After a weekend off, the PBR riders and bulls resume in Nashville for the Jack Daniel’s Invitational. The stop is the first of two consecutive weeks the Built Ford Tour Series will be in Tennessee. Both world title races are heating up, and every ride will literally make a difference moving forward. Renato Nunes increased his lead in the standings last weekend, and he will be looking to move ahead even more at this event. On the bull side of things, Code Blue will be making his return from injury. Here are five questions I have heading into this weekend’s event. If you have anything to add, please comment below or email me at: [email protected]. Enjoy!
1. Who Will be Number Two After This Event?
I mentioned above Renato Nunes increased his lead in the world standings last weekend, and regardless of what happens this week, he will still be at the top. The more intriguing question centers around who will be in second after Nashville. Austin Meier has bucked off his last five bulls and now sits 1,700 points behind Nunes. Valdiron de Oliveira, on the other hand, has moved from eighth to third over the last two events and looks to be nearly unstoppable. Meanwhile, Travis Briscoe can also move to second with a great event.
Meier’s struggles have been well-documented, but it’s time for him to break out of his mini-slump. If anyone thinks he will bow out of this title race, they are kidding themselves. He is as gritty as they come in this sport, and he will get things together. He may not win in Nashville, but he will be a factor before the weekend is over. Valdiron may also ride well again, but Meier will do enough to hold him off for at least another week. Briscoe probably won’t be on my radar until he shows he is healthy.
2. How Will Code Blue Look After Returning From Injury?
Code Blue has been fighting the injury bug a little in recent months, but he will be making his much-anticipated return in Nashville. People seem to forget how dominant he was last year, and other than his one bad out in Dallas (on a back-to-back trip), he has been pretty darn impressive this year as well. His trip with Austin Meier in Oklahoma City earlier this year is the rankest I’ve seen in 2010.
Even with his bad out, he still has an average bull score of 45.48 points. That’s extremely impressive! As for his performance this upcoming weekend, I expect nothing but the best. If he has been cleared, that means he is ready for action. I expect something 45 or above.
3. Will Anyone Make a Move Into the Top 10?
There are three events until the Final Five Chase begins, so the riders on the outside-looking-in will be trying their hardest to make a move into the top 10. Dustin Elliott had a solid weekend in San Antonio, and he moved up to 13th in the process. Elliott and Shane Proctor (12th) have the most realistic shot at making a move towards the top 10, but they will have to win or come pretty close to make that happen.
McKennon Wimberly still sits in 10th in the standings, and his lead is a little over 400 over Proctor and 500 over Elliott. Wimberly has been struggling lately, but he should still be in that last spot after Nashville. Whether or not he stays there until the Final Five Chase begins is another question. This will be another intriguing race to watch as the Greenville event approaches in a few weeks.
4. How Will Uncle Buck Look in his Debut Under Jeff Robinson?
The biggest bull news announced in recent weeks was the news Uncle Buck along with Buffalo Hump and Real Moody had been purchased by Jeff Robinson and partners. Fans won’t have to wait long to see Uncle Buck, as he will be debuting under Robinson this weekend in Nashville. The bull is undoubtedly one of the top-10 animal athletes in the PBR, and his appearance this weekend and next can only be a good thing for everyone involved.
Uncle Buck has been great this season, and as long as he has his fair trip, he will be tough to beat down the stretch. I’m excited to see how he looks after not seeing him for a few months. Also keep an eye on the other two Robinson purchased. Buffalo Hump was one of the best bulls in San Antonio a couple weeks ago, and Real Moody has been absolutely rank at times this season.
5. Will the Real J.B. Mauney Please Stand Up?
J.B. Mauney is one of the most popular PBR riders by far, and he is also one of the best when he is on his game. It’s been a weird year for him so far. He was one of the definite favorites to win a World Title this year, and he started off the season looking like the man to beat. A few months into the season, however, he started struggling pretty bad. Since then, he has been fighting his head and a number of injuries.
Mauney has showed signs the past couple BFTS events, and he has ridden some bulls at the Touring Pro Division as well. It’s clear he is fighting his head more than anything, but as we all know, it will only take one for him to turn it on. And if he does, he will move up the standings extremely fast. I could see him making a small run towards the end of the year, but he just hasn’t shown me much lately to believe he will be a serious threat down the stretch. Like him or hate him, however, we can probably all agree the sport is better when Mauney is near the top of the leaderboard.
Don’t believe there will be a lot of changes in the top 10 by the time the final 5 chase gets here. Skeeter is out until Ontario, Josh is out for the year, Shane is not riding well and the distance for others to make up is quite a bit. I think one or two spots might change, but I have a feeling we will not see much of a change in the current top 10, other than them jostlng for positions within the top 10. Would love to see Dustin move up into the top 10, but not sure that will happen.
My two cents:
1. I’m going out on a limb: Valdiron is going to move into second.
2. Code Blue has a clean bill of health, but he hasn’t bucked since he got hurt, so I have some anxiety about what will happen when he does. I’ll breathe easy if he’s okay after Nashville. He is one amazing bull and if he stays well he tops my list of contenders for PBR Bull of the Year.
3. McKennon’s riding the bubble. And with Palermo out, someone’s going to have a shot at moving into the top ten pretty soon.
4. Uncle Buck – We all know he’s a gangster and I don’t think there’s any reason to think we’ll see him be anything other than that no matter whose truck he’s riding in.
5. J.B. – I don’t love him or hate him, but it pains me to see a rider of his caliber struggle as much as he has this year. So I hope he’ll find his way out of whatever the heck mindset he’s gotten himself into. He’s capable of making a move, definitely, if he’d only start staying on. He’s still riding something like 65% of the short go bulls he gets on. The problem being, of course, that he hasn’t gotten on any in quite a while.
Catherine
Rank: Bucking bulls, breeders, and bull riding
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