Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira trailed the world standings leaders by $70,000 when they entered Round 8 of the 2024 NFR, but their 3.4-second round win keeps them alive in the gold buckle race now at No. 2 in the world.

The 2021 and 2022 world champions knew after Round 7 they needed a round win to stay in the fight, and their $33,687.18-a-man payday Dec. 12, pushed them to $280,000.30 and $291,126.05, respectively, in the world standings.

“Probably two to three before we were up, I was thinking, ‘Just go make a nice sharp run, try to get faster than the 4.4, win top three in the round and try to move up in the average,” Driggers, 35, explained. “And then for whatever reason, I got to thinking and I was like, ‘Honestly, you know what, we told ourselves when we started this week we was going to rope aggressive no matter what.’ So, I kind of changed that mindset a little bit and was just like, ‘Stay sharp on the barrier, and if for whatever reason you go too early, then 10 seconds won’t kill you in the average. It’s not great, but that’s where you need to make your risk; don’t try to make your risk with your rope.’ So that was my biggest concern tonight. And my horse kept giving me a little bit of back and forth, so it took me a little bit to get him set. But we knew we had a great steer and just needed to capitalize in the moment. We’re still a long ways back, but we’re $33,000 closer than we were.”

As the second-to-last team out, a 4.1 was leading the round. With a money steer drawn, Driggers and Nogueira made an aggressive run to give them redemption after an NFR of ups and downs.

“Last night I was late, and the steer stepped left and then he broke wide, and then we all know we’re trying to go a little faster,” Nogueira, 34, explained. “If we were just going for the average, I’d take one more shot, just catch him. But I’m very thankful for the round tonight, honestly. And I’m still excited to have two more rounds to go. Everybody who is here would love to be world champions, and we do the same thing, but we would like to have a good Finals.”

Driggers and Nogueira now sit seventh in the average with a 33.20 on six head, which is worth $14,670.22 a man if they hold their position. While $102,639.75 in NFR earnings is nothing short of amazing, it’s been hard-earned and short of what they expect of themselves.

“I feel like Kaleb is great and smart about everything; we try to get horses, we try to do everything we can, but when we get here, sometimes a lot of stuff happens,” Nogueira said. “Without God, we can do nothing. He’s the one who decides the victory because everybody puts hours and hours in of work and try to ride the best horses, and when it’s your turn, it’s your turn. Sometimes we have to fight for it, and then everybody’s a lion out there–everybody wants to win. But if it’s not your turn, you have to learn how to deal with it. And I still haven’t understood that yet.”

After eight rounds, Driggers and Nogueira are $46,162.49 and $35,036.74 behind reigning World Champions Tyler Wade and Wesley Thorp at No. 1. With a maximum of $67,374.36 up for grabs in the remaining two rounds and an average check on the line, it’s a fine line of staying aggressive but smart.

“I think that we have to stay in the average, we have to keep moving up in the average, and we have to get very good day money every night,” Driggers said. “And if we do that, then we have a chance. Those guys are roping amazing, and we just got to do the best that we can; we can’t control everything else. A lot of gold buckles come down to whoever wins fourth or fifth in the average, and that’s what’s a little bit different about the NFR and that’s way out of our control. That’s what Trey Johnson talked about last night: Just keep your eye on the target and be in charge of what you can control, and let everything else take its course.”

Clay Smith and Coleby Payne continue to lead the aggregate with a 71.8 on eight steers, the only team to have all eight steers caught. Wade and Thorp took a no-time in Round 8, dropping them to 12th in the average. If they catch the last two steers, the highest they can win in the average is fifth. Driggers and Nogueira are seventh, but two no-times for Smith and Payne at No. 1 could open the average race up for it to be won on eight head. If the NFR were to end after Round 8, however, Wade and Thorp would still win the world with $326,162.79, and Driggers and Nogueira would end up second with $294,670.52 and $305,796.27.

NFR 2024 Team Roping Round 8 Results