Dowagiac BBQ Competition and Summer Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)
2024-07-20 · Dowagiac, MI · 📍 200 Depot Dr
Reps: JEANNE TITUS · Prize money: $2,200.00
Grand Champion: WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ (352.5484) · 23 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 Skinny Pig BBQ
Entries
23
2 judged meats
Top score
352.5484
Winning margin
2.8456
GC over RC
Field average
331.25
median 335.38
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
2.2972 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
340.5372
10th place overall
Field spread
56.5944
winner to last place
Prize money
$2,200.00
on the line
Double threats
2
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 41%
beats 59% of 708 Backyard Series wins in the data
Traveled in
61%
of the 23 teams with a home region came from outside MI
Came back for more
19%
3 of 16 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.61 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1519
avg power rating going in · stronger than 23% of contests
Storylines
🧳 Out-of-towners took the title
WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ took the Grand Championship home to IL.
📸 Photo finishes
Chicken places 5–6: Porkasaurus Rex BBQ and HESSHOGS tied on 174.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 3–4: Buckeye Blue Smoke BBQ edged HESSHOGS by 0.0228.
Score curves (score by finishing position — steep cliffs mean a spread field, flat lines a knife fight)
Category showdown (top / average / median score per meat)
Score distribution
Biggest rating movers (power-rating points won and lost at this contest)
Did form hold? (pre-contest rating vs overall finish — ratings called it if the dots climb to the right)
Where the field came from (home regions on file)
This contest over the years full contest page →
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-07-15 | Dowagiac, MI | 200 Depot Dr | 16 | 350.9032 | Silver Creek Barbecue | — |
| 2024-07-20 ← this one | Dowagiac, MI | 200 Depot Dr | 23 | 352.5484 | WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ | — |
| 2025-07-19 | Dowagiac, MI | 200 Depot DrIVE | 17 | 354.2972 | BBQ Mike | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 176.5600 | 174.2628 | 171.4172 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.2972 | 171.9772 | 167.9888 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Backyard Series
Overall
23 entries · top 352.5484 · median 335.3828
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ | |
| 2 | Skinny Pig BBQ | |
| 3 | HESSHOGS | |
| 4 | Too Sauced Guys Bar-B-Que | |
| 5 | Hoosier BBQ | |
| 6 | Wapatui Smokers | |
| 7 | Overcurrent BBQ | |
| 8 | BBQ MIKE | |
| 9 | Collins Custom BBQ | |
| 10 | Porkasaurus Rex BBQ | |
| 11 | SmoQued On Main St | |
| 12 | Diddy's Delectable 3BQ | |
| 13 | Buckeye Blue Smoke BBQ | |
| 14 | 401-Q | |
| 15 | Preacher's Barbecue | |
| 16 | Smoky J's BBQ | |
| 17 | Trevino Bros BBQ | |
| 18 | Monster Pit BBQ | |
| 19 | Dirty Shirt BBQ | |
| 20 | Up in Smoke | |
| 21 | Sauced Up | |
| 22 | C&C Grill House | |
| 23 | Twisted Bee |
Chicken
23 entries · top 176.5600 · median 171.4056
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Too Sauced Guys Bar-B-Que | |
| 2 | Wapatui Smokers | |
| 3 | Hoosier BBQ | |
| 4 | WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ | |
| 5 | Porkasaurus Rex BBQ | |
| 6 | HESSHOGS | |
| 7 | Overcurrent BBQ | |
| 8 | BBQ MIKE | |
| 9 | Diddy's Delectable 3BQ | |
| 10 | Collins Custom BBQ | |
| 11 | Skinny Pig BBQ | |
| 12 | SmoQued On Main St | |
| 13 | Monster Pit BBQ | |
| 14 | 401-Q | |
| 15 | Preacher's Barbecue | |
| 16 | Dirty Shirt BBQ | |
| 17 | Twisted Bee | |
| 18 | Buckeye Blue Smoke BBQ | |
| 19 | Up in Smoke | |
| 20 | Trevino Bros BBQ | |
| 21 | C&C Grill House | |
| 22 | Smoky J's BBQ | |
| 23 | Sauced Up |
Pork Ribs
23 entries · top 178.2972 · median 166.2744
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Skinny Pig BBQ | |
| 2 | WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ | |
| 3 | Buckeye Blue Smoke BBQ | |
| 4 | HESSHOGS | |
| 5 | Hoosier BBQ | |
| 6 | Too Sauced Guys Bar-B-Que | |
| 7 | Smoky J's BBQ | |
| 8 | Collins Custom BBQ | |
| 9 | BBQ MIKE | |
| 10 | Overcurrent BBQ | |
| 11 | Trevino Bros BBQ | |
| 12 | Porkasaurus Rex BBQ | |
| 13 | Wapatui Smokers | |
| 14 | SmoQued On Main St | |
| 15 | Preacher's Barbecue | |
| 16 | 401-Q | |
| 17 | Diddy's Delectable 3BQ | |
| 18 | Up in Smoke | |
| 19 | Sauced Up | |
| 20 | Dirty Shirt BBQ | |
| 21 | Monster Pit BBQ | |
| 22 | C&C Grill House | |
| 23 | Twisted Bee |