The 2nd of 5 teams for the new Team Series was announced at the Century Downs Tarp Auction on April 21st and the 2022 World Champion was one of the drivers picked. Century Downs general manager Jackie Morrison announced Layne MacGillivray, Dustin Gorst, Jordie Fike and Chanse Vigen as the 4 drivers who will be representing Team Century Downs in the 5 Team, 4 Drivers Per Team series.
The 4 drivers picked for Team Century Downs finished the 2022 season with a combined 4748.5 points with Layne MacGillivray winning the World Title.
Morrision, who says she is pretty competitive, picked the drivers she felt would give Century Downs the best chance to win and represent Century Downs and the Casino professionally.
“I picked Dustin Gorst, as we have been a sponsor of his for a number of years now. We have a great relationship with him and the rest of his family” she said, “I consider Dustin part of our Century family already as well as a friend. It would’ve been a shock if he wasn’t on our team!”
Morrison picked Layne MacGillivray for a number of reasons that go beyond his performance on the track. “He’s the reigning champion so odds are he’ll do pretty well this year and will help the team pull out the win” she said, “He was in my foursome a couple of years back at our charity golf tournament and he’s just a great guy to be around. Also, his main sponsor Spray Lake Sawmills is a partner of ours at Century.”
The 3rd pick for Team Century Downs was Jordie Fike. Similar to Dustin Gorst and Layne MacGillivray, Jordie Fike has made an impact off the race track. “Jordie has been involved with our World Finals events as a driver director, so we have a relationship with him” says Morrison, “He’s just a salt of the earth kind of man, and we like to surround ourselves with those types of people at Century. He also has done well at our 2 shows qualifying for the final heat in 2019.”
Chanse Vigen was the final pick for Team Century Downs and although there is no prior connection with Century, Morrison liked what she has seen on the track. “I don’t know Chanse personally, but he is just a really exciting driver to watch race and the crowd gets electric when he’s racing” she said, “He always seems to be in the conversation so to speak.”
Morrison is excited to see the teams compete and feels the Team Series will add some excitement to the sport, and give the chuckwagon fans just another reason to cheer the drivers on. “I can’t wait to crown the WPCA World and Winners’ Zone Series Champions at our World Finals in August” she says, “It would even be an added bonus if the Team Series Champion was Team Century Downs!”
The final 3 teams (Ponoka. Strathmore and Rocky Mountain House) will be announced at the Ponoka Stampede Tarp Auction on May 5th.
TEAM GRANDE PRAIRIE (Keddies Western Wear)
- Dayton Sutherland
- Kirk Sutherland
- Dean Dreger
- Derek Aebly
TEAM CENTURY DOWNS
- Dustin Gorst
- Layne MacGillivray
- Jordie Fike
- Chanse Vigen
