NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Evan Magee of Saskatoon races ahead of the duo of FROG LAKE FIRST NATION's Preston Faithful and Kirk Sutherland of Grande Prairie in the first night of WPCA Chuckwagon racing at the Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampede on Thursday.
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Chuckwagon racers raced around the Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampede track Thursday night to kick off a weekend of fun.
The first of four days of racing hosted by the World Professional Chuckwagon Association got underway as drivers and their wagons battled the summer night and the Half Mile of Hell.
Jamie Laboucane entered the night as the defending champion, but after 12 heats of races and the dust settling, it was Chanse Vigen with the day one lead after posting a penalty-free time of 1:00.59.
Vigen came off the No. 1 barrel in the ninth heat of the night, finishing four one-hundredths of a second ahead of former Medicine Hat champion Jason Glass in second place.
Vigen was also the first day champion in the WPCA’s 2023 races at the Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampede.
Rae Croteau Jr. placed third, Layne MacGillivray placed fourth and Laboucane rounded out the top five for the night.
The top three drivers in the aggregate after Saturday night will go into Sunday’s championship final heat and race in the Dash for Cash.
The winner of Sunday’s final will be crowned the 2024 Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampede Champion. Saturday’s race gets underway at 7 p.m., and the final day of racing, gets underway Sunday at 2 p.m.
