July 24, 2026 – More Information Available at www,wpca.com
2026 Battle of the Foothills – High River, Alberta
Luke Tournier Dominates Night 2 at Battle of the Foothills
It was another perfect night in High River as Day 2 of the 2026 Battle of the Foothills was contested under sunny skies and a scorching 30°C. An enthusiastic capacity crowd packed the grandstands and was treated to another outstanding night of chuckwagon racing. When the final heat crossed the finish line, it was two-time High River champion Luke Tournier, driving the Pidherney’s outfit, who captured the Kirk’s Trail Tire Wheels on Fire Fast Time of the Night with a blistering run of 1:13.35.
Starting from barrel position number four in the sixth heat of the evening, Tournier delivered a spectacular performance to claim the day’s top prize by a commanding 1.10-second margin over Wade Salmond, who finished second. Chance Bensmiller posted the third-fastest time of the night, while 2023 High River champion Jamie Laboucane finished fourth. For the second consecutive night, fifth place ended in a tie, this time between Jason Glass and Chad Fike.
Consistent performances through the opening two nights have moved Chance Bensmiller into the overall aggregate lead with a combined time of 2:28.76. Opening night winner Jason Glass sits second overall, just six one-hundredths of a second behind Bensmiller. Fresh off his Calgary Stampede Rangeland Derby championship, Jamie Laboucane holds down third place overall, with Chance Flad occupying the fourth and final qualifying position for Sunday’s Championship Final Heat. Wade Salmond is fifth overall, just 22 one-hundredths of a second out of a qualifying spot.
The top four drivers on the aggregate following Saturday night’s final day of preliminary competition will advance to Sunday’s Battle of the Foothills Championship Final Heat, where the winner will be crowned the 2026 Battle of the Foothills Champion.
Day 3 of the Battle of the Foothills can be heard live Saturday night beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET, 8:00 p.m. CT, and 7:00 p.m. MT on 96.5 The Ranch. Fans can also listen via streaming through the WPCA website (wpca.com), the iHeartRadio website and app, or the Radioplayer Canada website and app
Billy Melville
|
Day 2 Results |
|||
|
Rank |
Driver |
Sponsor |
Total Time |
|
1 |
Luke Tournier |
Pidherney’s |
1:13.35 |
|
2 |
Wade Salmond |
De Havilland Aircraft Canada – Sherpa |
1:14.45 |
|
3 |
Chance Bensmiller |
EllisDon |
1:14.47 |
|
4 |
Jamie Laboucane |
Wild Rows Pump & Compression Ltd. |
1:14.50 |
|
5 |
Chad Fike |
TOMCO Group of Companies |
1:14.63 |
|
5 |
Jason Glass |
Birchcliff Energy Ltd. |
1:14.63 |
|
7 |
Chance Flad |
The Polar Express |
1:14.77 |
|
8 |
Kris Molle |
The Mavericks Chuckwagon Team |
1:14.96 |
|
9 |
Cruise Bensmiller |
The Mavericks Chuckwagon Team |
1:15.27 |
|
10 |
Preston Faithful |
De Havilland Aircraft Canada – Waterbomber |
1:15.57 |
|
11 |
Layne Flad |
Casa Developments Corp. |
1:15.61 |
|
12 |
Evan Magee |
Farmboy Landscaping & Maintenance |
1:15.65 |
|
13 |
Troy Dorchester |
PureChem Services |
1:15.87 |
|
14 |
D.J. King |
High Octane Welding Ltd. |
1:15.89 |
|
15 |
Obrey Motowylo |
The Co-operators |
1:16.03 |
|
16 |
Darcy Flad |
Rimrock Feeders |
1:16.08 |
|
17 |
Ryan Baptiste |
Sunchild Law |
1:16.16 |
|
18 |
Layne MacGillivray |
McLean Railings |
1:16.19 |
|
19 |
Logan Gorst |
Inter-Pacific Specialized Services LTD. |
1:16.27 |
|
20 |
Cody Ridsdale |
ALL-OUT Oilfield Services |
1:16.28 |
|
20 |
Tuff Dreger |
Hearts and Hoofprints – The Les David Foundation |
1:16.28 |
|
22 |
Troy Flad |
Resolve Earthworks & Environmental |
1:16.35 |
|
23 |
Todd Baptiste |
Omega 2000 Cribbing Inc. |
1:16.36 |
|
24 |
Jordie Fike |
Shawne Excavating & Trucking Ltd. |
1:16.37 |
|
25 |
Evan Salmond |
De Havilland Aircraft Canada – Twin Otter |
1:16.51 |
|
25 |
Mitch Sutherland |
Canyon Rigging |
1:16.51 |
|
27 |
Dustin Gorst |
Century Downs Race Track and Casino |
1:17.13 |
|
28 |
Dallas Dyck |
Precision Contractors |
1:17.53 |
|
29 |
Doug Irvine |
Ensteel Industries Ltd. |
1:17.55 |
|
30 |
Vern Nolin |
Gold Horse Casino |
1:17.56 |
|
31 |
Dean Dreger |
In Memory of Les & Linda David |
1:18.97 |
|
32 |
Rae Croteau Jr. |
Factory Outlet Trailers & Truck Upfitting |
1:20.20 |
|
33 |
Ross Knight |
John Barlow MP – Foothills Conservative Association |
1:22.31 |
|
34 |
Kurt Bensmiller |
Versatile Energy Services Ltd. |
1:22.52 |
|
35 |
Dayton Sutherland |
Truman Homes |
1:23.28 |
|
36 |
Chanse Vigen |
Volker Stevin Canada |
1:24.57 |
|
* Layne MacGillivray drove for Todd Baptiste |
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|
2-Day Aggregate |
|||
|
Rank |
Driver |
Sponsor |
2 Day Total |
|
1 |
Chance Bensmiller |
EllisDon |
2:28.76 |
|
2 |
Jason Glass |
Birchcliff Energy Ltd. |
2:28.82 |
|
3 |
Jamie Laboucane |
Wild Rows Pump & Compression Ltd. |
2:30.16 |
|
4 |
Chance Flad |
Aspen Crossing |
2:30.79 |
|
5 |
Wade Salmond |
De Havilland Aircraft Canada – Sherpa |
2:31.01 |
|
6 |
Preston Faithful |
De Havilland Aircraft Canada – Waterbomber |
2:31.05 |
|
7 |
Troy Dorchester |
PureChem Services |
2:31.17 |
|
8 |
Luke Tournier |
Pidherney’s |
2:31.55 |
|
9 |
Cruise Bensmiller |
The Mavericks Chuckwagon Team |
2:31.57 |
|
10 |
Todd Baptiste |
Omega 2000 Cribbing Inc. |
2:31.83 |
|
11 |
Logan Gorst |
Inter-Pacific Specialized Services LTD. |
2:31.86 |
|
12 |
Evan Magee |
Farmboy Landscaping & Maintenance |
2:32.03 |
|
12 |
Jordie Fike |
In-Line Pigging Solutions Ltd./Shawne Excavating & Trucking Ltd. |
2:32.03 |
|
12 |
Troy Flad |
Resolve Earthworks & Environmental |
2:32.03 |
|
15 |
Cody Ridsdale |
ALL-OUT Oilfield Services |
2:32.13 |
|
16 |
Chad Fike |
TOMCO Group of Companies |
2:32.17 |
|
17 |
Mitch Sutherland |
Canyon Rigging |
2:32.45 |
|
18 |
Obrey Motowylo |
The Co-operators |
2:32.62 |
|
19 |
Layne MacGillivray |
McLean Railings |
2:32.73 |
|
20 |
Doug Irvine |
Ensteel Industries Inc./Bow River Paving |
2:32.91 |
|
21 |
D.J. King |
High Octane Welding Ltd. |
2:33.10 |
|
22 |
Dustin Gorst |
Century Downs Race Track and Casino |
2:33.30 |
|
23 |
Kris Molle |
The Mavericks Chuckwagon Team |
2:33.39 |
|
24 |
Vern Nolin |
Gold Horse Casino |
2:33.47 |
|
25 |
Layne Flad |
Casa Developments Corp./Signature Smiles |
2:33.80 |
|
25 |
Tuff Dreger |
Hearts and Hoofprints – The Les David Foundation |
2:33.80 |
|
27 |
Darcy Flad |
Rimrock Feeders |
2:33.81 |
|
28 |
Evan Salmond |
De Havilland Aircraft Canada – Twin Otter |
2:34.33 |
|
29 |
Ryan Baptiste |
Sunchild Law |
2:34.40 |
|
30 |
Dean Dreger |
In Memory of Les & Linda David |
2:35.29 |
|
31 |
Rae Croteau Jr. |
Factory Outlet Trailers & Truck Upfitting |
2:36.76 |
|
32 |
Kurt Bensmiller |
Versatile Energy Services Ltd. |
2:37.88 |
|
33 |
Chanse Vigen |
Volker Stevin Canada |
2:39.53 |
|
34 |
Dayton Sutherland |
Truman Homes |
2:39.62 |
|
35 |
Ross Knight |
John Barlow MP – Foothills Conservative Association |
2:40.17 |
|
36 |
Dallas Dyck |
Precision Contractors |
2:55.81 |
|
37 |
Phil Arcand |
R-CAN Construction Ltd. |
4:06.79 |
|
38 |
Dale Young |
Mac’s Oilfield Services Ltd. |
4:07.60 |
|
39 |
Mitch Sutherland (Wagon #2) |
Westcore Contracting |
4:08.98 |
|
40 |
Jamie Laboucane |
Wild Rows Pump & Compression Ltd. |
4:11.95 |
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