Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Watch: Campbell Still in Pursuit of NFR and PBR World Finals

By: Justin Felisko

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – This upcoming weekend is a microcosm of the effort Boudreaux Campbell is going to have to put forth as he tries to qualify for both the 2020 PBR World Finals and the 2020 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.

Campbell flew to Las Vegas on Thursday before making the two-hour drive to Fort Mohave, Arizona, for the PRCA’s Fort Mohave Classic Xtreme Bulls event on Friday night. The 21-year-old will then drive back to Las Vegas so that he can fly back across the country to compete at the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour’s North Charleston Classic in South Carolina on Saturday night.

Fan can watch all the action from South Carolina live on RidePass beginning at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday night.

“I want to get to the PBR World Finals and I want to be Top 5 in the world,” Campbell, who is traveling more than 3,000 miles this weekend, said at the end of January. “I want to be in the running for a world title. I don’t just want to make it. I am going to rodeo when I am not going to PBRs, and if I ride bulls like know how to, I know I can make the NFR too doing it.”

The Crockett, Texas, native is ranked 47th in the PBR world standings after beginning the season 5-for-9 on the Velocity Tour with two Top-5 finishes.

Campbell trails No. 35 Jake Lockwood, a competitor at the Unleash The Beast Caterpillar Classic this weekend in Kansas City, Missouri, by 17.5 points. A victory in North Charleston could potentially push Campbell into the Top 25 of the PBR world standings.

The rookie has drawn Experiment 626 (3-0, all levels) for Round 1 at North Charleston Coliseum.

Also tentatively competing in South Carolina are No. 38 Cody Casper, No. 39 Dakota Louis, No. 41 Amadeu Campos Silva, No. 44 Joseph McConnel, No. 45 Wallace de Oliveira, No. 49 Lindomar Lino, No. 49 Junio Patrik Souza and No. 49 Andrew Alvidrez.

“It all comes around,” Campbell said. “The right guys usually stay on top all year long.”

Multiple riders have pulled off qualifying for the NFR and PBR Finals before, most recently Daylon Swearingen (2019) and Brennon Eldred (2018), but qualifying for both takes capitalizing on every opportunity possible when the schedules work out favorably.

Once a rider is ranked inside the Top 30 of the PBR world standings, he is obligated to ride at the UTB level barring an injury or excused absence.

Swearingen became the youngest bull rider to ever qualify for the World Finals and the NFR last year, and he estimated that he put 30,000 miles on his truck alone. You then can add in the thousands of airline miles Swearingen accumulated traveling to Canada and domestic PBR events as examples of the distance one has to go to qualify for the two largest bull ridings in the world.

Campbell received a big boost last weekend for his NFR pursuit in San Antonio.

He won $18,950 at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo Xtreme Bulls Division 1 event with an 89-point ride on Ferdinand and 82 points on Rodeo Time at the AT&T Center.

The payday pushed Campbell up to No. 7 ($33,932.08) in the PRCA standings.

“I was glad to bounce back after the Global Cup with a big win in San Antonio,” Campbell said. “I am feeling pretty good going into Charleston on Saturday. I’m ready to get in that (PBR) Top 35.”

Charleston is Campbell’s first PBR event since he went 0-for-2 for the Team USA Eagles at the 2020 WinStar World Casino and Resort Global Cup USA, presented by Monster Energy.

 
The Eagles edged out Team Australia and Team Brazil to become the first country in eight attempts to win a World Cup or Global Cup on home soil.

“Very special moment,” Campbell said. “Getting the team win at the Global Cup, by far one of the best events I have ever been to.”

Campbell has tasted what it is like to ride on one of the PBR’s largest stages inside AT&T Stadium, and now he continues his pursuit this weekend to earn a berth on the PBR’s grandest stage – Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.

He knows there is still plenty of time for him to crack not just the Top 35 of the PBR world standings with eight months left until the World Finals begins on Nov. 4 in Las Vegas, but also the Top 10.

“I think it is still possible this year, especially the way the points system is,” Campbell said. “If you just get up on tour, and I win go-rounds like I can, it is not going to be hard to jump up there and win go-rounds, get points.

“You just have to win.”

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

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