GREENSBORO, N.C. – Two-time World Champion J.B. Mauney knows he needs to finish, and what better place to punch his ticket to the 2018 PBR World Finals than his home state?
The Mooresville, North Carolina, native helped his case toward qualifying for the World Finals on Saturday night by beginning the Cooper Tires Take The Money and Ride with 85.25 points aboard Pogo.
“I don’t pay attention to it, but I know I am on the bubble,” Mauney said. “I know I need to ride bulls. You have to put that (race) aside. When you crawl up in that chute, it is the same steps every time. Here lately I haven’t been leaving with them bulls and that bull kind of bucked in there and turned out backwards. He made me start moving and I feel like I rode like I am supposed to ride.”
Mauney finished tied for fifth place in Round 1 with Cody Teel to pick up 22.5 world points.
The future Ring of Honor inductee – the No. 34-ranked rider in the world standings – is not out of the woods yet by any means as he holds only a 54.16-point advantage on No. 36 Brock Radford with one regular-season event remaining, as well as some non-premier series events.
Radford was bucked off by Dark Matter in 4.52 seconds.
The last time the PBR visited Greensboro in 2012, it was Mauney leaving the Greensboro Coliseum with the victory following a 3-for-3 showing.
He will need another perfect performance to get the victory in Greensboro this weekend.
The problem is Mauney has not ridden three bulls in a single event since the season opener at Madison Square Garden nine months ago.
There have been three instances in the last five weeks where Mauney began an event with a Round 1 ride only to buck off in Round 2.
“All it is boiling down to is the same thing, which is always my worst habit – thinking too much,” Mauney said. “I think, ‘Alright. I got one down. Come back tomorrow get one rode and make it back to the short round.’
“You have to forget all that. When I was riding the best I ever rode, I didn’t give a shit about what happened tomorrow. Every day was a different bull riding and I ain’t care what tomorrow brought. I was worried about today.”
Mauney is slated to face Whiskey Throttle (4-0, PBR UTB) in Round 2 on Sunday.
Fans can watch Round 2 on CBS Sports Network at 6 p.m. ET or on RidePass at 1:45 p.m. ET.
Mauney does not feel like there is more pressure with less than four weeks until the Finals, or that time is running out, but he certainly knows a victory on Sunday would clinch the 12-time PBR World Finalist another trip to Las Vegas.
“It don’t bother me,” Mauney said. “I like it when the pressure is on. That is when you got to show out. In my eyes, that is what makes a champion. You can ride good all year long, but like when it comes down to Vegas and it’s the last minute, that is when you know a guy is a real champion. When they show out then.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko