Catching up to the Flying Fike Brothers can be tough. They move fast – 60 km/h down the back stretch.
They slowed down long enough to chat while preparing for a night of racing at Calgary Stampede.
The Cremona natives are in the midst of the World Pro Chuckwagon Association (WPCA) season, the past two weeks spent racing under the heat and light of the Greatest Outdoor Show On Earth’s GMC Rangeland Derby which wrapped up July 12.
Racing the Shaw GMC rig in Calgary, Jordie Fike finished 15th in the Derby. The 28-year-old, eight-year driving veteran took home $26,000. Younger-brother Chad, 27, was 20th in the Jimbob Group rig for $18,150.
“It’s the pay window. It’s our playoffs. It’s all you think about when you’re working in the spring and you’re tired,” Jordie Fike said of Rangeland Derby prize money. “It’s all you think about to keep you going. It’s our payday.”
Chad Fike is in his third year driving after an accomplished outriding career that includes being world champion in 2012, two Calgary Stampede aggregate outriding crowns and three WPCA outriding titles.
His 2015 Stampede appearance was his first as a driver at the Rangeland Derby and he won the Orville Strandquist Memorial Award for Top Rookie Driver.
“We have a lot of room to climb yet. I have the horsepower to do it,” Chad said. “We’ve had some unfortunate outrider penalties at the start of the year. And a couple of penalties I’ve taken as well. The horses are here and they’re feeling good. We’re just going to continue climbing.”
But Jordie has no intention of making it easy on his younger sibling. As of July 15, he was sitting 12th in WPCA season standings with 571 points, 127 points ahead of Chad in 27th place.
“We’re getting stronger. The horses are getting sharper and sharper with more trips,” Jordie Fike says of his season. “They feel so good right now. The more they run, the better they’re getting right now.”
The Flying Fikes have five more WPCA events to get it sorted, regardless of where they are on the track.
“He’s just another competitor just like the other 35 guys I’m trying to beat,” Chad Fike says of racing against his older brother. “It’s no different. You’re trying to run as fast as you can no matter who you’re running against.
“It’s fun.”
