What 2 Watch 4: Cutline Looming for at Least Three Riders in Kansas City

By: Justin Felisko

PUEBLO, Colo. – The Caterpillar Classic on Saturday and Sunday in Kansas City, Missouri, is the eighth Unleash The Beast event of the 2020 season.

Therefore, it is the final guaranteed event for the majority of riders that finished inside the Top 30 of the 2019 world standings.

Fifteen riders will be competing in their eighth event, and four of those riders are currently on the outside of the Top 35. Three-time World Champion Silvano Alves is also ranked No. 55 in the world standings, but he will have 10 World Champion invites to fall back on if he does not crack the Top 35 this weekend.

Riders ranked inside the Top 30 of the world standings should be good to go for the Bad Boy Mowdown in Little Rock, Arkansas. However, riders ranked 31st to 35th will have to see how injuries/exempt riders affect how many riders outside the Top 30 receive alternate positions.

There are still 10 riders left with exemptions from last year’s standings or injury exemptions that are outside of the Top 35. Some of these riders will not be returning to competition for a few months.

Therefore, to avoid being on the hot seat and facing the unknown, getting into the Top 30 will be crucial if riders do not want to ride on the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour to earn back a spot on the premier series.

Here is a look at three riders attempting to turn around their seasons and avoid being cut in Kansas City

No. 64 Stetson Lawrence (-40.16 points out of Top 30 / -29.66 points out of Top 35)

 
Lawrence will have two opportunities to earn world points this weekend. He is competing at the WCRA’s Royal City Roundup event on Friday night as well, which is awarding Velocity-level world points. One rider can earn a maximum of 44 world points at the Royal City Roundup.

Friday will be Lawrence’s first chance to earn world points outside of the Unleash The Beast, where he has begun the season 3-for-15.

Lawrence, who has finished inside the Top 30 of the world standings in six straight seasons, has drawn Too Dirty (4-2, all levels) for Friday night and Little Joe (1-0, UTB) for Round 1 of the Caterpillar Classic on Saturday.

Fans can watch Round 1 of the Royal City Roundup on RidePass beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday, and the conclusion on CBS national television at 12:30 ET on Saturday. Tune into Round 1 of the Caterpillar Classic on RidePass at 7:45 p.m. ET on Saturday.

“I’ve got all year,” Lawrence said. “I have more than two weeks. I never have (been concerned about the cutline) in my life. I have been in this situation a couple of times. It don’t bother me. There are Velocities to go to. It is not like I can’t go make money somewhere else. My main focus is to make money and make a living, not be up here and be on TV. I am trying to make a living for my wife and myself. I approach these like any other week. I am probably a little more focused than normal.”

No. 67 Alisson de Souza (-41.66 points out of Top 30 / 31.16 points out of Top 35)

 
Souza heads into his Round 1 matchup against Homegrown (1-0, UTB) with six consecutive buckoffs. The second-year rider is 6-for-18 on the premier series and has only earned points in two of seven UTB events.

No. 94 Luciano de Castro (52.66 points out of Top 30 / 42.16 points out of Top 35)

 
Castro is mired in a 2-for-17 slump through the first seven events, and he has bucked off three consecutive bulls. Castro, who has been dealing with a leg injury this season, has only earned 11.5 points courtesy of his ninth-place finish at Iron Cowboy, presented by Ariat.

2020 has been a complete disaster for Castro so far. Castro is coming off back-to-back Top-10 finishes in the world standings with a ninth-place showing in 2019 and a sixth-place result in 2018.

Castro has drawn Crap Shoot (0-0, UTB) for Round 1.

ALTERNATES ON THE HOT SEAT

Keep an eye on No. 30 Marcus Mast (+11 points on No. 36 Brock Radford), No. 32 Brady Sims (+4.84), No. 33 Ezekiel Mitchel (+2.84) and No. 35 Jake Lockwood (+0.5) in Kansas City.

These four riders will be hanging onto alternate spots, and may be in jeopardy of losing their UTB draw spots if riders below them in the world standings, such as those competing at the North Charleston Invitational Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour event, leapfrog them.

WHO HAS UTB EXEMPTIONS LEFT? (TOTAL REMAINING AFTER KANSAS CITY)

No. 7 Matt Triplett (1)
No. 44 Cody Teel (1)
No. 163 Michael Lane (1)
No. 15 Ryan Dirteater (3)
No. 83 Rubens Barbosa (3)
No. 37 Brennon Eldred (3)
No. 148 Keyshawn Whitehorse (3)
No. 20 Lucas Divino (3)
No. 17 Marco Eguchi (4)
No. 42 Cody Jesus (4)
No. 31 Alan de Souza (5)
Joe Frost (5)
No. 22 Cooper Davis (7)
Dalton Kasel (7)
Chase Outlaw (8)
Cody Nance (8)
J.B. Mauney (8)

INJURY UPDATES: TEEL OUT; LANE RETURNING

2012 PRCA champion Cody Teel was going to be facing the cutline this weekend until he had to doctor out after aggravating his right knee (ACL/MCL) last week when Acting Crazy bucked him off in 5.44 seconds.

“Not happening this week,” Teel said. “I was giving it a couple of days to see. Just going to keep hitting therapy until it is ready.”

Meanwhile, Michael Lane is returning from a minor hip injury for the first time since Jan. 19. Lane has missed the past four UTB events. He has one more exemption after Kansas City to attempt to make up 53.66 points and get within the Top 35.

Lane has drawn Kitty Hawk (3-2, UTB) for Round 1.

 

RIDERS OUT FOR KC

No. 15 Ryan Dirteater (thoracic fractures)
No. 17 Marco Eguchi (head)
No. 18 Dakota Buttar (declined UTB spot)
No. 22 Cooper Davis (neck fracture)
No. 23 Lachlan Richardson (declined UTB spot)
No. 27 Nathan Burtenshaw (shoulder)
No. 46 Cody Teel (right knee)
Dalton Kasel (groin)
Chase Outlaw (left shoulder)
Cody Nance (right shoulder)
Joe Frost (right leg)
J.B. Mauney (right shoulder)

WORLD TITLE RACE UPDATE

World leader Jose Vitor Leme holds a 115-point lead on Jess Lockwood heading into the Caterpillar Classic, but that could shrink if Lockwood wins the Royal City Roundup Friday night.

Lockwood and Leme are both in the WCRA draw. So too is No. 3 Joao Ricardo Vieira, who is 136.25 points behind Leme.

WCRA MATCHUPS FOR TOP 3

Jose Vitor Leme vs. Outlaw (6-2, all levels)
Jess Lockwood vs. Crazy Times (16-3, all levels)
Joao Ricardo Vieira vs. Medicine Man (23-12, all levels)

Medicine Man bucked Vieira off in 2.1 seconds in Tulsa, Oklahoma, two years ago.

 

SCARANELLO MAKING HIS UTB DEBUT

Bruno Scaranello, who went 2-for-2 for Team Brazil at the 2019 PBR Global Cup USA, will make his Unleash The Beast debut against Top Shelf (9-2, UTB). Scaranello is ranked No. 28 in the world standings after his victory in Hampton, Virginia, last weekend.

CHANDLER READY FOR SEASON UTB DEBUT

Tye Chandler is back on the Unleash The Beast for the first time since September 16, 2018 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Chandler has begun 2020 5-for-7 on the Velocity Tour, and his victory last weekend in Worcester, Massachusetts, pushed him to No. 25 in the world standings.

Chandler faces Black Thunder (0-0, UTB) in Round 1 Saturday night.

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

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