TULSA, Okla. (July 16, 2010) - This year’s World Champion won’t be crowned by for another 101 days.
But as the Built Ford Tough Series resumes tonight in Tulsa, Okla., it’s only fitting to look back at the facts, figures, news, names and numbers that made up the first 20 events of the 2010 season.
There have been 15 different event winners, and only three of them have managed to win more than once – Austin Meier four times, Renato Nunes twice, and Valdiron de Oliveira twice.
Only seven times has the average leader going into the Built Ford Tough Championship Round failed to win the event.
Meier failed to so in Tampa, Fla., where he finished by splitting fifth and sixth, only to come back a week later and win in Winston-Salem, N.C. Travis Briscoe fell from first to fourth in the average in Nampa, Idaho, and then came back a week later to take the win from J.B. Mauney in Billings, Mont.
Robson Palermo, who is ranked fifth in the standings, is the lone rider to have given way twice when entering the final round in the lead. He finished fifth in Kansas City, Mo., and third in Albuquerque, N.M.
Sean Willingham, who went into the short round leading the average in Baltimore, finished the lowest in the average when he dropped to seventh. Conversely, L.J. Jenkins overcame the biggest obstacle when he won in Glendale, Ariz., despite entering the short round in the fifth spot, but it took a season-high 94-point effort on Voodoo Child to accomplish the feat.
Twice, riders have come from the fourth spot in the average to win (Oliveira in Baltimore and Wiley Petersen in Tampa). Silvano Alves was in the third spot in the average going into the final round when he wound up winning his BFTS debut event in Nampa. On three occasions, the second-place rider heading into the final 15 has won the event (Meier in Kansas City and Albuquerque, and Briscoe in Billings).
Of the seven riders who failed to hold the lead in the short round, Aaron Roy is the only one who didn’t win despite earning a qualified ride. In Glendale, he scored 89.5 points on RMEF Bugle, only lose out to Jenkins by half a point.
Although the summer break from the BFTS essentially serves as the midway point on the calendar, only a third of the events (10) remain before the 2010 PBR World Finals, which gets underway in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Oct. 20.
WHO’S IN, WHO’S OUT
Five of the top-ranked riders in the world – Briscoe, 3, Mauney, 7, Jenkins, 18, Jordan Hupp, 19, and Ross Coleman, 22 – are back in the draw after missing time with injuries. So too are Brian Canter and Michael Manes.
Ryan Dirteater is also cleared to compete, but the 21-year-old has said he has no immediate plans to compete at any BFTS events. He plans to carry over his five injury exemptions to next year, and finish out the 2010 season at Touring Pro events with the intention of returning to the BFTS in January at the start of the 2011 season.
While half a dozen riders used the summer break to heal from injuries, four others – Palermo, 5, Skeeter Kingsolver, 11, Josh Koschel, 13, and Rocky McDonald, 38 – were not so fortunate.
Palermo is hoping to return in Nashville, Tenn., after tearing his left biceps muscle, Kingsolver is out for three months with a torn PCL, Koschel is considering season-ending surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff, and McDonald is out for at least one event with a broken right hand and a broken left thumb.
Kody Lostroh, the reigning World Champion, is still recovering from a pair of surgeries to repair damage to his left shoulder and elbow. The Colorado native, who has already secured a spot in the upcoming Finals, is hoping to compete in the final two BFTS events – Uncasville, Conn., and Columbus, Ohio – and then focus on winning the 2010 World Finals event, which pays out $250,000 to the winner.
WATCH LIVE ONLINE
All three days of action from the Express Classic will be available live at www.pbr.tv and www.versus.com. Fans who can’t catch the live event will be able to watch the event on-demand at pbr.tv.
Online coverage will feature the live in-arena feed from the event, including every ride as called by announcers Brandon Bates and Clint Adkins, along with comedy stylings of Flint Rasmussen and other live event activities as they happen.
PBR MAILBAG
What is going on with Rocky McDonald? We have not heard of him throughout the break. How is he doing? (Saul, Albuquerque, N.M.)
Earlier this summer, McDonald was in Australia when a bull stepped on his left thumb. When he returned to the U.S., he had it and his sore right hand looked at. Doctors told him that both the right hand and his left thumb were broken, so McDonald said he’s “finally taking time off.”
He said neither injury is bad, and that both breaks are more like nagging injuries, but they won’t heal until he takes the time off. Although he isn’t 100-percent certain, McDonald said he thinks he broke his right hand back in Wichita, Kan., and that it had been bothering him ever since.
“I’ll be back before long,” said McDonald, who hopes to return to the BFTS in a couple weeks for the U.S. Air Force Invitational in San Antonio.
When will Brian Canter be riding again? (Lindsay, Nashville, Tenn.)
Canter is in the draw this weekend. He’s matched up with Hard Rock in the opening round of the Express Classic. The North Carolina native has missed the past 10 BFTS events after having his hip and knee surgically repaired. His goal all along was to return to competition this weekend; however, at the onset of the summer break, he was hoping for San Antonio and thought Nashville would be more likely.
The 23-year-old couldn’t resist returning this weekend.
He is currently ranked 38th in the world standings and will be using his five injury exemptions to reassert himself in the Top 30 and assure himself of a chance of competing in all 10 of the remaining events. Only three riders – Lostroh, 24, Alves, 28, and Pistol Robinson, 32 – are ranked higher in the standings after competing in fewer events. All three have won an event this year.
Canter’s bigger challenge will be qualifying for the 2010 PBR World Finals. Because of the injuries, which kept him from even competing at the lower-level events this summer, he’s earned $16,158.22, and will have to make up just over $15,000 to move from 68th in the qualifier standings to the Top 40.
