Kurt Bensmiller – Makes A Big Move On Night 3 To Make The Championship Final In Bonnyville
Photo By Shellie Scott
It was a warm and windy Saturday night in Bonnyville, Alberta for the third run in the 2025 Bonnyville Chuckwagon Championship. It was the final night for the drivers to try and qualify for the Championship Final Heat on Sunday afternoon. When the evening was complete, Kris Molle, Kurt Bensmiller, Jamie Laboucane and Jason Glass will be the four drivers bidding for the 2025 Bonnyville Chuckwagon Championship and the George Normand Memorial Buckle.
Kris Molle maintained his position on top of the overall aggregate standings with a three-day combined time of 3:52.01, followed by Kurt Bensmiller who moved up from tenth place overall at the start of the day into second place overall thanks to the strength of a day money run. Jamie Laboucane held his spot in third place overal, with Jason Glass hanging on to the fourth and final qualifying spot in Sunday’s final. Wade Salmond, as he was when the day started, ended up in the crying hole, placing fifth overall and missed the championship final heat by 84 one-hundredths of a second.
As far as day results are concerned, and as mentioned previously, Kurt Bensmiller, driving the Heart Lake First Nation Construction/Location Cats outfit, who took the Alberta AG Centre Fast Time of the Night after posting a run of 1:17.59 from barrel number two in heat number eight. Bensmiller was the fast time by a large 1.44 second margin over local heroes Rae Croteau Jr. who placed second and Doug Irvine who placed third. Wade Salmond and Jordie Fike rounded out the top five fastest runs for night number three.
The finals of the Bonnyville Chuckwagon Championship can be heard live on Sunday afternoon, June 8, 2025 at 4:00pm Eastern, 3:00pm Central, and 2:00pm 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
