Steer wrestler Tucker Allen scored his second round victory of the 2025 National Finals Rodeo, blasting a 4.0-second run to share the fourth-round title with Will Lummus.
(PHOTO BY GREG WESTFALL)

 

LAS VEGAS – Tucker Allen may need the write-off anyway.

After his pickup was stolen from a parking lot near the Thomas & Mack Center, Allen has been hitching rides to work, which happens to be occurring in the arena for the National Finals Rodeo. Other than his ride situation and the police report, the job has been going well.

He’s been taking care of business, and the proof came again with a 4.0-second run to share the Round 4 steer wrestling victory with Mississippian Will Lummas. That was worth $32,824 to each cowboy, and it could make for a nice downpayment on a replacement vehicle.

“I can pay for Ubers now,” a smiling Allen said, nodding toward the $82,449 he’s earned in four Las Vegas nights. “I still have to buy a new truck.”

Most of his earnings came on the second and fourth nights, those when he took at least a share of top honors; he also snagged a smaller payday for finishing in a tie for sixth place in Round 3.

“While I was trying to get out of the barrier really good (timing the start), I was still a little late,” said Allen, 26, of Ventura, California. “It shows how good Banker is, even though I was off the barrier and still split the round.”

The barrier line is stretched across the steer wrestler to allow for the steer to have a head start. Should the contestant not allow for that, the barrier will break, and the cowboy will be saddled with a 10-second penalty.

“That just shows Banker’s horsepower,” he said. “That steer was really good on the ground, but I knew I had to get my feet down in a good spot. It could have been a little better, but it could have been a lot worse. It worked out.”

There are layers to the NFR. There are 10 go-rounds with payouts to the top six places each night. There’s also the average race, which provides a healthy bonus to the top eight finishers when the rodeo concludes. Round winners earn $36,668 in every event; the average champion will pocket a $94,036 next Saturday.

Allen has wrestled four steers to the ground in 17.9 seconds and is second in the aggregate race. He’s moved from fifth to second in the world standings with $233,316 and trails Lummus, the leader, by $23,000. With six rounds remaining, it’s too early to even consider the average placing, but should he hold his place, there would be a $76,000 bonus.

“I’m treating every round like a one-header,” Allen said. “I’m forgetting about what happened behind me, and I’m not worried about the average ahead of me. I’d rather lose the world by breaking a barrier than backing off and not winning it.

“I’m willing to take that risk.”

Allen finished fourth in the average a year ago and said nobody even remembers it. They’ll remember two go-round victories from his second appearance in Las Vegas.

“Hopefully we can win a few more,” he said.