Chuckwagon racing’s first fifth-generation chuckwagon driver, a championship career is no doubt in Cruise’s future. The 2023 season saw Cruise post three top ten runs, with a tenth place overall finish at the hometown Dewberry World Chuckwagon Races being his best of the year. Cruise had an incredible rookie season in 2022 highlighted by a day money run at the opening show of the season at the Grande Prairie, and qualifying for his first championship final heat at the Bonnyville Chuckwagon Championship en route to being named the WPCA’s Top Rookie Driver for 2022.
Cruise is a fifth generation chuckwagon driver whose great-great grandfather Wesley Smith drove in the 1940’s, and his two great-grandfathers are former Calgary Stampede finalists Allan Bensmiller and Alan Smith, his grandfather is chuckwagon legend Buddy Bensmiller, his uncles are chuckwagon drivers Kurt, Chance and Dave Bensmiller, and his mother Lisa is a former Ty Tournier Award winner. After spending the last few years as a judge on the WPCA Tour, where he was the WPCA Judging Award winner in 2017, Cruise made his debut as a chuckwagon driver at the Poundmaker First Nation Show in 2020. Cruise works in the movie industry in the off season, and makes his home in Dewberry, Alberta.
