Laboucane, Vigen, Glass advance to Rangeland Derby final

Laboucane finished atop the aggregate standings after the first nine days of Stampede with a cumulative time of 10:47.00.

Prime Minister Mark Carney was in attendance Saturday at the Calgary Stampede’s Rangeland Derby to watch the drivers qualify for Sunday’s Dash for Cash. Jamie Laboucane and his Panorama Advisory Group outfit continued their dominating performance, posting the quickest time on Day 9 at 1:11.01. In the final heat, he will race against defending champion Chanse Vigen and his VisitLethbridge.com/Bet365 rig, along with Jason Glass and his Birchcliff Energy wagon, the feel-good story of this year’s Rangeland Derby.

The three drivers qualified for the winner-take-all championship heat. Laboucane finished atop the aggregate standings at the Calgary Stampede with a cumulative time of 10:47.00. He also posted the fastest time on four nights.

“It feels great. The one outfit has been explosive and strong and has gotten me day monies. And then the other one has been just as strong as well,” Laboucane said.

“The lowest I placed with them was sixth for the day (on Day 8). We’re running strong all week and it’s been coming together very nicely.” Vigen has also put together an impressive week.

Although he posted the fastest time just once, on Day 8, he enters Sunday’s final second in the aggregate standings with a time of 10:49.97. Vigen isn’t overly concerned about only posting the fastest time once. “It’s always good to get day money, but the main thing is we had a clean run and we kept our spot in the aggregate,” Vigen said.

“The day money is a bonus, but the key is to get into the Dash. When you’re hooked with the guys around you in the standings and you win your heat, that’s always good because you can make up some ground.” Glass has raced through an emotional week after the death of his father Tom just a few weeks ago.

Despite the loss, he secured the final Dash for Cash berth by finishing third in the aggregate standings. Glass knocked over a barrel on opening day but rebounded by posting the fastest time on Days 5 and 6. He finished the nine-day aggregate with a time of 10:52.11.

Heading into Sunday’s championship heat, Vigen said his approach won’t change as he looks to defend his title. “Not a whole bunch of change, just stick to what’s working. We’re going to do the exact same process and follow it the way we did last year because it worked for us.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Laboucane held a comfortable lead entering Saturday night’s races and had to decide on the best strategy to ensure he qualified for the final. “I’ll rest my outfit that I’ve been getting money with and have them ready for Sunday,” he said.

“That’s the plan. I just needed a clean run and to stay close enough to hold on to where I’m at. Then it gives me a better shot to try to win it.”

Laboucane said racing at the Stampede is unlike any other chuckwagon event because of the attention that surrounds it, but he has learned to tune out the distractions. “It’s a great show. It’s a different beast running the 10 days, and there’s a lot of media, a lot of attention and a lot of coverage.

It takes years and years to get used to that and still learn how to block out the noise,” Laboucane said. “I’ve been racing for 20 years and at Stampede for 12 years. Before that I was an outrider, so I’ve gotten fairly used to everything that goes on around here.

I’ve been able to lock in and drive confidently.” Vigen agreed that theStampede brings added attention, but he takes a business-like approach to it. “This is what we signed up for,” he said.

“If people want to talk to you, I guess you’re doing something right.” The winner of the Rangeland Derby will receive $50,000 and a new truck. Laboucane said winning the Derby has been a lifelong dream.

“I’ve been doing that since I was about six years old. I don’t think any wagon drivers ever stop dreaming of that, even after they’ve done it the first time.” AROUND THE BARRELS With the top three spots in Sunday’s Dash for Cash decided, it’s not a complete loss for some of the other chuckwagon drivers.

Layne Flad, driving the Bar L5 Ranch outfit, and Cruise Bensmiller, behind the Steelhaus Technologies wagon, are still battling for the Orville Strandquist Memorial Award , presented to the top rookie at the Calgary Stampede. For a second straight year, Logan Gorst and his International Petroleum Corp. rig are in contention for the Richard Cosgrave Memorial Trophy for Safety. The award is presented to the driver with the fastest cumulative time over the 10 nights of racing who does not incur any penalty points.

Chance Flad, driving the Bar L5 Ranch wagon, and Wade Salmond, behind the De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited rig, did not finish Heat 3 after their horses collided while attempting to round the barrels. Email: sknox@postmedia.com X: @Knoxie84