PUEBLO, Colo. – 2022 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour champion Clayton Sellars, 2021 Rookie of the Year Eli Vastbinder, 2020 PBR World Finals event winner Boudreaux Campbell and young gun Conner Halverson would be quite the dynamic quartet if somehow the group wound up on the same team for the inaugural PBR Team Series.
The 2022 PBR Team Series Draft, presented by ZipRecruiter, is slated for May 23 at Texas Live! in Arlington, Texas, and there is a strong chance all four riders will hear their names called during the five-round draft.
While the group may not be official teammates, their Saturday afternoon together in Corpus Christi, Texas, during the 2022 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals is another example of how team-like tendencies are already baked into the DNA for many in the PBR locker room.
It is not uncommon for riders to share rooms every week and travel up and down the PBR trail as a unit. On Saturday, Sellars, Vastbinder, Campbell and Halverson rented jet skis and bounced around the waves of the Gulf of Mexico before Round 2 of the Velocity Tour Finals.
All four riders had bucked off on Friday night in Round 1. Sellars said the opportunity to blow off some steam on Saturday afternoon and clear his mind was key in his last-second push for the 2022 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour championship.
“A team is going to increase everybody’s performance,” Sellars said. “A large reason why we win is because we expect to win when we show up. So when you show up and not only you expect to do good, but four other teammates who are just as good as you, or even better than you, and you are all expecting to do good as one team, that is so powerful you can’t explain it.
“When you combine that much power of expecting to win, I think it really will bring our riding through the roof.”
Sellars rallied for the $50,000 title on Saturday by first riding Dan Post’s Night Moves for 88.5 points in Round 2 to sneak into the championship round in the final spot (10th overall). The 2022 Rookie of the Year contender then conquered Harold’s Genuine Risk for 87.5 points to eventually win the championship round and finish second overall inside American Bank Center.
Event winner Cody Jesus would buck off King Brute (6.91 seconds) and finish 5.08 points shy of surpassing Sellars in the Velocity Tour standings, cementing Sellars a surprising Velocity Tour championship.
When talking about team camaraderie, Sellars was more focused on congratulating his rodeo trail pal Josh Frost for qualifying for the 2022 PBR World Finals (May 13-22 in Fort Worth, Texas) that he had no idea he had even won the Velocity Tour championship until Mason Taylor came looking for him inside the locker room.
“Dude, I had no clue,” a shocked Sellars said. “I had not the first clue. I just knew if I rode both my bulls, I could probably win a lot of money. That is what I knew. I just wrapped around my head that.”
Sellars is one of six riders who have qualified for their first PBR World Finals this year. He will head into Round 1 on Friday night at Dickies Arena amidst an intense battle with Bob Mitchell for the Rookie of the Year title. The other four riders making their first appearance at the Finals are No. 33 Brady Oleson, No. 38 Brandon Davis (Wild Card), No. 41 Casey Coulter (Wild Card) and No. 53 Josh Frost (Wild Card).
Mitchell also went 2-for-3 in Corpus Christi with 85-point rides aboard Desert Twister (85 points) and Bison to maintain a slim 38.92-point advantage on Sellars heading into the World Finals.
Mitchell is 13-for-38 (34.21%) on the Unleash The Beast with one 90-point ride, and Sellars is 9-for-30 (30%).
Both riders could be middle-round draft picks depending on injuries – Mitchell has been battling a right shoulder injury for the past month – and their performances at the World Finals in the next two weeks.
Whoever wins the Rookie of the Year title may increase their draft stock as well.
“Bobby is a good rider, too,” Sellars said. “I think that would really increase my draft pick, of course. It will be more of a consistent performance basis that will influence the coaches and stuff. That is what they want. They want consistency and talent. The draft being the day after World Finals, I can really showcase my talents, and that will be fresh on their mind the next day. This shines a little bit of light, but then again, I am just going to show up at the World Finals.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andre Silva/Bull Stock Media