MOORESVILLE, N.C. (August 24, 2010) - J.B. Mauney’s Tennessee two-step has him four steps closer to his dream.
Mauney, fresh off his second-place finish in Memphis, Tenn., has shot up from seventh in the world standings two weeks ago to third. Plus, he’s cut into Renato Nunes’ World Championship points lead by a shade over 700 points.
Nunes leads the race by 905 points over Austin Meier. Mauney is 2,128.25 points behind Nunes. For Mauney to capture his first gold buckle, he has to place high while his nearest competitors falter.
“It’s going to be tough to catch ’em, and I don’t wish anybody bad luck; I just wish a whole lot of good luck on myself,” said Mauney, 23, who placed fifth at the Jack Daniel’s Invitational in Nashville, Tenn., on Aug. 15. “Those two guys, they’re going to be tough to catch because they don’t turn loose until their head hits the ground; they’re rank bull riders.
“I’ve got to do my job and ride bulls and it’ll take care of itself.”
Following this weekend’s event in Ontario, Calif., the PBR will stage its first “Final Five Chase,” in which riders ranked in the Top 10 will compete for double points in a special round following the first round of the last five events before Las Vegas.
“I like it,” said Mauney, who lives in Mooresville, N.C. “It’s a way for me to make up ground that I’ve lost. I like the idea; it gives everybody in the Top 10 a chance. I think it should be pretty interesting and it should be fun.”
Mauney, who rode 63.4 percent of his bulls last year, is succeeding on 50 percent this season. On plus-45 bulls (those with an average bull score of 45 or better), however, he’s No. 1, checking in at a 62.5-percent clip.
“I don’t know why that is,” he said. “I guess the ranker they are, the more pumped up I get to get on ’em and I ride better, I guess. I don’t know.”
