Editing Calgary Stampede (section)

===Rangeland Derby===
[[File:Stampede chuckwagon race.JPG|thumb|Chuckwagon races are a popular attraction.|alt=Four wagons driven by teams of four horses race down a dirt track. Several riders on horseback follow as a crowd of spectators looks on from behind a guardrail.]]
Weadick is credited with inventing the sport of [[chuckwagon racing]] in 1923, inspired either by seeing a similar event in 1922 at the [[Gleichen, Alberta|Gleichen Stampede]] or watching impromptu races as he grew up.<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.wpca.com/history.aspx |title=History |publisher=Western Professional Chuckwagon Association |access-date=2011-01-09 |archive-date=2010-12-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101226173117/http://wpca.com/(S(v0mizw2pbc1zrxm5cdihja55))/history.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> He devised the sport to be a new and exciting event for the newly joined Exhibition and Stampede.<ref name="CH1960Chucks">{{citation |last=Primrose |first=Tom |work=Calgary Herald Magazine |date=1960-07-09 |page=1}}</ref> Weadick invited ranchers to enter their wagons and crews to compete for a total of $275 in prize money.<ref name="CS history">{{citation |url=http://cs.calgarystampede.com/events/gmc-rangeland-derby/history.html |title=Chuckwagon races&nbsp;– History |publisher=Calgary Stampede |access-date=2012-06-06 |archive-date=2012-06-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120601221742/http://cs.calgarystampede.com/events/gmc-rangeland-derby/history.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Officially called the Rangeland Derby, and nicknamed the "half-mile of hell"<ref>{{citation |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/calgarys-half-mile-of-hell/article787609/ |title=Calgary's half-mile of hell |work=The Globe and Mail |access-date=2010-05-21 |date=2009-07-08 |archive-date=2012-10-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025082629/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/calgarys-half-mile-of-hell/article787609/ |url-status=live }}</ref> or the "dash for cash",<ref>{{cite web |title=Logan Gorst wheels to first GMC Rangeland Derby victory at Stampede |url=https://calgarysun.com/sports/other-sports/logan-gorst-wheels-to-first-gmc-rangeland-derby-victory-at-stampede |website=Calgary Sun |publisher=www.calgarysun.com |access-date=2019-07-24 |archive-date=2019-07-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190724170803/https://calgarysun.com/sports/other-sports/logan-gorst-wheels-to-first-gmc-rangeland-derby-victory-at-stampede |url-status=live }}</ref> chuckwagon racing proved immediately popular and quickly became the event's largest attraction.<ref name="CH1960Chucks" /> While only six teams raced in 1923,<ref name="Gray64">{{harvnb|Gray|1985|p=64}}</ref> today's Rangeland Derby consists of 36 teams competing for $1.15 million in prize money.<ref>{{citation |url=http://cs.calgarystampede.com/events/gmc-rangeland-derby/ |title=GMC Rangeland Derby |publisher=Calgary Stampede |access-date=2012-06-06 |archive-date=2012-05-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120531214541/http://cs.calgarystampede.com/events/gmc-rangeland-derby/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Joe Carbury]] was the voice of the Rangeland Derby for 45 years, until 2008. His distinctive voice and signature phrase of "and they're offfffffff!" to announce the start of a race made him a local legend,<ref>{{citation |last=Stewart |first=Monte |title=Joe Carbury |work=Calgary Herald |date=1994-07-13 |page=D3}}</ref> and earned him induction into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.albertasportshalloffame.com/component/zoo/item/carbury-joe |title=Joe Carbury |publisher=Alberta Sports Hall of Fame |access-date=2011-07-25 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929110511/http://www.albertasportshalloffame.com/component/zoo/item/carbury-joe |archive-date=2011-09-29 }}</ref>

The chuckwagon drivers auction advertising space on their wagons before each year's Stampede. The first advertisement on the tarp cover of a chuckwagon was made in 1941, and Lloyd Nelson was the last person to win the Rangeland Derby without a sponsored wagon, doing so in 1956. The current practice of selling advertising via a tarp auction began in 1979.<ref name="Foran247">{{harvnb|Foran|2008|p=247}}</ref> The revenue generated by the auctions, a record $4 million for the 2012 Stampede,<ref>{{Citation |last=Kaufmann |first=Bill |title=Yee-haw! 100 years of the best hoedown around |work=Calgary Sun Stampede 100th Anniversary |date=June 2012 |page=2}}</ref> is considered an indicator of the strength of Calgary's economy.<ref>{{citation |last=Lewis |first=Nick |url=http://www2.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=4c5dd667-6bf2-420a-a78d-50ef7db4cf0a |title=Tarp auction tells tale of Calgary's economy |work=Calgary Herald |date=2009-03-19 |access-date=2010-05-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120902094047/http://www2.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=4c5dd667-6bf2-420a-a78d-50ef7db4cf0a |archive-date=2012-09-02 }}</ref>

The Rangeland Derby was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />