PUEBLO, Colo. – If anyone thought John Crimber’s rookie Unleash The Beast season was a fluke… well, we’ve got some news for you.

It appears he’s the real deal.

Just three months after finishing the 2024 PBR World Championship race ranked No. 2 – falling just short to eventual World Champion Cassio Dias on his final bull of the season – Crimber is once again atop the standings, this time leading the PBR Camping World Team Series MVP race.

With four events in the books, the Florida Freedom’s most recent No. 1 draft pick is an astounding 9-for-11 (81%) for an aggregate score of 787.75 points.

Crimber went 4-for-4 in his first two PBR Teams events, bucking off his first bull at Freedom Days in Sunrise, Florida, in an agonizing 7.24 seconds.

RELATED: No. 1 draft pick John Crimber 2-for-2 in Teams debut for Florida Freedom

He then rode his next five in a row before being dispatched by Ridin’ Salty at Maverick Days in Brooklyn, New York.

It’s an absolutely outstanding performance, especially since Crimber just recently turned 19.

While the Freedom have slipped to No. 7 in the standings with a 4-5 record, Crimber credits his teammates with his success.

On Friday night in Brooklyn, the Freedom’s game win against the Arizona Ridge Riders was already clinched when Crimber rode Armageddon for 87.5 points.

“If it wasn’t for this team, I don’t think we’d be riding so good,” he told Merit Street and CBS’s Kate Harrison in Brooklyn. “They motivate me, and they put me in a situation where I could just go out and have fun. So I can’t thank them enough, and I can’t thank the good lord enough for blessing me, too.”

Stock contractor and former Freedom head coach Cord McCoy was impressed with Crimber’s efforts.

“That’s exciting stuff right there, whether you win the game or not,” he said on the Merit Street broadcast. “That might be Armageddon, but I hope Crimber’s living right right now. Up and down, and he don’t even move off him. The bull stumbles. The correction’s so fast, you don’t even notice it in normal speed. Showing off there at the end, and we talk about when the guys get marked over the bulls – there at the end, he just showed seven judges, ‘I am so in control. I just do what I want.’”

While Crimber is living his best life, he’s not running away with the MVP race.

Not even close.

Just 91.25 points behind is two-time World Champion and two-time reigning PBR Teams MVP Jose Vitor Leme, who’s not about to give up his crown so quickly.

Leme had some question marks heading into this season as he missed most of the UTB season due to a lingering groin injury. An even passably healthy Leme is hard to beat, but would he be able to get back into the swing of things? Would he even be able to get on bulls? Are we going to be faced with a reduced-capacity Leme?

Turns out, none of those concerns hold any water at all.

RELATED: Dias and Leme trade blows, renew MVP rivalry as 2024 PBR Teams season begins

Leme has competed in all four events for the Austin Gamblers and is an eye-popping 8-for-9 (88%) with an aggregate of 696.5.

In Brooklyn, he first rode The Judge for 85.25 points to walk it off for the Gamblers against the Missouri Thunder.

“That wasn’t on a tee. That wasn’t an easy one,” McCoy said. “The Judge threw some changeups in there, waving the big horns in his face. He made Jose work for that 8 seconds. You see the rare, the drop. He didn’t commit to the left right out of there. Kind of threw a trick in there and had Jose on the end of his arm at the end, but what dedication Jose had right there. You can see the power coming into his arm three or four times. Jose is such an athlete.”

Leme then converted again for the Gamblers later that night, riding John 14:6 in the shootout round for 91.25 points – higher than any of Crimber’s scores this season.

“This is amazing,” Leme told Harrison following the shootout round. “Being here for the first time, riding with this crowd – I can’t ask for more than that. It was a big win for us, big day. I’m so happy to be healthy again, riding, doing what I love to do, helping my team win. And these guys, they’re part of it too. We can’t do all this if we’re not together, so thanks to my team. Thank God for helping us all the time. I’m so happy to be riding again because I was out the whole season last UTB season, and now I’m coming back from injury and feeling good again. So I’m just so grateful for this.”

Also coming into the 2024 PBR Teams season with some question marks was 2016 PBR World Champion Cooper Davis, who’d retired from UTB competition and spent that season in the broadcast booth.

Like Leme, proving that years of experience are worth their weight in gold, Davis hasn’t missed a beat.

RELATED: Cooper Davis returns from broadcast booth to impact role for Carolina Cowboys

He’s currently sitting at No. 3 in the MVP race, just one ride behind Leme at 7-for-8 (87%) with an aggregate of 616.75 points.

Riding for the still-undefeated Carolina Cowboys (7-0-1), it’s no surprise that Davis has been able to ride his team’s momentum.

“I know that the energy back here, the guys are depending on me,” he told Harrison, “so I love that, and I hope I just picked them up to do their job, too.”

Current PBR Teams MVP standings 1. John Crimber, Florida Freedom (787.75) 2. Jose Vitor Leme, Austin Gamblers (-91.25 points) 3. Cooper Davis, Carolina Cowboys (-171 points) 4. Sage Steele Kimzey, Carolina Cowboys (-273.75 points) 5. Keyshawn Whitehorse, Arizona Ridge Riders (-347 points)

It's a tight race, and every out matters as the best bull riders in the world chase both individual and team honors this season. While the Cowboys are alone atop the standings, seven teams are within a game and a half of each other, including the Gamblers and the Freedom.

Teams will have their next chance to separate themselves from the pack at Stampede Days in Nashville on Aug. 16-18 (catch all the action on Merit Street and CBS).

And while Crimber finds himself in yet another dogfight for a title, he’s still just having a grand old time.

“Bull riding’s fun, and it’s something I love to do,” Crimber said. “And if you don’t make it fun, what’s the point of doing it? So I’m just here having fun and enjoying my job.”

Photo courtesy of Josh Homer/Bull Stock Media