YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – North Carolinian Josh Stepp (Hendersonville, North Carolina) leads the pack after the opening round of the Boot Barn PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Youngstown.

Paired with Grey Goose (LH Cattle Co.) in the opening round, the duo rocketed out of the gate in sync for 85 points.

In search of his first career PBR victory, Stepp heads to Round 2 with 28 more points in the Velocity Global standings.

Right on his spurs after Round 1 are Jesse Petri (Dublin, Texas) and Dawson Branton (Jefferson, Oregon).

Looking to punch his ticket back to the premier series, the soft-spoken Petri roared out of the gate on Kephart’s Soloman (G&H Cattle) for 84.5 points.

In the final out of the evening, Branton matched the Texan by covering Grayson (J Bar W) for 84.5 points of his own.

The duo garnered 17.5 Velocity Global points for their respective efforts.

The first qualified ride of the evening belonged to Brandon Chambers (Newport, North Carolina), who finished fourth.

After the bulls dominated the first section, the North Carolinian finally broke the shutout for 83 points on Red Bull (Sho-Me Rodeo/Burkman).

He returns to the Covelli Centre tomorrow with 16 more Velocity Global points.

Rounding out the evening’s qualified rides was Joao Paulo Fernandes (Hidrolina, Brazil).

Locked in a chute with Crazed Addiction (Cornwell Bucking Bulls), the Brazilian roared out of the gates and hung on for the 8 for 81.5 points.

He left the arena with 15 Velocity Global points.

Velocity Global points contribute to the Velocity Global Standings and determine which new riders are added to the elite Unleash The Beast throughout the season. The Top 3 Velocity Global riders who have not already qualified are also invited to the PBR World Finals in May.

The Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour action in Youngstown concludes tomorrow, Saturday, February 17, with Round 2 and the championship round beginning at 7 p.m. EST.

PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Boot Barn PBR Youngstown Covelli Centre – Youngstown, Ohio Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points) 1. Josh Stepp, 85-0-0-85.00-28 Points. 2. Dawson Branton, 84.5-0-0-84.50-17.5 Points. (tie). Jesse Petri, 84.5-0-0-84.50-17.5 Points. 4. Brandon Chambers, 83-0-0-83.00-16 Points. 5. João Paulo Fernandes, 81.5-0-0-81.50-15 Points. Michael Lane, 0-0-0-0.00 Hunter Ball, 0-0-0-0.00 Cody McCandless, 0-0-0-0.00 Tyler Manor, 0-0-0-0.00 Dustin Herman, 0-0-0-0.00 Justin Ethridge, 0-0-0-0.00 Dylan Smith, 0-0-0-0.00 Matt Allgood, 0-0-0-0.00 Dustin Martinez, 0-0-0-0.00 Ueberson Duarte, 0-0-0-0.00 Cameron Delano, 0-0-0-0.00 Trace Brown, 0-0-0-0.00 Eduardo de Oliveira, 0-0-0-0.00 Alex Jenks, 0-0-0-0.00 Jake Goodson, 0-0-0-0.00 Tristen Marshall, 0-0-0-0.00 Devon Weaver, 0-0-0-0.00 Cole Trivette, 0-0-0-0.00 Matt Hennelly, 0-0-0-0.00 Eli Byler, 0-0-0-0.00 Eder Barbosa, 0-0-0-0.00 Perry Schrock, 0-0-0-0.00 Joseph Petersheim, 0-0-0-0.00 Brandon Ferguson, 0-0-0-0.00 Michael Phillips, 0-0-0-0.00 Winston Speicher, 0-0-0-0.00 Brylee Smith, 0-0-0-0.00 Wyatt Mandel, 0-0-0-0.00 Geferson Damascena, 0-0-0-0.00 Trace Redd, 0-0-0-0.00 Eli Hershberger, 0-0-0-0.00 Dakota Johnson, 0-0-0-0.00 Douglas da Silva Barreto, 0-0-0-0.00 Thomas Tindell, 0-0-0-0.00 Kyle Toth, 0-0-0-0.00 Photo courtesy of Andre Silva/Bull Stock Media