machine Shop Ltd. |
5:09.34 |
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17 |
Brad McMann |
Optimum Equipment Solutions |
5:09.38 |
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18 |
Cody Ridsdale |
O’Chiese Business & Investment Centre |
5:10.14 |
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19 |
Doug Irvine |
Redline Athletics |
5:10.22 |
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20 |
Josh Hrynyk |
AIC Construction Ltd. |
5:10.29 |
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21 |
Dustin Gorst |
BrokerLink |
5:10.44 |
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22 |
Chance Flad |
Aspen Crossing |
5:10.84 |
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23 |
Kris Molle |
Hayshakers Bobcat Services Ltd. |
5:12.39 |
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24 |
Dean Dreger |
Reinhart Oilfield Services Ltd. |
5:12.66 |
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25 |
Kirk Sutherland |
Morskate Manufacturing |
5:13.16 |
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26 |
Todd McCracken |
Obsidian Energy Ltd. |
5:13.25 |
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27 |
Troy Flad |
Mr. Fireplace |
5:13.97 |
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28 |
Derek Aebly |
Jag Flocomponents LLP |
5:14.33 |
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29 |
Tuff Dreger |
Pomeroy Inn & Suites |
5:14.97 |
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30 |
Layne Flad |
Kelts Transport Ltd. |
5:16.01 |
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31 |
Evan Magee |
FluidPRO Oilfield Services Ltd. |
5:17.02 |
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32 |
Kelly Morin |
Mud Creek Medics Ltd. |
5:17.21 |
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33 |
Chance Bensmiller |
DEL Construction |
5:17.47 |
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34 |
Ross Knight |
Henry’s Western Wear |
5:19.85 |
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35 |
Gage Flad |
Battle of the Rockies |
5:24.60 |
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36 |
Cruise Bensmiller |
Excel Projects Ltd. |
5:25.62 |
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37 |
Chance Thomson |
Nelson Bros Oilfield Services Ltd. |
5:27.61 |
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38 |
Roy Romanow |
Alberta Veterinary Center |
5:30.12 |
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Elite Team Series Championship Standings |
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Rank |
Team Name |
Points |
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1 |
Team Strathmore Stampede |
2201.5 |
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3 |
Team Century Downs WINNER’S ZONE |
2148 |
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2 |
Team Battle of the Rockies |
2103.5 |
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4 |
Team Ponoka Stamede |
1999 |
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5 |
Team Grande Prairie Stompede |
1443.5 |
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