Dark horse No. 10 Wimberly keeps his eye on the World Championship

COOL, Texas (September 1, 2010) - Don’t hand McKennon Wimberly a white flag – he’s not ready to surrender.

Wimberly, No. 10 in the Built Ford Tough Series points standings – 3,350.25 points behind leader Renato Nunes – still has his eyes set on the 2010 PBR World Championship.

“My goal is to win the world; I don’t want anything less,” Wimberly said. “I don’t think I’ve ridden to my full ability this year. I think I’ve had a pretty good year, but I’ve let a lot of bulls that I [should have ridden] slip by me, and I’m not going to let that happen anymore.”

Wimberly, 22, of Cool, Texas, is the last rider to qualify for PBR’s first “Final Five Showdown.” This affords riders in the Top 10 the opportunity to ride an extra bull in each of the next five Built Ford Tough Series events before the World Finals. Points earned for a qualified ride, and up to 200 extra points for the bonus-round winner, will count toward the world title.

“I’d much rather be further up than 10th, but I think that getting on an extra bull and double points is going to be a real good deal for me,” Wimberly said. “Every time I get on bulls at the house, I get on four or five, so I think it’s going to be a big advantage for me, especially considering that a lot of the Top 10 guys are injured and stuff. It’s going to be hard on them.

“So I think as far as that deal goes, it’s going to be real good to be somebody healthy going in who can take an extra bull. I really like the idea. I don’t think I’d like it a whole lot if I was sitting 11th, but being where I am, I love it.”

Wimberly wasn’t healthy earlier this season. In March he broke three transverse processes in his lumbar (lower back) vertebrae.

“As far as riding, my back doesn’t bother me,” he said. “As far as everyday life, I feel like a 90-year-old man. Every now and then a nerve will catch and it hurts a little bit, but it doesn’t really hinder my riding.”

Wimberly, 19th in the world last year, is enjoying his finest season. He’s covered a personal-high 47.1 percent of his bulls, and he’ll easily eclipse the $109,309 he earned when he qualified for his first Finals in 2007. His fourth-place performance in Ontario, Calif., last weekend was his career-best fifth Top 5 finish this year.

The 2010 Team USA PBR World Cup member said he’s enjoying riding bulls, and is approaching each event differently than he did when he first qualified to ride among the elite.

“I got to where for a little while that I was just happy being at the Built Ford Tough [Series],” Wimberly said. “I didn’t push myself to go any further. I think maturity has really helped me a lot, too. I used to get really pumped up and kind of overexcited before I rode at a Built Ford Tough.

“Now I just try to act the same way I do when I’m getting in the practice pen – have fun with it and just enjoy being there, but push myself to be better than what I am today.”
    
– by Chris McManes

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