Hotcakes to High Stakes: The Chuckwagon Story

When the West was won, the chuckwagon was a part of it all, and still is today. The story of the chuckwagon's evolution from mobile kitchen/medical centre for the pioneer cowboy, to its current status as a wheeled "racing machine," takes us from the Civil War, along the dusty trails of the cattle drive, to the early days of the rodeo circuit, and all the way to the roar of a crowd cheering on their favorite outfit for $50 000 in 1992. Doug Nelson shows us that while the true "flavor" of the Old West was hotcakes, today's drivers and fans have an appetite for the flash, color, tradition, and plain old excitement of chuckwagon racing. Follow along from range to racetrack for a look at the spirit of the west, then and now.