Chuckwagon racing returns to Calgary Stampede with 27 drivers competing for $50,000 and new GMC truck
The Rangeland Derby runs nightly through July 12, with drivers competing in nine heats of three competitors each for the title.
The day's top stories, food & events — every morning at 7. Unsubscribe anytime.
Chuckwagon racing is back at the Calgary Stampede with its traditional mix of speed, skill, and the iconic figure-eight barrel turn.
While chuckwagon racing may look a little different than when it debuted at the Calgary Stampede in 1923, the general principles haven't changed. Chuckwagon historian and commentator Billy Melville said that although the sport has been around for more than a century, the objective remains the same: to test the skill of the driver, the skill of the outriders, and to demonstrate the speed of the team.
Staged in front of fans packed into GMC Stadium for the Calgary Stampede Evening Show, each night the 27 drivers will compete in nine heats of three competitors in each race. After nine nights of racing action, the drivers with the top three aggregate times will qualify for the Championship Final Heat — also known as the Dash For Cash — on Showdown Sunday.
The winning driver in that final heat will take home $50,000 and a new GMC truck (estimated retail value of $105,000), while the second- and third-place finishers will pocket $20,000 and $10,000 respectively. Day money is also up for grabs each evening with the reinsman clocking the fastest time of the night earning $6,500.
The field is made up of invited drivers from either the World Professional Chuckwagon Association or the Canadian Professional Chuckwagon Association. Based on last year's performances throughout the season, 24 were invited from the WPCA and three were summoned from the CPCA. Tuff Dreger and Evan Magee will serve as this year's demonstration drivers on alternate nights, giving fans a glimpse of what chuckwagon racing is all about before the nightly heats.
What sets chuckwagon racing apart from other horse races is the exciting start when the three gifted reinsmen guide their outfits around the barrels in the infield before traversing the track to see which wagon crosses the finish line in the fastest time. The reason they have the barrel turn goes back to that first principle: testing the skill of the driver. If you didn't have the barrel turn, all a chuckwagon race would be is just another horse race pulling a cart.
