After rains altered the format of the 2024 Ponoka Stampede Chuckwagon Racing, the stage is set for the finals now that four nights of racing are concluded.
Chanse Vigen, Luke Tournier, Kurt Bensmiller and Rae Croteau Jr. did well in Day Four Ponoka Stampede Chuckwagon action and will be the four heading into the $75,000 Tommy Dorchester Championship final heat.
Vigen, with outsiders Rory Armstrong and Ethan Motowylo, ended the day with a four-day aggregate time of 5:00.63, which put him first overall for the second year in a row.
Because of his aggregate win, Vigen will receive a 2024 GMC Truck from Summit Fleet.
Should Vigen win in the finals on July 1, he will be the first back-to-back winner of the Ponoka Stampede since Kelly Sutherland in 2011, when Vigen was an outrider for Sutherland.
However, Vigen lost out on the day money to Josh Hrynyk, who posted the fasted time of the day with a penalty-free run of 1:114.73, ultimately winning by just eight one-hundredths of a second ahead of Luke Tournier.
Hrynyk raced from barrel one in the second heat of the evening driving the Quick Mats Ltd rig. The win was a first for Hrynyk on the World Professional Chuckwagon Association tour.
The Ponoka Stampede finals begin at 6:30 p.m. on July 1.
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