Chanse Vigen – First Place On The Night, First Place Overall On Night 2 In Calgary
Photo By Shellie Scott
Night 2 of the Cowboys Rangeland Derby ran on a hot Saturday night in Calgary. It was a very competitive night of racing, racetrack conditions were slightly faster than that of day 1, and the capacity crowd was treated to a new track record that was established for the second consecutive night. When the evening wrapped up, Chanse Vigen, driving the Kma Construction Inc. outfit, reclaimed the track record with a run of 1:10.57.
From barrel number 2 in the 9th heat, Vigen was the top wagon on the night by a slight 9 one-hundredths of a second over four-time Rangeland Derby champion Kurt Bensmiller. Defending Rangeland Derby Champion Kris Molle placed third, followed by Obrey Motowylo, with Vern Nolin filling out the top five on the night. Vigen had been the track record holder until Jamie Laboucane broke it on opening night.
The day money run has vaulted Vigen to the top of the leaderboard in the overall aggregate standings with a two-day total of 2:22.09. That puts him 67 one-hundredths of a second ahead of Kurt Bensmiller with Rae Croteau Jr. holding down third spot overall. Kris Molle and Layne MacGillivray are in 4th and 5th place respectively, both less than a half second out of the top 3.
The top 3 in the aggregate after Saturday, July 15, 2023, will go into the championship final heat. The winner of the championship final heat will be declared the 2023 Calgary Stampede Rangeland Derby Champion.
Live coverage of day 3 of the 2023 Cowboys Rangeland Derby can be heard on WPCA Radio starting 7:45pm Mountain time on Real Country 910am and can be seen on Sportsnet One starting at 8:30pm local time. Check your local listings.
Billy Melville
