Jamie Laboucane – First On The Day, First Overall On Night 4 In High River
Photo By Shellie Scott
After a few days off the Battle of the Foothills resumed on Friday night for night number four, where there was a lot on the line as it was the last chance for drivers to try to get into the top eight overall and qualify for “Semi-Final Saturday” and ultimately a spot in Sunday’s Championship final heat. It was a little cooler than the previous weekend, and a little pre race rain fell but the racing was outstanding. When the night wrapped up, Jamie Laboucane, Chanse Vigen, Chad Fike, Jason Glass, Kris Molle, Wade Salmond, Evan Salmond and Chance Bensmiller emerged as the elite eight, and will compete in “Semi-Final Saturday.”
Jamie Laboucane and his Davco Industrial Construction Services outfit qualified for the semi-final round in first place overall with a four-run total of 5.11.87. That gives him a large 3.33 second lead over Chanse Vigen, followed by Chad Fike, Jason Glass, Kris Molle, Wade Salmond, Evan Salmond and Chance Bensmiller, who made a huge jump from 14th overall to start the day to grab the final qualifying spot. 2023 Calgary Stampede Rangeland Derby Champion Layne MacGillivray was the odd man out, missing the semi-final round by a scant 4 one-hundredths of a second, with Dean Dreger completing the top ten overall.
As far as day results are concerned, it was Jamie Laboucane who cashed the top cheque for the second time in four days after posting the fastest time of the week so far with a 1:16.71. Chanse Vigen placed second on the night, just 2 one-hundredths of a second behind Laboucane, with Chance Bensmiller, Layne MacGillivray and Jason Glass rounding out the top five on the night.
“Semi-Final Saturday” at Battle of the Foothills can be heard live on Saturday night, July 29, 2023 on WPCA Radio starting 9:00pm Eastern, 8:00pm Central, and 7:00pm Mountain time Real Country 910am.
Billy Melville
