Layne MacGillivray – Track Record Run On Opening Night At Century Downs Racetrack and Casino
Photo By Shellie Scott
| Rank | Driver | Playoff Total |
| 1 | Layne MacGillivray | 12 |
| 2 | Kurt Bensmiller | 11 |
| 3 | Chanse Vigen | 10 |
| 4 | Rae Croteau Jr. | 9 |
| 5 | Evan Salmond | 8 |
| 6 | Ross Knight | 7 |
| 7 | Jason Glass | 6 |
| 8 | Jamie Laboucane | 5 |
| 9 | Kris Molle | 4 |
| 10 | Wade Salmond | 3 |
| 11 | Chad Fike | 2 |
| 12 | Obrey Motowylo | 1 |
Night one of the Century Downs World Chuckwagon Finals is in the books and opening night was a tremendous success. It was a nice 21°C under mostly sunny skies with excellent racetrack conditions. With over $300,000.00 in cash and prizes on the line over the 5-day event, excitement filled the venue as Layne McGillivray established the track record with a penalty free run of 1:21.94.
For the 36 drivers who are racing for the Century Downs Racetrack and Casino Aggregate Championship, it was Layne MacGillivray who was the fast man with a penalty free run of 1:21.94. In heat number 8 from barrel number 4, MacGillivray, driving the Spray Lakes Sawmills outfit, established the WPCA track record at Century Downs Casino & Racetrack that put him 13 one-hundredths of a second faster than Doug Irvine. Chance Bensmiller, Kurt Bensmiller and Troy Dorchester rounded out the top five on opening night. The driver posting the best 4-day aggregate time after Saturday’s run will be declared the champion of the Century Downs Racetrack and Casino race meet.
In the main event, Layne MacGillivray was also tops among the elite twelve drivers who qualified for the Century Downs Racetrack and Casino “WINNERS’ ZONE” Championship Playoff round and earned 12 playoff points for his outstanding run. Kurt Bensmiller was right behind in second place, with Chanse Vigen, Rae Croteau Jr. and Evan Salmond rounding out the top five. The 4 drivers in the playoff points standings after Saturday night will compete in the Century Downs Racetrack and Casino “WINNERS’ ZONE” Championship Dash where they will be racing for $75,000.00 cash and the prestige of being recognized as the Century Downs Racetrack and Casino “WINNERS’ ZONE” Champion.
In the race for the World Chuckwagon Championship, Chanse Vigen and Jamie Laboucane, both in search of their first career World Chuckwagon Championship, came into the final show of the season tied with 1,419 points. After the completion of the first night of racing, Chanse Vigen jumped ahead by just 12 points over Laboucane. The World Champion Chuckwagon Driver will be declared on Saturday night as the driver who accumulated the most number of points over the course of the season.
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 2,274.5 points. That puts them just 16 points ahead of Team Century Downs represented by Dustin Gorst, Layne MacGillivray, Jordie Fike and Chanse Vigen. The Elite Team series will conclude this week at the Century Downs World Chuckwagon Finals.
Night 2 of the Century Downs World Chuckwagon Finals can be heard live on Thursday night, August 24, 2023 on Real Country 910am starting at 8:30pm Eastern, 7:30pm Central and 6:30pm Mountain Time. In addition, race fans can watch the races live on the watch.wpca.comstreaming platform.
Billy Melville
