2019 Century Downs World Chuckwagon Finals – Rocky View, Alberta – Night One Results

Photo courtesy of Covy Moore/covymoore.com

Night one of the inaugural Century Downs World Chuckwagon Finals is in the books and opening night was a tremendous success. The races were run in front of a near capacity crowd, it was a hot 28°C under a few clouds with excellent racetrack conditions. With over $300,000.00 in cash and prized on the line over the 5-day event, excitement filled the venue as Roger Moore established the track record with a penalty free run of 1:23.16.

In the main event, Chanse Vigen was tops among the elite twelve drivers who qualified for the Century Downs “Winners’ Zone” Championship Playoff round and earned 12 playoff points for his outstanding run. Ross Knight was right behind in second place, with Mark Sutherland, Kurt Bensmiller and Layne MacGillivray rounding out the top five. 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 $50,000.00 cash, a horse trailer valued at over $30,000.00, and the prestige of being recognized as the inaugural Century Downs “Winners’ Zone” Champion.

For the 36 drivers who are racing for the Aggregate Championship at the Century Downs World Chuckwagon Finals, it was Roger Moore who was the fast man with a penalty free run of 1:23.16. In heat number 3 from barrel number 4, Moore, driving the PCL Construction Management Inc. outfit, established the WPCA track record at Century Downs Casino & Racetrack with a 1:23.16. That put him 19 one-hundredths of a second faster than former Calgary Stampede champion Chad Harden. Chanse Vigen, Ross Knight and Mark Sutherland rounded out the top five on opening night. The driver posting the best 4-day aggregate time after Saturday’s run will be declared the champion of the Century Downs race meet.

In the race for the World Chuckwagon Championship, Vern Nolin, in search of his first career World Chuckwagon Championship, came into the final show of the season with a slim 41-point lead over 3 time and reigning World Champion Kurt Bensmiller. After the completion of the first night of racing, Nolin’s lead is now just 22 points over Bensmiller. The World Champion Chuckwagon Driver will also be declared on Saturday evening.

Night 2 of the Century Downs Word Finals can be heard live on Thursday night on Rural Radio on SiriusXM Channel 147 Satellite Radio, Country 99 in Bonnyville, Real Country 910am, or on the WPCA Radio App, starting at 9:00pm Eastern, 8:00pm Central and 7:00pm Mountain Time.

Billy Melville

Courtesy of the WPCA

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