CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Austin Dillon leans against a black metal railing, a cowboy hat on his head, cowboy boots on his feet and a cowboy shirt on his chest. He looks west, into the distance beyond the bull ring in front of him, as the sun buries itself in the vast Wyoming landscape. The sky swirls with red, orange and yellow, each bleeding into the other.
Dillon’s focus returns to the rodeo arena in front of him. When a bull leaves the chute with a rider named Boudreaux Campbell perched atop his back, Dillon’s body tenses. He’s nervous, more than when he races his No. 3 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, because when he races, he has some control over what happens. Now, as general manager of the Carolina Cowboys, a team in Professional Bull Riders’ brand-new league, he is utterly helpless.
The bull — coincidentally named Dr. Campbell — bucks once, twice, three times, and somehow Boudreaux Campbell hangs on. With each buck of the bull, Dillon edges up the railing, as if by climbing he can somehow will Boudreaux Campbell to remain atop Dr. Campbell.
The seconds tick off on the way to 8, the number that declares a bull ride “qualifying,” meaning it will get a score; if Campbell falls off before that, it’s an automatic zero.
Campbell’s body contorts like it’s made of rubber, his back bending like a giant C. Five seconds, six, seven … Dillon’s hat is no longer on his head. It’s in his right hand, and he’s waving it over his head in giant circles, in beat with the bucks. Finally, mercifully, the horn sounds at the 8-second mark. The crowd, already frenzied, erupts.