Chanse Vigen – Second Consecutive Day Money Run On Night Three In Grande Prairie
Photo By Shellie Scott
After two outstanding days of racing at the Grande Prairie Stompede Championship in Grande Prairie, Alberta, competitors returned to the track Friday night under partly cloudy skies and a cool 15°C. Afternoon rainfall left the track a little heavier than the previous two evenings, but fans were still treated to some exciting chuckwagon action. When the night was complete, Chanse Vigen posted the fastest time of the night for the second consecutive evening with a run of 1:15.17.
Competing from barrel number two in the tenth and final heat, Vigen guided the Medallion Energy Services/Horse Lake First Nation outfit to the day money, finishing 54 one-hundredths of a second ahead of two-time Grande Prairie Stompede champion Jason Glass. Defending champion Obrey Motowylo, Troy Dorchester, and Evan Salmond rounded out the top five fastest times of the night. Notably, four of the five fastest runs came from the evening’s final heat.
The race for Sunday’s Championship Final tightened considerably as defending Grande Prairie champion Obrey Motowylo moved into the overall aggregate lead with a three-day time of 3:47.11. Motowylo now holds a 69 one-hundredths of a second advantage over former Grande Prairie finalist Darcy Flad. Former champion Troy Dorchester sits third overall, while last year’s finalist Preston Faithful occupies the fourth and final qualifying position. Opening-night winner Rae Croteau Jr. has slipped to fifth place, less than a quarter of a second behind the cutoff for Sunday’s final. Jamie Laboucane, who was the overall leader after two nights, took a no time and will be competing for day money only for the remainder of the show.
The driver leading the aggregate standings following Saturday night’s performance will receive the Ralph Vigen Memorial Award, along with the use of a 2026 GMC truck for one year courtesy of Summit Fleet. The top four drivers in the aggregate standings after Saturday will advance to Sunday’s $40,000 Championship Final Heat, where they will compete for the Grande Prairie Stompede championship title.
Day four of the Grande Prairie Stompede Championship can be heard live on WPCA Radio on Saturday, May 30, beginning at 7:00 p.m. Mountain Time on 96.5 The Ranch. Fans can also listen through the WPCA website, iHeartRadio, and Radioplayer Canada, while live video coverage will be available through the WPCA livestream at watch.wpca.com.
Billy Melville
