PUEBLO, Colo. – This weekend, on May 5-6, the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals takes over Corpus Christi, Texas. Not only are the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals championship and season championship on the line, but it’s the last opportunity to qualify for the PBR World Finals on May 12-21 in Fort Worth, Texas.

The stakes are as high as they get.

It’s standard fare for the Velocity Finals, as over the years, the event has seen some big names and big results, often playing a key role in the World Championship race.

We’ll have to wait and see who the star will be this year in Corpus Christi, but in the meantime, let’s look back at the last few years of success stories from the Velocity Tour Finals.

Kimzey wins Velocity Tour Finals and qualifies for World Finals (2017)

LAS VEGAS – Sage Kimzey still remembers being 13 years old and watching one of his childhood idols – Justin McBride – win his second PBR World Championship by riding Camo for 92.25 points at the 2007 PBR World Finals.

It was the only time Kimzey ever stepped foot inside an arena for a PBR World Finals.

Fast forward to 10 years later and Kimzey will now be making his debut at the PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals on Wednesday night at T-Mobile Arena.

“That is pretty crazy to think about,” Kimzey said in disbelief. “10 years. Whenever McBride lived in Elk City (Oklahoma), that is only about 30 minutes from the house. I kind of grew up idolizing him and watching him ride. He was a solid, great bull rider. I don’t think there is anything that will ever compare to his ’05 world title when he was hanging off the side of Camo. It defied all logic, physics and everything. He got it done with good ole’ cowboy try.” 

Kimzey capped off a 4-for-4 performance this weekend at South Point Arena by riding Vegas Lights for 88 points to win the 2017 Real Time Pain Relief Velocity Tour Finals and $26,300.

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Chase Outlaw and Alisson de Souza are the RVT Finals and season champions (2018)

After recording an event win and four Top-10 efforts during the regular season, Alisson De Souza (Taubate, Brazil) used a runner-up finish at the Real Time Pain Relief Velocity Tour (RVT) Finals to propel him to the 2018 RVT Championship.

Starting the season culminating event for the PBR’s (Professional Bull Riders) Velocity Tour at No. 13 in the series standings, 95 points behind then tour No. 1 Michael Lane (Tazewell, Virginia), the 25-year-old Brazilian went 2-for-3 inside South Point Hotel & Casino, collecting 225 world points, to surge to the top of the rankings.

After covering Heartless (John Peck/Hale & Wallgren Bull Co.) for 87 points in Round 1, De Souza rebounded from a Round 2 buckoff early Saturday night with an 88-point, round winning ride aboard Handsome Jeff (K-C/Jo-Z Bucking Bulls) in the championship round.

For his efforts, he earned $72,600, including the $50,000 RVT Champion bonus.

Matching his rise up the RVT standings, De Souza also gained ground in the PBR world standings, rising to No. 34 after beginning the event No. 43. Courtesy of his newfound ranking inside the Top 35, De Souza has qualified for his career-first PBR World Finals.

For the second time in his career, Chase Outlaw (Hamburg, Arkansas) won the RVT Finals event title, earning $29,600 and 320 world points.

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Leme wins 2019 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Championship to extend lead atop world rankings (2019)

LAS VEGAS – World No. 1 Jose Vitor Leme (Ribas do Rio Pardo, Brazil) inched one step closer to etching his name in the PBR record books Sunday evening at the 2019 PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals, regarded as the “Championship before the Championship." Winning the season-culminating event for the league’s premier expansion series en route to capturing the coveted 2019 PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Championship, Leme left South Point Arena & Equestrian Center with a firmer hold atop the world standings, now 749.16 points ahead of No. 2 Jess Lockwood (Volborg, Montana) before the 2019 PBR Unleash The Beast World Finals on Nov. 6-10.

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Taylor lost 20 pounds on way to 2020 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Championship (2020)

PUEBLO, Colo. – Mason Taylor licked his lips and began to rattle off his favorite pizza toppings.

“Man, that meat lovers gets me every time,” Taylor said, laughing. “Sausage, pepperoni, ham and bacon. If I am going to eat it, I am going to go all out and eat it.”

There were very few slices of pizza consumed by Taylor last season.

He put his love of pizza on the back burner, as well as his obsession with ice cream, as he began to dedicate himself more to his body, and, in turn, his career.

Taylor has lost 20 pounds since the end of the 2019 season, and he is hopeful the weight loss will help him crack the Top 10 of the PBR world standings in 2021 following back-to-back Top-15 finishes.

In fact, Taylor was able to buy himself a celebratory pizza from Toppers Pizza in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, last month after he went 2-for-3 with two 90.5-point rides to win the 2020 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour championship.

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Salgado's Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour championship is a victory for entire family (2021)

LAS VEGAS – Adriano Salgado had tears running down his face on Sunday night as he accepted the 2021 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour championship.

Salgado was overcome with emotion as he thought about what the $50,000 championship bonus would mean for his family in Brazil, especially his 1-year-old son Henry Gabriel, and how blessed he was to have an opportunity to live out a dream his father gave up on pursuing two decades ago.

“This is amazing because me and my family, we were real simple coming up,” Salgado said with the help of Paulo Crimber translating. “Always hard workers. And without a doubt, this money is going to help us a lot.”

Not only did Adriano win the 2021 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour championship, but his brother Thiago Salgado also secured his first PBR World Finals qualification this weekend.

“It’s just another dream coming true, and that’s where we’re going to show everything we can do,” Adriano said. “That’s where we show how hard we worked to be here.”

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Sellars crowned 2022 PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Champion (2022)

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – As the climactic 2022 PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Season wound to a close Saturday evening in Corpus Christi, Clayton Sellars (Fruitland Park, Florida) reached a critical career milestone. Going a near-flawless 2-for-3 at the PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals, presented by Coastal Bend Chevy Dealers, Sellars was crowned the 2022 PBR Velocity Tour Champion.

“The start of the season was rough,” Sellars said from the dirt moments after being crowned PBR Velocity Tour Champion. “To fight through it and get through the adversity and get to the top is astronomically important for me.”

Sellars, however, wasn’t the only rider with cause to celebrate when the dust settled inside American Bank Center Arena. Not only did Cody Jesus (Window Rock, Arizona) earn the coveted title of PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals winner, but young gun Daylon Swearingen (Piffard, New York) delivered a third-place finish at the expansion series’ season-end event to catapult to the world No. 1 rank with just days remaining before the start of the 2022 PBR World Finals.

“It felt really good,” Jesus said of winning the event. “I’m here to ride bulls and do my job. I’m glad I’m finally doing it.”

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Photo courtesy of Andre Silva/Bull Stock Media