Frost Aiming to Qualify for PBR World Finals and Wrangler National Finals Rodeo
By: Justin Felisko
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Josh Frost is right in the mix for a PRCA world title, but the No. 2 ranked bull rider in the PRCA is not going to miss out on a chance at qualifying for the 2022 PBR World Finals on May 13-22 in Fort Worth, Texas.
Frost heads into Round 2 of the 2022 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals, presented by Coastal Bend Chevy Dealers, sitting tied for fourth place with an 85.5-point ride on Out of the Blue from Friday night at American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas.
“Like I said earlier this year, the main goal was make the Velocity Finals, and then they called me, so it worked really good,” Frost said. I’m like, I’ll come here and ride good, and see what happens.”
Frost is 64th in the world standings and could potentially crack the Top 37 and qualify for the PBR World Finals if he were to win the Velocity Tour Finals event average on Saturday night.
However, there are multiple avenues for Frost to make his way to Dickies Arena.
Five riders will qualify for the World Finals as wild card invites based on the Velocity Tour standings and the Velocity Tour Finals event standings.
• The top-finishing international invite. The three international invites this year are Alex Cardozo (Brazil), Griffin Smeltzer (Canada) and Francisco Morales (Mexico). These riders were selected via world ranking as of May 1. All three riders bucked off in Round 1 on Friday night. If the group fails to record a ride Saturday, then Cardozo would receive the wild card berth based on world ranking.
• The top two riders in the Velocity Tour standings who are not qualified for the World Finals via the world standings.
• The top two finishers in the Velocity Tour Finals event average. If every rider in the Top 5 has already qualified for the World Finals, the wild card berths will go to the next eligible riders in the Velocity Tour Standings.
Frost is 27th in the Velocity Tour Standings and trails No. 1 VT rider Brandon Davis by 38.34 points. He will take on Heart & Soul in Round 2 (6:30 p.m. ET RidePass on Pluto TV).
The Randlett, Utah, native failed in his last-minute bid to qualify for the World Finals last year via the Velocity Tour Finals at the South Point Hotel Casino & Spa, going 0-for-2.
Frost has since evolved into one of the stronger bull riders in the world. He first won the 2021 NFR with a 7-for-10 performance, and he has been in contention for the 2022 PRCA bull riding title all year long and is 30-for-44 (68.18%) in the PRCA with four victories at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo Xtreme Bulls, Cinch World’s Toughest Rodeo (Sioux City, Iowa and Columbus, Ohio) and the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo in Denver.
“After South Point, they bucked me off both bulls at the Velocity Finals, and I was working hard getting ready for the NFR, and rode seven out of 10 at the Finals, so that’s obviously a big confidence-booster, and cool to see some of the hard work pay off,” Frost recalled. “I came out second in the world, average champ, and came out this year and set a couple goals. We’ve been on track to get both of them. I’m sitting No. 2 in the PRCA right now, and the goal is to make the PBR Finals.”
Frost is 9-for-17 at nine PBR events this season, including a 1-for-3 showing last weekend during his premier series debut in Billings, Montana. His 87.5-point ride on Poker Chip propelled him to a ninth-place finish at the UTB regular-season finale.
“I was super excited,” Frost said. “First UTB, and the bull looked really good. Nobody had stayed on him before, but I kind of knew the book on him. He was supposed to be right there in the gate to the right, and he was everything he was supposed to be, right there on the right, and 87.5. So it turned out pretty good.
“I rodeoed hard all winter, and got a couple of these last Velocities, and got the call here for the Velocity Finals made. So we’re hoping to be in Fort Worth this weeks.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andre Silva/Bull Stock Media
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