PUEBLO, Colorado – Just like the NASCAR circuit that General Manager Austin Dillon comes from, the runners (riders) have to endure the dangers of the regular season while positioning themselves in a favorable place in the standings to punch their ticket to postseason glory.
And with the PBR Teams league expanding from 8 to 10 teams ahead of next month’s return, this summer’s standings-based scenarios couldn’t get much more interesting…
…as only eight of said teams will compete inside T-Mobile Arena in October (and the bottom four ranked teams at the end of the 12-event regular season will compete in a new “win or go home” shootout in South Las Vegas). Vegas inside the South Point Hotel Casino & Spa to start the long-awaited weekend).
Having enjoyed some success at championship level throughout his racing career in his own right, Dillon and the Richard Childress Racing unit have also experienced many seasons where Dillon or one of his team members failed to finish. the season in the final winner’s circle.
Just like yours carolina jeans The team has done so, despite being named among the circuit favorites in each of the first two seasons of PBR Camping World Team Series action.
Ranked No. 5 overall by PBR.com’s PBR Teams preseason power rankings, they certainly have a quality team assembled from top to bottom.
But with six or seven squads bringing similar firepower in the third summer of the head-to-head format, they will have to fight for their right to party if they want to lift the coveted gold belt this fall.
RELATED: 2024 PBR Camping World Team Series Preseason Power Rankings
And while the back-to-back regular season champion Austin Players have assembled quite a talented group of heavy hitters in José Vítor Leme, Dalton Kassel and Kaique Pacheco – each of Carolina’s top competitors is well aware of the Cowboys’ trio of world-class talents in Daylon Swearingen, Cooper Davis and Sage Steele Kimzey.
Sage Steele Kimzey’s Stunning Back-to-Back Rides Earn 2024 PBR World Finals Event Champion Title
Sage Steele Kimzey rides Let’s Roll and Preachers Kid 91 in rounds 3 and 4 of the 2024 PBR World Finals: UTB Championship at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX
“We are very excited about the new year,” said the Carolina head coach and bull riding legend. Jerome Davis shared last month.
“We got Cooper back. Wise, Daylon. The good thing about our team is that we are starting to heal. Starting to sound again and I feel like the timing will be better this year for us, so I feel good going into the 2024 season.”
A team doesn’t exactly come across the talent of three of the top 15 runners in the world: Swearingen, Davis and Kimzey.
This team has been built piece by piece, since the inaugural 2022 PBR Team Draft, when Dillon and company pulled the trigger on acquiring the 2022 World Champion in Swearingen.
Redemption Journey: Daylon Swearingen’s Much-Needed 89.25 on Hoka Hey: Just What Dr. Ordered.
Daylon Swearingen rides Hoka Hey to score 89.25 points in Round 3 of the 2024 PBR World Finals: UTB Knockout Rounds at Cowtown Coliseum in Ft. Lauderdale. Worth, Texas, USA
And he hasn’t been afraid since, taking plenty of steps ahead of last year’s iteration of the draft showdown in 2023 to position the organization to select Kimzey No. 1 overall just over a year ago.
“We have a stellar general manager. Someone who has a true spirit for our sport. He is dedicated and loves it. That dedication is what we need to accelerate and form this team,” said the Cowboys skip.
“We talk about it and there’s a guy out there who says ‘Let’s see what we can do or trade this’ or ‘Let’s see what we can do to make this happen.’ He is dedicated and I don’t know if there is a general manager who works as hard as he does. And he’s a good guy. He has a lot on his shoulders with that racing team and he doesn’t carry that (stress) when it comes to this business. He’s a good guy “.
With the 2024 PBR Team Expansion Draft approaching earlier this spring, Dillon made the difficult decision to send one of the franchise’s first-year cornerstones. Boudreaux Campbell toward Missouri Thunder in exchange for the team’s first-round pick in last month’s draft.
RELATED: Reloaded Thunder ready to win with Boudreaux Campbell, Tristin Parker and company
Knowing that Carolina was able to protect only three riders in the talent leach event, it was almost certain that Campbell would be removed from the team with no return, so cashing in on the talent made more sense.
Especially when he prepared the team to select Ethan Winckler as the fifth overall pick in the 2024 PBR Teams New Rider Draft. And when you consider that the team had essentially regained its draft stock through the Campbell trade before losing josh frost during the Expansion Draft (now participating in the Oklahoma Wildcats), Dillon made sure his team was younger and healthier, as the pieces of the puzzle seemed to have been played perfectly.
RELATED: Carolina Cowboys Add Three Running Backs to Team Roster in 2024 PBR Teams New Rider Draft
“It’s good that our sport is growing and getting bigger. You can see it escalate and get bigger,” Davis said.
“We didn’t want to lose Josh, you know what I mean? “We hate that it turned out that way and we’ve still tried to shake things off to maybe see how we could get it back someday or whatever, but it was a tough deal.”
Knowing that all roads between Draft Day and the start of the season lead to each team’s respective training camp sessions, Davis noted that he wouldn’t take things lightly despite this being their third time meeting.
After all, this is this group’s first shared training as a team.
So there is still a lot of work to be done to set the bar.
“Yes, training camp is coming up here soon. We have some Wednesday things (Wild West Wednesdays: weekly bull riding activities at the Davis Ranch) at the house, and we’re thinking about having some practice there one night, so that will be good,” he said. .
That fight is tonight, as the checkered flag unit not only wants to see what they have, but also give the home fans a taste of what their third-year energy will look and feel like.
“We have some good things lined up. The Navy SEALS are going to come out again, they’re going to talk to us about mental toughness and all that. “We have some good things, so we want to see what we can generate.”
Through the team’s Instagram account, it looks like the guys are doing a lot of stretching, swinging (as the team participated in some golf earlier this week), and smiling to balance out the home-cooked food and hard-fought days of golf practice. bulls, sprints and beyond.
And with the Deputy General Manager Tiffany Davis with the assistant coach Robinson palermo there for each and every session, you know the cooking and training will be good!
Dawson Branton Prevails: Round 1 Redemption Victory with 87.75 Points on Rowdy
Just ask David Branton, who was surprised with a homemade cake when the week began to celebrate his birthday. Which speaks not only to how endearing the Davis family is in general, but to how inclusive this blue and white team is with each and every member of the team.
*Look at this.
Each and every member of the family, that is.
“As far as our relationships with our guys, our general manager and everyone, it’s good. We are like a big family and that is really great,” he admitted.
“I think that’s what comes across from his team and from RCR in general. When you’re around their group, it’s like a big family and that carries over to the Carolina Cowboys.”
While Dillon has done everything in his power to further equip his team once again this offseason, he and each of the men preparing to prepare for the third season of camaraderie-fueled fun understand that the goal is not simply to qualify for the postseason once again.
They are in it to win it.
And have the staff, the board and the coaching team ready to do the job.
All that’s left to do is ride. 8 seconds at a time.
The biggest difference this season, besides the team’s added overall depth?
(Which now includes companies like Derek Kolbabaanother cyclist acquired through Dillon’s activity, Adriano Salgadowho made some noise in the past for the Gamblers and Thunder and a couple of 20-year-olds. Tate Pollmeier and 21 years Arturo Antonialle bringing another season of experience to the fold)
The health and concentration of 2016 world champion Cooper Davis, who decided not to participate in the 2024 Unleash The Beast campaign to rest and reset before this summer’s challenge.
Chills All Around: Cooper Davis’ Spectacular 93.75 Point Ride on Smooth Operator
“We are excited that Cooper is so dedicated to the team. Being left out of the rest of the season just because of the team is a big deal. So we’re going to have some new guys,” coach Davis detailed.
“I feel like they were hurt almost all of last year, and they are tough, brave cowboys that can get through it. At the end of the day, their bodies simply couldn’t function when we needed them to. So, yeah, it feels good to start the season with some new guys.”
Seeing Swearingen continue to work his way back to World Champion form since he struggled a bit last summer bleeding into his 2024 main series campaign, he and Kimzey, who just completed his rookie season at UTB at through a World Finals-winning, No. 7-ranked effort, should have the Cowboys in pole position more often than chasing it.
“It’s good there. “These guys are brave and tough,” Davis concluded.
“And we pulled them back a little bit, but it’s hard to get Daylon to sit at home. The good thing is that he has looked fluid again and his body is starting to recover.”
The Carolina Cowboys will host the third matchup of the PBR Cowboy Days later this fall, as the 5-on-5 tour will invade Greensboro, North Carolina, September 20-22 for some late-season drama.
Fans interested in attending and supporting the East Coast-based contingent can secure their tickets today and should be sure to follow them throughout the PBR Teams season, courtesy of the Merit+ app and meritstreetmedia.com!
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
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