Three Things to Watch for in Casper That may Affect the Road to Arlington & PBR World Finals
By: Justin Felisko
PUEBLO, Colo. – There is a little more than a month left before the 2020 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast takes over AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Nov. 12-15.
While the road to Arlington will be easiest via the Unleash The Beast, it is almost certain that the four remaining Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour events in Casper, Wyoming, and the 2020 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on Nov. 6-7 will have an impact on who qualifies for the 2020 World Finals.
Whether it will be riders attempting to get closer to Jose Vitor Leme in the world title race or the battle to qualify for the 2020 World Finals, there is still much at stake before the first bull is bucked at the home of the Dallas Cowboys on Nov. 12.
Here are five things to watch for in Casper, Wyoming, on RidePass this weekend with the Velocity Tour resuming competition.
Lockwood and Swearingen are the heavy hitters on Friday night
Two-time World Champion Jess Lockwood needs every point possible as he tries to work himself back into the 2020 world title race. Lockwood will compete Friday night at the Casper Events Center before driving 600 miles to Lincoln, Nebraska, for the PBR Wrangler Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires, on Saturday and Sunday.
Lockwood, who will be eligible for the Velocity Tour Finals as a previous World Champion, has drawn Empire (0-0) for Round 1 in Casper. He trails No. 1 Leme by 716 points in the world standings. Leme is not competing in Casper.
World No. 6 Daylon Swearingen will also be competing in Casper. Swearingen trails Leme by 783.34 points, and he is sitting at No. 47 in the Velocity Tour standings. While Swearingen’s World Finals seat is set, he could certainly use points on the Velocity Tour if he wants to increase his chances of earning a draw spot for the Velocity Tour Finals.
Campbell and Hamilton look to make World Finals push now that PRCA season is over
Boudreaux Campbell and Ky Hamilton are two of the top bull riders in the PRCA that qualified for the 2020 National Finals Rodeo, and now they have a month to try to also qualify for the PBR World Finals.
Campbell has a huge opportunity this weekend. Not only is he competing in Casper on Friday night, but he also was the last alternate in for Lincoln. Therefore, Campbell could very well end up inside the Top 35 by Sunday night. Campbell enters Casper 31.84 points behind No. 35 Silvano Alves in the world standings.
If Campbell, the No. 2-ranked bull rider in the PRCA, wins the Velocity Tour event Friday, that could be enough to push him into the Top 35 that quickly. He is in a good position to qualify for the Velocity Tour Finals as he is ranked No. 23 in the VT standings.
Meanwhile, Hamilton is competing in his first PBR event in 2020 with world points up for grabs. The talented Australian and No. 3-ranked rider in the PRCA went 6-for-19 at the Monster Energy Team Challenge.
Willingham and Barbosa lead group of veterans trying to qualify for World Finals
Sean Willingham failed to qualify for the 2019 PBR World Finals, but the 39-year-old is not giving up on making his 13th PBR Finals this year. Willingham has not competed at a PBR-sanctioned event since July 10, and he has one world point. Willingham has his work cut out for him, but there is still time for him to make noise at these final four Velocity Tour events and sneak into the World Finals.
Last year, Rubens Barbosa posted one of the best rides in PBR history when he rode Chiseled for 95.75 points at the PBR World Finals. The ride is the fourth-highest score in PBR World Finals history, and the highest since Chris Shivers rode Dillinger for 96.5 points in 2001. Only 10 rides in PBR history have ever been scored higher on the premier series.
Now Barbosa is in a battle just to get back to the World Finals. A series of injuries this year have caught up to the 36-year-old, and he is ranked 100th in the world with 16 world points. Barbosa is also 64th in the Velocity Tour standings.
Other riders with World Finals experience looking to get back into hunt for the World Finals in Casper include: No. 42 Paulo Lima, No. 63 Wallace Oliveira, No. 71 Gage Gay, No. 73 Dylan Smith, No. 78 Luciano de Castro, No. 79 Alex Cardozo, No. 84 Ouncie Mitchell, No. 94 Francisco Garcia Torres, No. 104 Francisco Morales and No. 158 Michael Lane.
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
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