“Lightning” Luke Tournier has been crowned the 2019 Grande Prairie Stompede champion. He took home top spot in the World Professional Chuckwagon Association’s standings and won the Stompede’s $50,000 Dash for Cash finale.
Tournier took home the final heat of the weekend with a time of 1:16.66, just ahead of reining WPCA world champion Kurt Bensmiller, who clocked in with a time of 1:16.1. Codey McCurrach and Vern Nolin rounded out the top 4.
Tournier, who took home a brand new truck after winning the Ralph Vigen Memorial Aggregate award after four days of racing, says going into the championship heat, the pressure was long gone and he was just hoping for a good result.
“When they give you the truck, the next thing is a bonus. You take the pressure off because the pressure is trying to make it into the dash. Once you’re in the dash, try to do your best, hook your best horses and run as fast as you can.”
He adds after a long week, the double victory comes at a great time, from one of his favourite stops on the tour.
“My son really needed that truck, he got his truck stolen about a week ago. I wanted to win this show eventually it’s one of our biggest shows. The committees and sponsors do such a great job here, it’s fun coming up here and we love coming up here.”
Tournier now leads the WPCA standings as they head into Saskatoon for the next stop on the tour next weekend.