BALTIMORE - The wakeup call J.B. Mauney needed for Saturday night came four weeks earlier.
 
He was watching the telecast of the first Built Ford Tough Series event of the season when he heard J.W. Hart say he was on the back side of his career.
 
"I made my mind up right there," the 25-year-old Mauney said."I was going to show everybody this isn't the backside of nothing."
 
"It made me mad, and I wanted to prove him wrong."
 
This weekend, Mauney was the only rider to go a perfect 4-for-4. Despite already having the event win in hand, he still put out the effort to earn 92.25 points on RMEF Gunpowder & Lead in the Built Ford Tough Championship Round.
 
Mauney started the event off with an opening-round 90 points on Play Harder, followed with 87.25 points on Hee Bee Gee Bee in the first short round. 

'It made me mad, and I wanted to prove him wrong.'

He made the whistle despite having his helmet nearly pulled off when the bull's tail whipped him in the facemask. With more than a second remaining, the chinstrap was pulled up over his eyes.
 
"When that doesn't break your concentration," said Colby Yates, "that's when you know you're a bad sum-buck."
 
Mauney took Black Pearl with the first pick in the bull draft for Round 3, and went into the final round with the lead after scoring 88.25 points. He then chose Gunpowder, the highest ranking bull in the final round, with the first pick.
 
"I'm here for one thing, and that's to win first," Mauney said, "and when I don't I'm mad at myself - I didn't do my job. I told them I wouldn't settle until I win the world."
 
In five events he has not finished any worse than splitting 13th and 14th in the average.
 
He's yet to buck off two consecutive bulls at a BFTS event in 2012, and has not gone 0-for-the-weekend once - something he dealt with regularly last year. In fact, during one 18-event stretch last year, he finished in the Top 10 only twice.
 
"Last year was pretty rough on me," Mauney said. "Slumps come and go, and last year, the whole year was a slump. I was hit-and-miss, and it seems like this year, man, I got settled down and more focused, and you couldn't ask for anything else."
 
He's now ranked No. 1 in the world for the first time since 2010, and along with reigning World Champion Silvano Alves, he has recorded more qualified rides (11) than anyone else in the PBR.
 
His 68.75 percent riding average is second-best in the PBR, and his more than $64,000 earned in five BFTS events is also second-most this year.
 
"I feel good and I'm not thinking about anything other than riding bulls, and it's fun," said Mauney, who credited his daughter Bella with the win.
 
"I go home every week and I take care of my little girl Bella. We play all week and it keeps me focused. I'm not out all night long all the time. I stay at home, go to bed early, I get up early and I grew up basically. It helps. I used to think, 'Rest?' I didn't need it, but the older I get I'm realizing I do need it."

'I used to think, "Rest?" I didn't need it, but the older I get I'm realizing I do need it.'
 
He's clearly a different Mauney from the one who last sat atop the world standings.
 
He joked, "Yeah, I am getting a little age on me now."

 
NEWS & NOTES
 
BECK MAKES IT: He's 20 years old, he rode in two BFTS events last year and three more this year. Now that he's made the first cut of the 2012 season, everyone will be seeing a lot of more of Dakota Beck.
 
The Washington native admitted that "everything is bigger" when it comes the BFTS, but that his goal has been to compete alongside the "best in the world, and I plan to be one of those guys." Beck, who finished seventh in Baltimore and has covered 33 percent of his bulls this year, said his goal last weekend was to stay calm and do as well as he could. "I really want to make that cut," he said, "but I'm just going with the flow and riding some bulls."
 
When he was reminded that he is ranked 25th in the world standings, he replied, "Oh yeah, it feels great."
 
CONFIDENT MARKISS: This week it was Beck who emerged from alternate status to making the cut as a Top 25 rider. Last week it was Jory Markiss. The 22-year-old from Colorado said, "I believe I'm No. 1 and everybody else just hasn't noticed it yet."

'I believe I'm No. 1 and everybody else just hasn't noticed it yet.'
 
He's 23rd, and Monday afternoon will officially be seeded on the BFTS for at least the next five events. He's ridden four of seven bulls, and in three events fans have taken a liking to his lighthearted ways in and out of the arena.
 
"I was right to believe in myself," he said. "In this sport you have to feed off it. … It's time for me to show it."
 
PLAYING IT SAFE: Josh Faircloth was another alternate vying for a spot in the Top 25. Faircloth knew he was close and played the numbers game Friday night when he declined a re-ride option in the first short round. He kept 63 points on Springtime, and at that point, was 2-for-2 and in position to make it back to the championship round.
 
However, after coming down early in Round 3 and watching 11 other riders cover at least two bulls, he missed the final round by two spots. In turn he missed the cut by 73 points, and is currently ranked 27th in the standings - two spots shy of being seeded.
 
He had been making the BFTS draw based on his Touring Pro Division earnings from last year and this year, but from here on out the alternates are based on this year's TPD money, and Faircloth is roughly $10,000 shy of making it back in as alternate.
 
BOHON HEALTHY: In the past two seasons, Matt Bohon has ridden in only four BFTS events. Last weekend he was competing in Baltimore, and the biggest difference was that he said he's finally confident in his body. Bohon has struggled with an ongoing hip injury, and while he's not 100 percent ,a sign that he can truly compete is that he's able to grab with his feet - something he avoided to protect his hips.
 
In fact, he smiled when he pointed out that his groin muscles have been sore because he hasn't been able to use them in the past three years. He's still working out some technical issues he created because of the injury, but he went 1-for-2 and is focused on competing in October.
 
"It's about the Finals," said Bohon, who is currently 35th in the world standings. The Missouri native added, "At the end of the day, it's about October."
 
MISSED IT BY THAT MUCH: Just how competitive has the 2012 BFTS season been? Ryan McConnel was a perfect 2-for-2 in Baltimore and didn't have enough points to compete in either the first short round or the championship round.

Ryan McConnel was a perfect 2-for-2 in Baltimore and didn't have enough points to compete in either the first short round or the championship round.
 
"It's OK," he said afterward. "I rode my bulls."
 
He was 83 on Just Bad in the opening round, which was 2.75 points short of what it took to make it back, and then added 85.5 more points on Bar Code in Round 3. His combined 168.5 points on two was a half-point shy of equaling Renato Nunes, who made it back in the 10 spot with 169 points.
 
"I did my job," he said.

WATCH THE WINSTAR WORLD CASINO INVITATIONAL IN OKLAHOMA CITY Friday at 9 p.m. ET on the PBR Live Event Center; Saturday at 9 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network (formerly VERSUS); and Sunday at 6 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.