CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (December 19, 2022) – For the second consecutive season, PBR (Professional Bull Riders) will hold the marquee Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals, presented by Coastal Bend Chevy Dealers, in Corpus Christi, Texas, uniting with the iconic Buccaneer Days celebration to bring the expansion series’ season-ending event to American Bank Center Arena on May 5-6, 2023.
The PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals will feature 45 of the world’s best bull riders vying for the title of PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals event champion, the coveted honor of PBR Velocity Tour Champion, and a combined $150,000 event purse.
Throughout the 2023 season of PBR’s premier expansion tour, established stars of the sport, and emerging newcomers, will compete across 27 events spanning coast-to-coast of the United States, vying for their chance to compete at the year-end Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals.
Additionally, during the 2023 season, the PBR will celebrate its 30th anniversary since 20 cowboys broke away from the traditional rodeo with the belief that bull riding could be a standalone sport. Since their trailblazing initiative, the PBR has grown into a global phenomenon awarding nearly $300 million in prize money.
Regarded as the “Championship before the Championship,” the expansion series’ year-end event also represents the final opportunity for riders to qualify to the sport’s most prestigious event, the PBR World Finals.
Via the PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals, five riders will also earn a berth to the PBR World Finals, scheduled for May 12-21 in Fort Worth, Texas, at Dickies Arena
When the Velocity Tour Finals debuted in Corpus Christi in 2022, the event impacted the historically tight race to the PBR World Championship.
Going 2-for-3 at the event, Clayton Sellars (Fruitland Park, Florida) was crowned the 2022 PBR Velocity Tour Champion.
Sellars wasn’t the only rider with cause to celebrate when the dust settled inside American Bank Center Arena.
Cody Jesus (Window Rock, Arizona) earned the coveted title of PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals winner, while young gun Daylon Swearingen (Piffard, New York) delivered a third-place finish at the expansion series’ season-end event to catapult to the world No. 1 rank with just days remaining before the start of the 2022 PBR World Finals. Swearingen would go on to win the World Championship.
At the event, five riders also earned direct berths to the 2022 PBR World Finals, including Ednei Caminhas (Indaiatuba, Brazil).
Then 46, 2002 PBR World Champion Caminhas became the oldest rider to ever qualify for the PBR World Finals. He dethroned previous recordholder Wallace Vieira de Oliveira (Goiania, Brazil), who reached the World Finals via the Velocity Tour Finals in 2020 at age 41.
A complete list of past PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Champions is: Jason Malone (2014 – Pleasanton, Texas), Gage Gay (2015 – Staley, North Carolina), Chase Outlaw (2016 – Hamburg, Arkansas), Alex Marcilio (2017 – Macaubal, Brazil), Alisson de Souza (2018 – Taubate, Brazil), Jose Vitor Leme (2019 – Ribas do Rio Pardo, Brazil), Mason Taylor (2020 – Maypearl, Texas) and Adriano Salgado (2021 – Batatais, Brazil).
A complete list of past PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals event winners is: Gay (2015), Outlaw (2016 & 2018), Sage Kimzey (2017 – Strong City, Oklahoma), Leme (2019), Taylor (2020) and Boudreaux Campbell (2021 – Crockett, Texas).
The 2023 PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals, presented by Coastal Bend Chevy Dealers, will mark the third consecutive season PBR and Buc Days have united to bring a Velocity Tour event to the iconic celebration.
In 2021, PBR and Buc Days first joined forces, holding a much-anticipated, regular-season Velocity Tour event to begin the renowned, week-long celebration. Keeping the raucous crowd inside American Bank Center Arena on the edge of their seats, Caic Cassio Carvalho (Tres Ranchos, Brazil) delivered a perfect 3-for-3 performance to collect his first victory on the league’s expansion series.
This past May, the PBR and Buc Days upped the ante, bringing the year-end Velocity Tour Finals to Corpus Christi as part of the overall organizational restructure which shifted the individual season to November-May.
The bull riding action for the 2023 PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals, presented by Coastal Bend Chevy Dealers, begins at 7:30 p.m. CST on Friday, May 5 and Saturday, May 6 at American Bank Center Arena.
Forty-five of the world’s best bull riders will get on one bull each in Round 1 on Friday, May 5, followed by Round 2 on Saturday, May 6. At the conclusion of the second round, the riders’ individual two-round scores will be totaled with the Top 10 advancing to the championship round for one more out and a chance at being crowned at the 2023 PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Champion and Finals event winner.
Tickets for the 2023 PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals are on sale now, and start at $15, taxes and fees not included. Tickets can be purchased online at PBR.com and Ticketmaster.com, at the American Bank Center Arena Box Office, or by calling PBR customer service at 1-800-732-1727.
PBR Elite Seats are available to provide close access to the action and an exclusive VIP experience. These tickets, available in three tiers, offer premium seats, personal on-site concierge at the PBR fan loyalty booth, and souvenir credential and lanyard:
- PBR Bronze Elite Seats ($175) also include an on-the-dirt photo available for digital download following the event,
- PBR Silver Elite Seats ($215) include a $10 concession voucher and pre-show tour with some of PBR’s top athletes and personnel.
- In addition to all of the above-mentioned amenities, PBR Gold Elite Seats ($285) offer the best views in the venue and a commemorative 30th anniversary hat.
For more information about the PBR and to see the full 2023 PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour schedule, visit PBR.com.
