Evan Salmond – Number One In All Categories After Two Runs In Rocky Mountain House
Photo By Shellie Scott
After an unscheduled night off on Friday due to all day rain that deemed the racetrack unsafe, day 2 of the Battle of the Rockies resumed on a beautiful Saturday evening in Rocky Mountain House, Alberta. It was a comfortable 17°C under mostly sunny skies, racetrack conditions were good, and when things wrapped up, it was Evan Salmond, driving the De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd. outfit, who posted the fast time of the night with a 1:17.06.
Coming off barrel 2 in heat number 10 of the evening, Evan Salmond had the fast time of the night by 35 one-hundredths of a second over Jason Glass. Chad Fike was third, Kurt Bensmiller placed fourth, with Mitch Sutherland placing fifth for the second consecutive night.
The day money run has vaulted Evan Salmond atop the overall aggregate standings with a two-run total time of 2:31.78. That puts him just 56 one-hundredths of a second in front of Chad Fike who has now moved up into second place overall. Day 1 winner Wade Salmond, who was assessed a 1 second penalty on night 2 sits 3rd overall, Jason Glass is in 4th, with Chanse Vigen in fifth place overall. The driver posting the best 4-day aggregate time after Sunday’s run will take home the 2023 Battle of the Rockies Championship.
In the season long Elite Team Series, five teams representing five show locations – Grande Prairie, Ponoka, Strathmore, Rocky Mountain House and Century Downs – are competing for points at these respective locations only in an attempt to win the Elite Team Series Championship. Overall, Team Strathmore Stampede, consisting of Chad Fike, Kris Molle, Jason Glass and Chance Bensmiller are leading the way with 1,952.5 points. That puts them 119 points ahead of Team Battle of the Rockies. The Elite Team series will conclude next week at the Century Downs World Chuckwagon Finals.
In the race to qualify for the Century Downs Racetrack and Casino Winner’s Zone Playoff Round, the top twelve have pretty much secured their spot. Jamie Laboucane, Chanse Vigen, Jason Glass, Evan Salmond, Chad Fike, Layne MacGillivray, Obrey Motowylo, Rae Croteau Jr., Kris Molle, Wade Salmond, Ross Knight and Kurt Bensmiller currently occupy the top twelve in the World Standings. Battle of the North finalist Chance Thomson, who currently sits in 13th spot overall, has a mathematical chance of getting into the top twelve, but is 104 points back with just 2 runs remaining.
Day 3 of the Battle of the Rockies from Rocky Mountain House, Alberta can be heard live Sunday afternoon, August 20, 2023 starting at 4:00pm Eastern, 3:00pm Central and 2:00pm Mountain Time on Real Country 910.
Billy Melville
