Bangor, ME. – After the first of three days of action at the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour’s PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Bangor at Cross Insurance Center, Eli Vastbinder (Statesville, North Carolina) sits atop the leaderboard.

A veteran rider for the Texas Rattlers on the separate PBR Camping World Team Series, Vastbinder won the round by topping Inaffit (Dave Martin/Mike Miller Bucking Bulls) for 86 points.

The first-round victory earned the North Carolinian 28 Velocity Global points.

Right on his spurs in second is Kane Taylor (Monticello, Arkansas).

Taylor roared out of the chutes in the opening round and covered Flash Back (Lucky E Rodeo) for 83 points, holding the lead for most of the evening until Vastbinder’s ride.

The ride netted the Arkansas cowboy 18 Velocity Global points.

In third place after Friday night’s action is Lucas Felix (MT. Cacenas, Brazil).

In search of his first career PBR victory, the Brazilian cowboy rocketed out of the gate for 82.5 points on Helena’s Pet (J Bar W).

Felix garnered 17 Velocity Global points heading into Saturday.

Veteran Mason Taylor (Maypearl, Texas) also covered his Round 1 opponent, finishing fourth.

Locked in the chutes with Lemonader (Lucky E Rodeo), the Nashville Stampede’s Taylor thundered out of the chutes for 77.5 points.

The fourth-place finish garnered the Texan 8 Velocity Global points.

Paving the way for the powerful bovine competitors was Pneu-Dart’s Chief Wahoo (Mike Miller Bucking Bulls) who bucked off Dalton Rudman (Wellington, Utah) in 1.76 seconds for 43.5 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 Bangor continues tomorrow, Saturday, March 9, with Round 2 beginning at 7 p.m. EST and concludes Sunday, March 10, with Round 3 and the championship round beginning at 2 p.m. EDT.

PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour PBR Bangor Cross Insurance Center – Bangor, Maine Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Round 4-Event Aggregate-Event Points) 1. Eli Vastbinder, 86-0-0-0-86.00-28 Points. 2. Kane Taylor, 83-0-0-0-83.00-18 Points. 3. Lucas Felix, 82.5-0-0-0-82.50-17 Points. 4. Mason Taylor, 77.5-0-0-0-77.50-8 Points. Grayson Cole, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Dustin Herman, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Ezekiel Mitchell, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Brandon Chambers, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Tyler Manor, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Matt Allgood, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Wyatt Rogers, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Andrew Alvidrez, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Zane Cook, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Matt Hennelly, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Trace Redd, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Josh Stepp, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Ueberson Duarte, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Jake Morinec, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Eder Barbosa, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Dustin Martinez, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Dalton Rudman, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Bryan Titman, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Bennie Shetler, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Nick Tetz, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Colt Robinson, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Vinicius Rainer, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Walter Oliveira, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Michael Phillips, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Winston Speicher, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Wengleiman Peres, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Kyle Toth, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Marco Anthonio Silva Santos, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Dakota Johnson, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Douglas da Silva Barreto, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Hagen Braswell, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Photo courtesy of Andre Silva/Bull Stock Media