July 14 – Day 7 – 2011 Calgary Stampede Rangeland Derby Championship

July 14 – Day 7 – 2011 Calgary Stampede Rangeland Derby Championship
 
The weatherman co-operated on day 7of the Calgary Stampede Rangeland Derby. It was run under a few clouds and a very warm 24°C. Winning his third day money in 7 days was 2004 World Champion Chuckwagon Driver Rick Fraser with a run of 1:16.37.
 
Coming off barrel number 2 in heat number 9, Fraser, driving the Heninger Toyota-Scion/ Chickwagon! Foundation outfit was fastest on the night by 28 one-hundreds of a second over eleven-time Calgary champion Kelly Sutherland. Vern Nolin grabbed third place on the night, followed by Jason Glass and Buddy Bensmiller.

With just one run remaining for the drivers to be among the top eight trying to qualify for “Semi Final Saturday,” Reg Johnstone still leads the overall aggregate standings with a 7 day combined time of 9:10.20. That puts him just 48 one-hundreds of a second ahead of Rick Fraser who moved back up into second place with Kelly Sutherland and Obrey Motowylo holding down third and fourth place respectively. Kurt Bensmiller, Hugh Sinclair, Jerry Bremner and Colt Cosgrave make up the top eight right now, with 1999 Calgary champion Chad Harden in ninth place just 27 one-hundreds of a second out of a birth in the semi final round. Gary Gorst and Ray Mitsuing, who had been in the top eight to start the night both hit barrels and fell well back.
 
The aggregate winner will be declared tomorrow night, and the top 8 in the aggregate on will go into “Semi Final Saturday.” The top 4 times from heats 8 and 9 after Saturday’s run on July 16 will go into the sudden death championship final heat. The winner of the final heat will be declared the 2011 Calgary Stampede Rangeland Derby Champion.

Day 8 from the Calgary Stampede Rangeland Derby can be heard live Friday, July 15, 2011 on Classic Country AM1060 out of Calgary, 890AM CJDC out of Dawson Creek, 99.7 FM The Wolf out of Bonnyville and 96.5 CKFM out of Olds.

Billy Melville
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Day 7 Results  
Rank Driver Sponsor Total Time
1 Rick Fraser Chickwagon! Foundation/ Heninger Toyota-Scion 1:16.37
2 Kelly Sutherland YaYa Calgary.com 1:16.65
3 Vern Nolin BKDI Architects 1:17.08
4 Jason Glass Shaw GMC Chevrolet Buick 1:17.42
5 Buddy Bensmiller Pidherney’s From Start to Finish  1:17.72
6 Wayne Knight Express Employment Professionals 1:17.77
7 Kurt Bensmiller International Eco Fuel Saver 1:17.99
8/9 Hugh Sinclair North Cariboo Air 1:18.21
8/9 Rae Croteau Jr. Ranchman’s Cookhouse/TOMCO Group/Nabors Canada 1:18.21
10 Chad Harden Spartan Controls 1:18.24