By the Numbers: Dalton Kasel minimizes No. 1 John Crimber’s lead via big win in Wichita
Austin Gamblers’ star stays red-hot with round, event wins inside INTRUST Bank Arena
By James Youness
FORT WORTH, Texas – Forty-some riders have entered each of the tour’s first four events.
However, only three different riders have exited said showdowns with event titles, as Dalton Kasel joined the likes of Jose Vitor Leme (2025 Ontario event champion) and John Crimber (Tucson, Arizona; St. Louis, Missouri 2025 event champion) courtesy of his big win in Wichita, Kansas.
Recording a pair of 90-point dances as he parlayed a pair of round wins into his first outright victory of the season, he’s right on the chap tails of No. 1 John Crimber, now trailing the young star by just 16 UTB points ahead of this weekend’s showcase in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Storming into the short go with his two monstrous rides already on the board, he entered his third short go of the season where he was sitting atop the leaderboard. After allowing fellow stars in Leme and Crimber to steal the show in Weeks 1 and 2, he was able to finish the deal this time without even needing to enter the chutes.
Kasel wasn’t able to close the door on a perfect 3-for-3 showing, eventually sent to the dirt in a quick 3.18 seconds. But he still finished his weekend in the winner’s circle, claiming his first UTB victory since capturing the event title back in March during the 2024 season (in Indianapolis, Indiana).
Taking home a whopping 138 UTB points for his win, the favorable finish marked his third Top 5 of the season and fourth Top 15 effort overall as he’s continued to convert in each show of the season.
He brings a 7-for-11 record into the approaching Week 5 showcase in Manchester, New Hampshire, which matches No. 1 Crimber. Trialing the star by a mere 16 points, the early-season race is officially on. |
With the first four events of the 2025 campaign officially in the books, we’re back with a Tuesday tradition as we break down Kasel’s big win, rebounding bull power and more in this week's By the Numbers!
Mr. 90 Pointer: When the suspense inside INTRUST Bank Arena came to a conclusion late Saturday night and Dalton Kasel collected his big check, five 90s were recorded throughout the action-packed showcase. Two of them, naturally, belonged to Mr. 90 Pointer himself, as the man who’s missing a tooth smiled big after parlaying his pair of 90s into his first event win of the season.
One of eight men to go 2-for-3 on the weekend, he tied several others in overall conversions. But it’s the score of said qualified rides which proved to be the ultimate difference maker. Knowing he had won the event outright before bucking a third time due to his pair of monstrous 90s, he didn’t even need to compete in the short round. Up to three 90-point rides on the season, he trails only No. 1 John Crimber, who has amassed four through four events. Winning both Rounds 1 and 2 courtesy of said 90s, Kasel teamed up with Lap Dancer for 90.75 points to capture the Round 1 victory before doubling down in the second go courtesy of a 90.5-point journey aboard Mr. Right Now.
Still No. 1: It was technically an “off” weekend for No. 1 John Crimber, who managed to champion just one of his three bovine opponents during the two-day showdown. But anytime you can have an “off” weekend and still manage a Top 10 finish against the best bull riders in the world, it means you might be on the right track in earning your first PBR World Championship. Exactly the goal the 19-year-old star has in his sights during his second season on tour. Securing a ninth-place finish Saturday courtesy of his electric conversion aboard Good Riddance, Crimber reminded fans why he’s still the tour’s top dawg heading into Week 5.
Matching the bovine athlete’s every move, very much in command the whole way, Crimber recorded his fourth monster ride of the young campaign, officially averaging one 90 per contest through the first month of premier series competition. We aren’t suggesting he continues to average that – yet, at the same time, we wouldn’t be surprised if he did, as he’s truly the sport’s next great cowboy. Leading the entire circuit with four 90s, with Dalton Kasel the next closest at three, he’s relied on the big rides leading him to greatness, already having accrued three Top 10 finishes on the year. Tied with Kasel’s tour-topping 7-for-11 slate, the youngster seems to be only getting started: a scary thought for each of PBR’s other riders looking to mix it up with the young star.
Five Years in the Making: Finishing just half a point (.5) behind Kasel as he logged his second-consecutive Top 10 appearance, Sage Steele Kimzey managed a runner-up effort in Week 4. The only other man to capture a round win other than Kasel, the veteran proved his resilience throughout Saturday night’s showcase after suffering a buckoff in Round 1. Winning the short go as just one of two cowboys to make the 8 in a session which was primarily dominated by the tour’s standout bovine efforts, Kimzey teamed up with Nobody for a rank 91.75-point dance.
Representing the highest mark of the two-day event, the seven-time PRCA Champion made it look easy as he matched the bull’s every move. Also serving as the veteran’s third-highest scored ride in PBR competition, the severe strike counts as his rankest score at a PBR-sanctioned event since 2019, when he exited a showdown against Night Moves with an elite 92.5 points. Originally paired with Down Payment in Round 2, he punched his ticket to the Championship Round via his 89-point effort, which went a long way in helping the veteran secure 95 UTB points as he navigated his way to the No. 3 spot, now trailing only Kasel and Crimber in the race for the 2025 PBR World Championship.
One-Plus in Three Straight: Kasel and Kimzey may be the only men who surpassed the 180-point aggregate score mark in Wichita. But with five different contestants over the 170-point mark, it was New York Mavericks’ standout Leonardo Castro who rounded out the Week 4 podium with his second-best finish at a premier series event. With his best finish represented by a PBR Major win during the tour’s 2024 stop in Sacramento, California, his third-place, 2-for-3 effort was a step in the right direction as the Brazilian looks to improve on a No. 17 rank from his rookie UTB campaign.
Originally teaming up with Constant Payne for a sound 87.75 points in Round 2, he became the only man other than Kimzey to convert during the short round as he topped Hunter for a quality 89.75 points. Now 5-for-9 on the season, Castro has recorded at least one qualified ride in each of the three events he’s participated in as he’s worked his way all the way up to the No. 7 spot thanks to a welcome 71 UTB points via his third-place finish inside INTRUST Bank Arena. Joining UTB rookie Hudson Bolton as one of two members from the New York Mavericks to secure Top 10 finishes, thing are starting to look bright for Head Coach Kody Lostroh and his squad ahead of the team’s second season of PBR Camping World Team Series suspense.
46 x 2: Last weekend in Wichita, fans saw seven different 45-point bull scores throughout an event where the collective bovine presence limited riders to just 34 combined conversions in Week 4, the fewest of the season. Naturally, six of the seven came during Saturday’s Championship Round, with Electric Kitty serving as the lone long round outlier, scored 45 points for his 3.76 seconds of work paired against veteran Claudio Montanha Jr. in Round 2. Allowing just two rides in the short go overall, the night’s bovine talents were 100% on display. However, anytime Man Hater is in town means the bulls will need to bring all they’ve got should they want to challenge the reigning YETI World Champion Bull for any given weekend’s top-score honors. Fellow title contender Fast Flow was up for said challenge Saturday night, as he matched Man Hater’s 46-point effort (earned by sending No. 1 John Crimber to the dirt in 4.76 seconds) with an epic dance of his own. Clay Guiton gave him a run for his money, no doubt, but it was the four-legged athlete which exited in triumphant fashion, ditching the second-year star in 5.55 seconds. We all know Man Hater is more than capable of running away with the title this year. But it will be a lot more fun and a bit more dramatic of a race this time around should the likes of Fast Flow and friends stay the course.
