FORT WORTH, Texas – It wasn’t so long ago that the Western world watched on as PBR legend Cody Lambert successfully coached his Texas Rattlers to securing the 2023 PBR Teams World Championship honors inside T-Mobile Arena last fall.

Just the second squad to enjoy the honors as the PBR Camping World Team Series prepares to enter its third orbit around the sun, the team ended its run in epic fashion, with a Texas-based cowboy delivering one of the most clutch rides in PBR history.

The sun is a star after all. And so is Daniel Keeping, the very man who found himself sitting in the chutes during the team’s final out of the postseason gauntlet.

Going the distance en route to throwing down a rank 90.5-point, championship-clinching out aboard Red River, he queued the celebrations as he delivered his team to the promised land.

While the talent hasn’t found much success throughout a majority of his 2024 season, his knack for stepping into the limelight in the direst of circumstances continued Wednesday night.

And when you consider the Texas Rattlers star helped pour fuel into an already fiery 5-on-5 series by breaking out during the inaugural series of summer fun, he really has cranked things up a notch when the lights are brightest.

Turning up the temperature by recording the first conversion of the night, he danced with Grey Fox to the tune of 83.5 points as he embraced the ride-or-go-home format off the bat.

“I just try to enjoy the moment a little more but it’s a little more pressure and I seem to,” Keeping shared.”

“If you step back and take a couple of breaths, it’s a lot easier than what we make it out to be.”

Easier said than done on any given night, the midweek affair’s circumstances are quite different than a typical showdown, as the event’s Top 5-placing riders earn a bid to the 2024 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast – Championship in Arlington, Texas, May 18-19.

While he’d love to check that box for the opportunity to not only avenge his 0-for-7 showing during his World Finals debut in 2023, he knows he still has to take care of business Thursday to finish strong, refusing to get caught up in the opening night flare.

“It’d be a blessing and be exciting to try to save myself from last year and do something great,” he said.

“I’m blessed to finally connect the dots and get the ball rolling. Last year down at the Finals, this year I didn’t have the year I wanted to, but it felt good to finally start something off on the right foot. I’m just ready to rock n roll and keep it going.”

With each of the 10 PBR Teams organizations able to invite one rider each to the Ride For Redemption stop, Lambert and the Rattlers tapped Keeping to represent the club.

In part due to the fact that they believe in him and wanted to see him get another chance on the world’s largest stage. But with each of the team’s other riders already qualified or unable to compete due to injury or conflicting schedules, Keeping was the easy choice.

He wasn’t looking for a handout, by any means. But when a chance to get your swagger back and potentially compete for hundreds of thousands of dollars comes along, not to mention the lore of the historic Cowtown Coliseum and all that goes hand-in-hand with the World Finals environment itself, it’s also an easy decision.

“I don’t look at it as a favor necessarily. I just look at all of the hard work and dedication,” he said.

“All of the other guys were doing their jobs, so it kind of makes me feel good to get back to doing what I know how to do too.”

Getting the job done in front of family members, friends and several rowdy Rattlers’ supporters, as the team’s headquarters are based here in Fort Worth, Texas, he recognized his supporters for their role.

But equally as sweet for the worker bee, he made it count most in a venue which is dear to him.

“It’s fun to get it started, especially since it’s kind of like a hometown thing. I’ve been coming here since I was little, so it kind of feels like one of those honey holes that never disappoints,” Keeping said.

“The support of the fans and the family here, it helps out a lot. It’s just a nice place to enjoy yourself. You can’t go wrong coming to Cowtown.”

Residing in Montague, Texas, just some 77 miles away, it was a homecoming affair for the talented 24-year-old. And while he finds himself as the official bubble man, courtesy of his fifth-place finish in the opening round, he’ll prepare to don the lights, camera and action once again.

An all too familiar spot for the fan-favorite.

“Everything has an up and down to it. If you just keep a straight, valued point in your life, you just keeping going straight. The ups and downs, they even out in the end. One day you can be hotter than the sun, one day you can be colder than ice.”

Shoutout to the sun, in this case Keeping, as he plans to light the place on fire when he returns to Cowtown Coliseum Thursday night in attempting to secure what would be a second-straight trip to the World Finals.

Set to dance with Mr. Right Now when the last-chance format brings its final night of anticipation to the Fort Worth Stockyards, he’s welcoming all the smoke ahead of what could be his final opportunity to shine.

“Keep the gas on in the oven. Leave the oven door open and I’ll warm everything up in the house.”

Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media