FORT WORTH, Texas – Dalton Kasel was walking around the Best Hat Store in Fort Worth, Texas, on Wednesday when he ran into stock contractors Laramie Wilson and Katie Perschbacher.
The trio got to talking about the upcoming 2022 PBR World Finals and how Kasel had plans to hopefully select their bull, reigning YETI World Champion Woopaa, and make history.
“I’m going to pick Woopaa, and I’m going to break the record,” Kasel told them. “I’m going to be 99.75.”
Well, Kasel does not have to wait long at all.
On Friday night, he selected Woopaa with the third pick in the Round 2 bull draft after placing third in Round 1 with a 90.25-point ride aboard Tulsa Time. He will attempt to break reigning World Champion Jose Vitor Leme’s record score of 98.75 points Saturday night at Dickies Arena (8 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network).
It has only been six months since Leme teamed up with Woopaa for a historic 98.75 points to win the 2021 PBR World Finals and his second World Championship, and Kasel now has his sights on making his own push at a gold buckle aboard Woopaa.
The No. 5-ranked bull rider lit up when he saw world leader Joao Ricardo Vieira skip selecting Woopaa with the No. 2 pick in the draft. Vieira (90.25 points on Flapjack) and Kasel tied with Mason Taylor (90.25 points aboard Crossover) for second place in Round 1, but Vieira received the higher draft choice because the world standings was the tiebreaker. Round 1 winner Brady Oleson (91.25 points on Alakazam) selected Juju with the top selection.
“I was surprised,” Kasel said after high-fiving Perschbacher and Wilson, who were in the locker room observing the draft. “I’m happy. He bucked me off once, and I rode him once. I’m excited to get the chance again at him.”
Kasel previously teamed up with Woopaa for the third-highest score in PBR history when he rode the rank superstar for 96.75 points last year in San Antonio. Woopaa then bucked Kasel off in 7.2 seconds last month in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The matchup is not only a dream come true for Kasel but also for Wilson and Perschbacher.
Wilson explained to PBR.com how vital the draw would be as Woopaa is attempting to become the sixth bull in PBR history to win back-to-back world titles. Woopaa begins the Finals in a dead tie in the YETI World Champion Bull race with fellow No. 1 Ridin Solo.
WoopaaandRidin Solo are tied with a World Champion Bull average (Top 6 outs) of 46.29 points from the regular season.
The 2022 YETI World Champion Bull will be the animal with the highest average bull score from their top-six regular-season outs and two outs at the PBR World Finals.
Ridin Solo will be facing off against PRCA No. 3 Josh Frost, who finished sixth in Round 1 with 88.75 points on Big Wave.
Woopaa was marked 46 points with Kasel in their April matchup and 47.25 points when he rode him.
2022 has been a harder mountain to climb for Woopaa, but Wilson believes Kasel is a close to perfect draw they needed to get their 2022 World Finals started on the right foot.
“This year has already been harder,” Wilson said. “It was tough last year, I’m not saying it wasn’t, but from last year to this year, last year was a breeze. I could do no wrong. Woopaa could do no wrong. Every time we turned around, it was Boudreaux (Campbell) or Jose, and we were X points. This year, we haven’t been as fortunate with the drawing. Jose was hurt a little bit. Boudreaux was hurt most of the year, so we didn’t get to match up with him and get those big scores like we did last year.”
Meanwhile, Kasel is very much alive in the 2022 World Championship race on the rider side.
His PBR-leading eighth 90-point ride of the season has him within 290 points of Vieira in the world standings. There are still 1,183 world points available for one rider to earn in Fort Worth.
“I needed that, and I came in here with the plan to win,” Kasel concluded. “That’s the thing. Everybody has me out of it, but I’m not. I guarantee that this isn’t going to be the only 90 for me the rest of the week.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media