Nance’s Red-Hot Velocity Tour Start has him Back in the Hunt for a 12th PBR World Finals Qualification
By: Justin Felisko
PUEBLO, Colo. – The 2021 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour has featured a slew of PBR veteran riders attempting to use the PBR’s expansion series to work their way back onto the Unleash The Beast.
So far, the biggest winners this season on the Velocity Tour had been a group of newcomers to the PBR in 2021 Rookie of the Year leader Colten Fritzlan and fellow rookies Jesse Petri and J.T. Moore.
However, the Pensacola Invitational last weekend brought a veteran resurgence in the event results with nine-time World Finals qualifier Shane Proctor winning the event and 11-time World Finals qualifier Cody Nance placing second.
In fact, the Top 6 finishers in Pensacola have all appeared at the PBR World Finals at least one time in their career: Proctor, Nance, Michael Lane, Luis Blanco, Alex Cardozo and Marcus Mast.
Nance has assured himself a spot on the Unleash The Beast for at least the next two events as he has gone 5-for-6 on the Velocity Tour this season to overtake the No. 1 ranking from Petri. The PWVT is on break until the PBR Aggieland Classic on April 9-10 in College Station, Texas, so Nance is locked into the No. 1 ranking for the time being.
“It is awesome. For me, the Unleash The Beast is where I am supposed to be,” Nance said. “It Is where I belong.”
The No. 1-ranked rider on the Velocity Tour is guaranteed a draw spot on the Unleash The Beast every weekend.
Nance, therefore, will be making the four-hour drive from his home in Paris, Tennessee, to Louisville, Kentucky, for this coming Saturday and Sunday’s PBR Lucas Oil Invitational at the KFC Yum! Center.
Nance, the No. 31-ranked rider in the world standings, has drawn Patillo Ridge (2-1, UTB) for Round 1 (8 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network / 6:45 p.m. ET on RidePass).
The PBR is returning to Louisville for the first time since the 2015 Velocity Tour Finals were held at the KFC Yum! Center. Nance finished in second at the 2015 Velocity Tour Finals.
In fact, he has never been bucked off in Louisville.
Nance is a perfect 8-for-8 in his career at all levels of competition in Louisville, and he won the 2013 Bass Pro Chute Out, which was the last premier series event held there until this season.
The 2009 Rookie of the Year won the event by becoming the first rider to reach the 8-second mark on Rock & Roll, riding him for 86.5 points in the championship round. Rock & Roll had bucked off 26 consecutive riders on the premier series at the time.
“It is a pretty cool venue, and I have rode some pretty good bulls there,” Nance said. “I rode Rock & Roll there that year, and that was the first time he was ever ridden. Everybody thought I was nuts when I picked him because J.B. (Mauney) is the shit, and he had just bucked off J.B. for 10 grand like a week or two before. But I just liked the bull.”
Nance is 0-for-3 on the Unleash The Beast this season in two previous events.
The 33-year-old missed the World Finals for the first time in his career last season as he was unable to overcome nerve damage in his right shoulder, as well as his ongoing battle with hip dysplasia, which cost him the first half of 2020.
“I know I can do better than when I came back last year on tour,” Nance concluded. “I was a little early. It would get into my head when I was getting there because I was in so much pain. Now I have been working out and am back in great shape.
“I can’t go back and change the past, but I can work now towards my future. I am just taking it one bull at a time.”
Latest Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Standings
1. Cody Nance
2. Jesse Petri (-1.83 points)
3. J.T. Moore (-10.16 points)
4. Marcelo Procopio Pereira (-10.66 points)
5. Shane Proctor (-13 points)
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andre Silva/Bull Stock Media
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