Four cowboys spill out of a two-door sedan that looks like it should only fit two - and that's with the convertible top down.

"Shotgun," two of them yell almost simultaneously in an effort to make sure they get the front seat and don't have to shoehorn themselves into the cramped back.

No, these certainly aren't the good old days.

And while the majority of the cowboys and cowgirls who showed up Saturday at the Casper Events Center to check in for the College National Finals Rodeo don't have the option of cruising around in a compact car, sandwiching a half-dozen competitors into one vehicle on the way to an event is quickly becoming the norm thanks to the price of diesel fuel.

"Obviously it has made things a lot more expensive, but at the same time, you just have to stay positive about it," Texas A&M freshman Ace Slone said. "What it's done for me, more than anything, is you don't go a hundred miles down the road without calling every friend you know in the area that might want to go with you."

That was the case this week as well, as the team roper and tie-down roper made the trek of more than 1,500 miles to Casper in a big red diesel with his signature on the side.

Slone's a business major, so he's done the math and it isn't pretty.

"It's $150 to fill up the tank and you make it almost 300 miles a tank," he said. "So you're getting eight or nine miles a gallon. Basically, what I figured, is about 50 cents a mile - you're spending $4.50 a gallon and you're making it nine miles a gallon."

Slone said some schools are doing their best to help with some of those costs.

But for those like Slone where the round trip costs about $1500 just in gas alone, the school's can't cover everything.

So, as if competing at the CNFR wasn't enough, the competitors need to earn a check to try and offset the cost.

"I like saying I rodeo for a living, so it's always a challenge to cover expenses and put a little money in my pocket," Slone said. "But you definitely have to rope better when diesel is getting close to five dollars a gallon."

And in rodeo, it's nearly impossible to get away from diesel-guzzling trucks as nearly everyone needs to pull a trailer full of horses.

"In this business, you still have to take a horse everywhere," Slone said. "You'll hear some crazy stories about packing five, six or seven guys in a truck and people buying seven- or eight-horse trailers with no living quarters just to get there and split costs.

"But you can't hardly buy a little car and try to rodeo in it unless you're good enough to get on any horse when you get there."

It doesn't take a business major to see that none of the math - seven cowboys in a truck, five dollars for a gallon of diesel or $150 a tank - adds up.

But with high fuel prices here to stay and livelihoods to maintain on the rodeo circuit, the options are few and far between.

And chances are cowboys everywhere are getting better at the game of "Shotgun."

Contact sports reporter Eric Schmoldt at (307) 266-0578 or eric.schmoldt@trib.com.