Ray Adamson came into the North American Pony Chuckwagon championships at the Westerner as the No. 1 ranked driver on tour.
And watching the veteran from Camrose it’s little wonder why he’s leading.
Adamson, who has been driving for over four decades, is slowly beginning to take command of the Red Deer show as he drove his Alexander First Nations sponsored wagon to the best time for the second day in a row Thursday.
He charged out of the No. 1 barrel to grab the rail position and finished the 14th and final heat in one minute 17.17 seconds to sit on top with an unofficial time of 2:34.90.
Six-time champion Keith Wood of Saddle Lake took second place for the second straight night on his Uncle Ben’s RV rig with a time of 1:17.99, which left him at 2:35.82.
Marvin Hubl, who runs with Adamson and Wood in the final heat, occupies third place at 2:37.19 after driving the Allan Dale Industries outfit to a 1:18.21 time.
Albert Whiskeyjack of St. Brides moved into fourth from fifth on the Cherry Hill Auctions wagon as he finished in 1:18.49 to give him a time of 2:37.59, just ahead of Chris Spreen of Whitecourt, who slipped one spot.
Spreen had a running time of 1:18.86 with the Trojan Safety Services wagon and had a two-day total time of 2:37.93.
Carmen Currah of Stettler charged into the top 10 with the Bettenson’s and Sons Sand and Gravel outfit, sliding into sixth at 2:38.92 following a time of 1:18.51.
Ken Madden moved up from 12th to seventh while Gary Salmond was assessed a two-second penalty which prevented him from moving out of eighth place.
Madden ran a 1:19.05 on the Randy’s Oilfield Services rig and has a time of 2:39.32 while Salmond sits at 2:39.62 on the Border Paving wagon. Salmond had a time of 1:18.08 prior to the penalty.
Curtis Wood of Saddle Lake sits in ninth at 2:39.72 and Ric Rosencrans of Minot, N.D. moved into 10th at 2:40.13.
Wood drove his Red Rose Trailers wagon to a 1:19.54 Thursday while Rosencrans had a 1:19.20 on the Dynamic Projects rig.
Action continues today through Sunday at 6:30 p.m.