When the 2025 WPCA Pro Tour ended last August, the top 32 drivers in the final standings automatically qualified for the 2026 season.
Now, as the new season launches in Grande Prairie, eight permit drivers will battle for four full-time spots on the 2026 WPCA Pro Tour, and they’ll have just nine race days to earn them.
Combining the Grande Prairie Stompede and Bonnyville Chuckwagon Championship, the four permit drivers with the most tour points will earn the right to continue on and compete against the sport’s elite all season. In Grande Prairie, Heat #1 and Heat #2 will be the permit heats so they are directly competing against each other.
Similar to 2025, it is another tough lineup of talent. The 8 permit drivers for 2026 include:
Ryan Baptiste
A veteran of the CPCA circuit, Ryan returns to the WPCA Pro Tour in 2026 as a permit driver for the second straight season. He is a three-time CPCA show champion, a two-time Dash for Cash winner, and a two-time recipient of both the CPCA Safe Driver and Most Improved Driver awards.
Cody Ridsdale
Cody returns in 2026 as a permit driver after missing the top-32 cut in 2025. A seasoned chuckwagon driver and crowd favourite, Cody is a former Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampede champion and has qualified for the semi-final round at the Ponoka Stampede. In 2025, he recorded three top-ten runs, highlighted by a fifth-place run at the Calgary Stampede.
Dallas Dyck
One of the CPCA’s most experienced competitors, Dallas enters his second WPCA Pro Tour season as a permit driver in 2026. He captured a Calgary Stampede day-money win in 2023 and has earned multiple CPCA accolades, including two All-Around Championships and two Bruce Bremner Memorial Awards.
Vern Nolin
After a one-and-a-half-year hiatus, Vern returned to the WPCA as a permit driver in 2025, competing at the Grande Prairie and Bonnyville shows. Since joining the WPCA in 2016, Vern has won four show championships, including two Ponoka Stampede titles, along with three straight aggregate titles at Ponoka.
D.J. Desutter
D.J. made his debut as a chuckwagon driver at his hometown show, the Grande Prairie Stompede, in 2024 and spent the remainder of the season between the WPCA Pro Tour and the CPCA circuit. In 2025, D.J. finished 11th in the CPCA standings and now has his sights set on becoming a full-time WPCA driver in 2026.
Gage Flad
A rising talent on the WPCA Pro Tour, Gage returns in 2026 as a permit driver after making a strong comeback from a 2024 injury. He made his chuckwagon driving debut at the 2022 Battle of the Foothills in High River, winning the first two races he ever entered.
Dale Young
Dale Young returns as a permit driver, looking to crack the WPCA lineup full-time. Fresh off his WPCA Top Rookie Driver title in 2024, Dale carried that momentum into an impressive sophomore campaign in 2025, spending most of the season on the CPCA circuit. He recorded 16 top-ten runs, including two first-place runs and seven additional top-five runs.
Phil Arcand
After a successful career in pony wagons and chariots, Phil Arcand moves to thoroughbred chuckwagons in 2026 as a WPCA permit driver. He debuted in the big wagons in 2025 at Frog Lake First Nation, finishing tenth overall, and recorded three top-ten runs in just two shows, highlighted by a fifth-place finish at the Lloydminster CPCA Finals.
2026 is expected to be another action packed season with championships races, close finishes and equine athletes displaying their talents every night.
Who will be the 4 permit drivers advancing? Who will be the world champion?
The storylines will be written soon.
SUBSCRIBE HERE to watch 29 race nights live including the races from Grande Prairie and Bonnyville
