How Riders Can Qualify for the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals in Sioux Falls

By: Justin Felisko

PUEBLO, Colo. – It is officially crunch time on the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour.

This weekend is the first of back-to-back weekends of Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour action in Casper, Wyoming, with four events held inside the Casper Events Center to wrap up the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour regular season.

The next two weeks will be a mad dash for Velocity Tour riders attempting to qualify for the 2020 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals on Nov. 6-7 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Forty-five riders will qualify for the Velocity Tour Finals next month. For some, that will be their last opportunity to earn a spot at the 2020 PBR World Finals in Arlington, Texas.

Fans can watch every Velocity Tour event exclusively on RidePass, beginning tonight with the Casper Invitational, driven by Wyoming Ford Dealers, at 9:30 p.m. ET.

The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the 2020 Velocity Tour schedule, and fewer events this season has led to a jumbled group of riders in the Velocity Tour standings. Therefore, these final four events will be a major opportunity for riders trying to make up ground in the standings and qualify for the culminating event of the Velocity Tour season.

The PBR competition department finalized this week how 45 riders can qualify for the 2020 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals in Sioux Falls.

 
The Top 35 bull riders available in the official year-end PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour standings at the end of Velocity Tour bull ridings on Oct. 10 will qualify for the Velocity Tour Finals. (If there is a tie for a qualified position going into the Velocity Tour Finals, that position will be awarded based on 2020 world standings as of Nov. 2).

If any riders inside the Top 35 of the Velocity Tour standings are injured, unable to compete or decline the opportunity to ride in Sioux Falls, then the next highest ranked rider in the Velocity Tour standings will receive a qualification spot.

Heading into the first Velocity Tour event in Casper, a rider needs 26 points in the Velocity Tour standings to be inside the Top 35 of the Velocity Tour standings. 2016 World Champion Cooper Davis is No. 35 in the Velocity Tour standings with 26 points.

One rider can earn a maximum of 44 points at every Velocity Tour event, so there is still a tremendous opportunity for riders outside of the Top 35 to qualify for Sioux Falls.

Any active PBR World Champion will receive an invitation to the Velocity Tour Finals.

This has become a trend for the Velocity Tour Finals in recent years, and it will potentially be extremely important this year with legends J.B. Mauney and Silvano Alves currently in a battle to qualify for the 2020 PBR World Finals. Alves heads into this weekend’s PBR Wrangler Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires, hanging onto the No. 35 ranking in the world standings. Mauney is No. 55 and is 44.5 points behind Alves.

Two-time World Champion Jess Lockwood would also be eligible for the 2020 Velocity Tour Finals, and that can help the No. 4-ranked bull rider in the world as he tries to work his way back into the word title race.

 
International and other invites

International rider invites will include the top rider in the 2020 PBR Australia, PBR Canada, PBR Brazil, PBR Mexico and U.S. Touring Pro Division standings as of Oct. 15. If any of the territories do not meet the criteria by not having any 2020 events, that territory will not receive an invite. If any of the riders from each territory are unable to get to the United States in accordance with the 14-day CDC quarantine guidelines, a rider from the 2020 world standings as of Nov. 2 will fill the spot.

Currently, Dakota Buttar (PBR Canada) and Lachlan Richardson (PBR Australia) are two of the leading contenders to receive an international invite as they sit atop their countries’ respective national standings. PBR Brazil and PBR Mexico have not been able to have any 2020 events because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

World No. 1 Jose Vitor Leme has clinched the Touring Pro Division championship in the United States, and he is also sitting atop the Velocity Tour standings, so he will be good to ride in Sioux Falls if he so chooses.

 
Any remaining positions for the Velocity Tour Finals will be filled based upon the PBR world standings of as Nov. 2.

EVENT STRUCTURE & POINTS FORMAT FOR THE 2020 PENDLETON WHISKY VELOCITY TOUR FINALS

The 2020 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals will consist of two long rounds and one 10-man championship round. The event winner will be based upon the event average and will earn 60 world points. Round winners will earn 15 world points.

Therefore, one rider can leave Sioux Falls with a maximum of 105 points toward the world standings.

Round Points at the Velocity Tour Finals: 15, 8, 7, 4, 3, 2, 1
Event Average Points at the Velocity Tour Finals: 60, 38, 27, 20, 16, 11, 5

The 2020 PWVT Finals will pay out $80,000 in prize money, not including the 2020 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Champion Bonus ($35,000). Round winners will earn $3,200 and winning the 2020 Velocity Tour Finals will be worth $18,480.

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

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