NASHVILLE, Tenn. (August 10, 2010) - The Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR) returns to Music City on Saturday, August 14 and Sunday, August 15 for the Jack Daniel's Invitational in Nashville, Tenn. The world's Top 40 bull riders take over the Bridgestone Arena for two nights only in week 23 of 30 in the race for the World Finals title. Tickets are on sale now, starting at $10, and can be purchased online at www.Ticketmaster.com, in person at the Bridgestone Arena box office or by calling (800) 732-1728.
Expected to compete at the Jack Daniel’s Invitational are fan favorites such as current world leader Renato Nunes (Buritama, SP, Brazil); No. 2 in the world standings Austin Meier (Kinta, Okla); Valdiron de Oliveira (Aparecida de Goiania, GO, Brazil); and PBR superstar J.B. Mauney (Mooresville, N.C.). Also anticipated to ride in Nashville are Tennessee native and 2009 Rookie of the Year Cody Nance (Paris, Tenn.); east coast bull riders Sean Willingham (Summerville, Ga.) and Shane Proctor (Mooresville, N.C.); and PBR veteran Brendon Clark (Morpeth, Australia). Troy-Bilt is a local sponsor of this event.
As part of the Jack Daniel’s Invitational, fans can participate in the PBR Fan Zone on Saturday, August 14 from 2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. at the Bridgestone Arena. There will be interactive displays from sponsors such as the Jack Daniel’s, Bad Boy Mowers, Ford, Cooper Tires and more. Big Green Egg will be hosting a Cowboy Cook-off from 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m., featuring cowboy chefs Justin McBride, Brendon Clark and Travis Briscoe along with special guest judges Flint Rasmussen, the Producer of the Big D and Bubba radio Show Patrick Thomas, and more. For more information on the Fan Zone and all Nashville events, please go to www.pbr.com. Also, don’t miss up-and-coming artist Nic Cowan, who has spent the past year opening for the Zack Brown Band, as he performs live on the Cooper Tire Stage on Saturday from 5:45 p.m. - 6:15 p.m. and on Sunday from 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
The Jack Daniel’s Invitational consists of three rounds of competition. Scores from rounds one and two are combined, with the top 15 riders advancing to the Built Ford Tough Championship Round after intermission on Sunday. In the end, the cowboy with the highest total score on three bulls will be declared the winner.
The PBR is having the deepest title race in history. In the first half of the season there were nine lead changes, with six different riders on top of the standings, including Nunes, who is ranked first for the second time after his victory in Pueblo, Colo., in May. The first 22 events have produced 15 different winners, including Meier, who has won a season-leading four events and enters San Antonio ranked second, only 1,585.5 points behind Nunes.
PBR is the premiere bull riding organization in the world, boasting athletes from the United States, Mexico, Australia, Brazil and Canada. One of the fastest growing sports in the country, the PBR’s events air weekly on VERSUS, NBC, CBS and FOX. For more information on Professional Bull Riders, please visit www.pbr.com or contact Sara Broun at (719) 242-2800 (sbroun@pbrnow.com).
Join PBR on Facebook www.facebook.com/TeamPBR and Twitter www.twitter.com/teamPBR
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About Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR):
More than 100 million viewers tune in each year to the PBR on VERSUS, NBC, CBS and FOX and a host of foreign networks across the globe. With approximately 400 hours of prime time programming annually PBR ranks among the most prolific sports on air, in addition to attracting over 1.5 million live event attendees each year with its multi-tiered event structure which includes the marquee Built Ford Tough Series and Touring Pro Division. PBR is headquartered in Pueblo, Colo., and has over 1,200 bull riders compete in more than 300 PBR-sanctioned competitions in the United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada and Mexico.
For more on PBR, please visit www.pbr.com, www.teampbr.com, www.pbr.tv, www.myspace.com/teampbr, www.twitter.com/teampbr or www.pbr.com/worldfinals/.
