By the Numbers: Lane & Halverson Amidst Tight Velocity Tour Championship Battle
By: Justin Felisko
PUEBLO, Colo. – The Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour championship race is like the PBR World Championship race. The Velocity Tour Finals will ultimately define who will win the Velocity title just as the World Finals impacts the world title race.
However, one difference is that as riders continuously work their way up the world rankings via the Velocity Tour, they ultimately graduate to the Unleash The Beast series full-time. One example of this in 2021 is Austin Richardson, who is ranked No. 3 in the Velocity Tour despite competing in four events.
This makes it near impossible for one rider to ever significantly run away with the VT title before the PBR’s top developmental league steps foot inside the South Point Arena in Las Vegas come October. In fact, no rider has ever begun the Velocity Tour Finals atop the VT standings and won the Velocity Tour championship.
Michael Lane will be hoping to change that this coming Oct. 30-31 at the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals in Las Vegas.
Lane leads No. 2 Conner Halverson by 18 points ahead of this weekend’s Grand Rapids Classic in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Lane will have the opportunity to increase his lead in the Velocity Tour title race with Halverson accepting a Velocity Tour invite to compete at the UTB’s PBR Ariat Music City Knockout, presented by Cooper Tires, in Nashville, and Lane deciding to turn down his optional spot to compete on the UTB this week.
Fans can watch the Grand Rapids Classic exclusively on Pluto TV Saturday night, beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
The top two riders in the Velocity Tour have posted almost identical seasons so far in 2021.
Here is a breakdown of the two riders’ near-identical Velocity Tour seasons
VT Points: Lane (116) / Halverson (98)
Event Wins: Lane (2) / Halverson (2)
Top 5s: Lane (3) / Halverson (3)
Qualified Rides: Lane (12) / Halverson (9)
Riding Percentage: Lane (38.7%) / Halverson (29%)
Halverson and Lane are the only two riders with multiple VT wins in 2021 after Halverson used an 86.5-point ride on Bone Tomahawk to win the Springfield Invitational in Massachusetts last weekend.
The 20-year-old picked up 37 world points to put himself right back in the thick of the race to qualify for the World Finals.
Halverson is this weekend’s Velocity Tour invite to Nashville, and the No. 38-ranked bull rider in the world is a mere 10.25 points behind No. 35 Lucas Divino.
“It worked out real good,” Halverson told Justin McKee on the Cowboy Channel this week. “I was able to pick up a good chunk of points and throw me up there a little further in the world standings. It worked out real good.”
The Gordon, Nebraska, native is 2-for-5 in three premier series events. He has drawn Wileywood Blue (9-3, UTB/METC) for Round 1 in Nashville on Saturday night (8 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network).
“When they give me an opportunity like this to go to Unleash The Beast, you have to take full advantage of it and stay on your bulls because that is what they will give you – points, and a lot of them,” Halverson said.
There are still six regular-season Velocity Tour events on the calendar, including Grand Rapids, allowing more riders to potentially jump into the VT title conversation.
Additional riders tentatively slated to compete in Grand Rapids include No. 34 Andrew Alvidrez, No. 42 Dakota Louis, No. 43 Manoelito de Souza Jr., No. 55 Matt Triplett and 2015 Velocity Tour champion Gage Gay.
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
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