Chanse Vigen – Qualifies For Sunday’s Championship Final Heat In First Place
After A Day Money Run On Night 5 In High River
Photo By Shellie Scott
It was “Semi-Final Saturday” at the 2023 Battle of the Foothills as eight drivers running in two heats were trying to survive the semi-final round and looking for a spot in Sunday’s Championship Final Heat. It was a beautiful summer night, a warm 24°C under clear skies, and a thrilling night of chuckwagon racing that was witnessed by a capacity crowd on a perfect night in High River. When it all played out, Chanse Vigen, Jamie Laboucane, Wade Salmond and Jason Glass survived the semi-final round and will comprise the $30,000.00 Championship Final Heat.
Chanse Vigen qualified for Sunday’s final in first place overall by not only posting the fast time of the two semi-final heats with a 1:16.13, but guided his Vertex Building Systems Inc. outfit to best time on the night and the best of the race meet so far from barrel number one in the tenth heat. Aggregate winner Jamie Laboucane from barrel number one in the seventh heat and Wade Salmond from barrel number three in the tenth heat qualified for the Championship Final in second and third place respectively with the second and third best times on the night as well, and Jason Glass, who grabbed the last spot in Sunday’s final from barrel number two in heat number seven, posting the sixth best overall time on the night.
Kris Molle just missed out on the Championship Final heat, finishing just 8 one-hundredths of a second behind Jason Glass. Chad Fike, Evan Salmond and Chance Bensmiller also competed in Saturday’s Semi-Final round where both semi-final heats were penalty free. Kurt Bensmiller and Rae Croteau Jr., who neither made the semi-final round, filled out the top five times on the night, placing fourth and fifth respectively.
The Finals of the Battle of the Foothills can be heard live on Sunday afternoon, July 30, 2023 on WPCA Radio starting 6:00pm Eastern, 5:00pm Central, and 4:00pm Mountain time on Real Country 910am.
Billy Melville
