LAS VEGAS – Chase Outlaw’s face was nearly completely wrapped in gauze, a bag of ice on top of it, and there were bandages covering his eyes as he lay restless in his hospital bed inside Cheyenne Regional Medical Center in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on July 25.
The bull rider-turned-mummy had not even been out of surgery for 48 hours yet after undergoing 12 hours of facial reconstruction to repair the damage done following a gruesome wreck at the PBR Touring Pro Division event at Cheyenne Frontier Days on July 23.
Outlaw was struggling to find a container in which to spit the blood that was still draining out of his face. At one point, he accidently knocked over the container and quickly became enraged with frustration.
The hospital was the last place Outlaw wanted to be, but that was the consequence of being head-butted by War Cloud during his 1.51-second buckoff.
The pain in his face made it hard for him to have any sort of comfort level.
Outlaw may not have been able to physically see clearly out of his eyes as he sat up in his hospital bed, but he already was thinking forward.
“I won’t be out long,” Outlaw said with his daughter, Chloe (3), son, Hayes (8 months), sister Brittany and wife Nicole in the room. “I’m still going to make the Finals. I will only be out a few weeks.”
At first, it appeared that maybe his pain medication was making his mentality a little fuzzy.
Outlaw had already missed the first six months of the season because of his third reconstructive shoulder surgery since 2015.
He was facing a long road to recovery with his face – one that is still far from over – and he was expected to be out 2 to 3 months.
Outlaw was not joking though.
He knew he would make the World Finals for a seventh consecutive season.
For years Outlaw has lived up to a goal he set when he first turned pro: “Never miss the Finals.”
His chances appeared to be relatively slim when he returned on Oct. 6 in Milwaukee. There was only one month left until the 2018 PBR World Finals and he was sitting 76th in the world standings.
He had three premier series events and two Velocity Tour events to try and make up 497.5 points in the standings.
However, it didn’t take long for Outlaw to quickly prove he was not simply speaking big game.
Outlaw rode his first bull, Switch Hitter, for 87.5 points 75 days after having 68 screws, 11 plates and four pieces of surgical mesh inserted into his face.
The ride was the first of 10 in 15 attempts.
Outlaw’s journey to the 2018 PBR World Finals came full circle on Saturday night at the 2018 Real Time Pain Relief Velocity Tour Finals.
The 26-year-old’s 87.5-point ride on SW 506 in Round 2 propelled him to his second Velocity Tour Finals victory and clinched him a spot in the 2018 PBR World Finals.
Outlaw, who was competing at the Velocity Finals because of an injury exemption, will head into T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday ranked No. 22 in the world standings.
“I was taking my career for granted,” Outlaw admitted. “I was not taking it really serious. I was showing up and doing it. I wasn’t getting it done like I should have. It took that devastating injury to put things into perspective. I wish it would not have took that, but it did. You can only play the hand you are dealt and that is the hand I was dealt. You keep moving forward.”
Outlaw (2-for-3, 176) held off Alisson de Souza (2-for-3, 175), Luis Blanco (2-for-3, 169), Paulo Lima (2-for-3, 169) and Juan Carlos Contreras (2-for-3, 165) for the event title and 29,600.00.
The Hamburg, Arkansas, cowboy began the weekend by winning Round 1 with 88.5 points aboard Bowie Daze.
Outlaw was also named as the third member of the Team USA Eagles on Friday night by Team USA coach Justin McBride.
RELATED: Outlaw to bring firepower, energy and heart to Team USA
He then had the opportunity to win the 2018 Real Time Pain Relief Velocity Tour Championship with a ride on Max Bet, but he was bucked off in 5.11 seconds on the final ride of the night.
“I just told myself I was going to ride every bull I put my hand in the rope on, and if I did that then the rest would take care of itself,” Outlaw said. “I didn’t do that. I done enough to where I got the job done. I am not pleased about it. I wish I would have rode all of them.
“Should have, could have, would have. I should have had a helmet on at Cheyenne, but I freaking didn’t. We are here now.”
Outlaw has another major surgery scheduled on Nov. 29 to make further repairs to his face.
The surgery is expected to take six to seven hours in Dallas and will involve three different doctors.
“There will be an eye doctor, a nose doctor and then a sinus doctor draining all the sinus deal out of me once they fix me.”
First, though, Outlaw has his focus on the World Finals.
Outlaw heads into the season-finale 21-for-44 (47.73 percent) at all levels of competition.
The last time Outlaw was inside T-Mobile Arena, his right shoulder was being torn to pieces as he rode Indian Medicine for 90.5 points in the championship round.
He has quickly become the comeback story of the year in the PBR, and he may just become one of the favorites to win the World Finals event title.
“I feel like I am riding just as good, if not better, than I have in my whole life,” Outlaw concluded. “Just keep having faith in myself and keep doing my job. This is awesome.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
