This weekend marks the first time that the Built Ford Tough Series has visited Hartford, Conn. It is, however, the seventh year in a row and the eighth time overall that the nationally televised series has been to Nutmeg State. The previous events have been held at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville.

POWER RANKINGS: The Power Rankings this week are as follows (Rider [BFTS Rank] Power Score): 1. Shane Proctor (7) 90.32; 2. Robson Palermo (3) 89.18; 3. Ryan Dirteater (15) 87.24; 4. Paulo Lima (17) 86.97; and 5. Aaron Roy (12) 86.31. Power Rankings measure  rider efficiency using a variety of statistics, including, but not limited to, wins, riding percentage, scores, and bulls over the past five events. Currently ,Valdiron de Oliveira, who is ranked second in the world standings, is sixth in the Power Rankings, while top-ranked Silvano Alves is seventh.

TOP 10 CUMULATIVE SCORES FOR THREE-DAY EVENTS: 1. Oliveira, 445.5 (New York); 2. Oliveira, 437.75 (Billings, Mont.); 3. Guilherme Marchi, 437.5 (St. Louis); 4. Ben Jones, 436.75 (New York); 5. Proctor, 436.5 (St. Louis); 6. Lima, 436.25 (Oklahoma City); 7. Alves, 429.75 (Billings); 8. Austin Meier, 428.75 (Oklahoma City); 9. Fabiano Vieira, 427.75 (Billings); 10. L.J. Jenkins, 355.5 (Albuquerque, N.M.).

FOLLOW THE LEADER: The past five BFTS event winners - Douglas Ferreira (Charlotte, N.C.), Dirteater (Wichita, Kan.), Alves (Springfield, Mo.), Lima (Milwaukee) and Proctor (San Antonio) - were leading going into the final round of their events. The man on top going into the Built Ford Tough Championship Round has won 18 of 27 events.

START TO FINISH:In the first 25 regular-format events, a rider has led from start to finish four times, including twice in the past four events. Dirteater led after each of the first three rounds in Wichita, finishing first in Rounds 2 and the Built Ford Tough Championship Round and tying for first in Round 1. Lima led after each of the first three rounds in Milwaukee, including a first-place finish in Round 1. In the first 21 regular-format events, Jenkins was the only rider to lead from wire to wire. Jenkins led after the first four rounds in Albuquerque, finishing first in Round 1 and Round 3, and winning the event despite not riding in the Built Ford Tough Championship Round. Jenkins led from start to finish in Seattle, winning Round 1 and the first short round while tying for first with Palermo in the Built Ford Tough Championship Round.

IN & OUT: Back in the draw after missing time with injuries are Douglas Duncan (hip) and Kody Lostroh (knee), while Jones is out because of lingering effects from a concussion. Six other riders from the Top 40 - Marchi, Proctor, Chris Shivers, Skeeter Kingsolver, Renato Nunes and Elliott Jacoby - remain out with various ailments. Marchi, Proctor, Shivers and Nunes are all expected to compete at the PBR World Finals.

ALTERNATING CURRENT: There are 11 alternates in this week's 40-man draw. Among them is Dakota Beck, who earned the top alternate position this week after winning a Touring Pro event in Stockton, Calif., on Oct. 1. Travis Briscoe is also in the draw for the second week in a row on an injury exemption.

STAT OF THE WEEK: Of the six riders who have won at least five events or more in a single season -Justin McBride, 8, 2007; Lostroh, 6, 2009; McBride, 6, 2005; Meier, 5, 2010; and Shivers, 5, 2000 - only Meier didn't win a world title. With two BFTS events remaining in 2011, both Oliveira and Palermo, who is third, have four BFTS event wins.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Luke Snyder spent his 29th birthday flying from Los Angles to Hartford. On one of two layovers, he received an urgent call saying that J.W. Hart and McBride wanted to interview him over the phone on last night's episode of "PBR Now on RFD."

They spoke about his 93-point ride on Hollywood in Fort Worth, Texas, in his rookie year. In addition to admitting he was nervous, Snyder said, "I was still going through puberty."

HEROES & LEGENDS: Dozens of the biggest names in PBR history will come together on Oct. 25 at the Legends Reunion at the Built Ford Tough World Finals. Among those confirmed to attend are Larry Mahan and Myrtis Dightman, along with PBR World Champions McBride and Adriano Moraes. The reunion will also feature the Founders Forum hosted by Justin McKee, who will interview Ty Murray and Cody Lambert as well as other founding members.

But the attendees won't be limited to two-legged athletes. At the nearby South Point Equestrian Center, fans will find several great bulls from the past, including Bones, Mossy Oak Mudslinger, Camo, Big Bucks, Troubadour, Neon Nights, Red Alert, and Reindeer Dippin. Details can be found here.

TV GUIDE:The action from Hartford will be televised in HD on VERSUS at 11:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Oct. 8, and at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 9. Play-by-play broadcaster Craig Hummer will be joined by nine-time World Champion and PBR co-founder Murray, who will provide color commentary, and Leah Garcia, who will be doing dirt-level interviews.

LIVE EVENT CENTER:Follow all the action from Hartford by logging on to the Event Center at www.pbr.com/live. The multimedia center provides in-arena audio, live scoring, live blogging and event-related interviews.

-by Keith Ryan Cartwright and Jack "Clock Puncher" Carnefix