Chad Fike – Only Driver Under 1:16.00 On Night 3 In Ponoka
Photo By Shellie Scott
The sun was back for night three of the Ponoka Stampede on Saturday night. Early morning and afternoon rain made for some sluggish racetrack conditions, but the crowd was enthusiastic and pleased with the chuckwagon races that were run off on a comfortable summer evening. As the sun began to set, it was Chad Fike who took hold of the Alberta AG Centre Fast Time of the Night with a 1:15.66.
Coming off barrel number 3 in the 8th heat, Fike – driving the TOMCO Group of Companies outfit – placed first on the night by a sizeable 1.11 second margin over Evan Salmond. Obrey Motowylo took third place on the night, with Logan Gorst and Chance Flad completing the top five runs on the night. Chad Fike was the only driver to break the 1:16.00 barrier tonight.
With just one run remaining to secure a spot in the semi-final round, Chanse Vigen still maintains a big lead in the overall aggregate standings. His three-run total of 3:44.49 puts him 2.78 seconds ahead of Alberta Ag Centre Fast Time of the Night Winner Chad Fike who moved up from eighth place at the start of the day to now second place overall. Jamie Laboucane sits third, with Kurt Bensmiller, Obrey Motowylo, D.J. King, Mitch Sutherland and Evan Salmond now occupying the top eight. Cruise Bensmiller now finds himself just outside the top eight, sittig inth place overall, and Chad Fike complete the top eight overall, 1.07 second out of a spot in Monday’s semi-final round, with Layne MacGillivray in tenth place overall, another 23 one-hundredths of a second behind Cruise Bensmiller.
The top 8 in the aggregate after Sunday night’s run will go into the semi-final round on Monday in heats 7 and 9. The top four times from the semi-final round on June 30 will go into the $75,000.00 Tommy Dorchester Championship Final Heat on Canada Day – July 1 – where the winner will take home the 2025 Ponoka Stampede Championship.
Day 4 of the Ponoka Stampede Championship can be heard on WPCA Pro Tour LIVE on Sunday night, June 29, 2025. starting 7:45pm Mountain time on 96.5 The Ranch, or streaming options are available through the WPCA Website at wpca.com, iHeart Radio website/app or the Radioplayer Canada website/app.
Billy Melville
