Happy hunting ground
Top 16%
average finish here
Tri-City BBQ Fest is their spot: an average finish in the top 16% across 4 visits.
- 4 visits
- best finish 3rd
- average top 16%
Bar Down BBQ
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1483
peak 1526 · rated over 10 contests ⓘ
Contests
10
in the data
First seen
2022-09-16
latest 2026-05-23
Best ToY finish
#237
Backyard 2024
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
4 podiums
Overall top-10s
4
of 10 contests
Avg finish
top 59%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
633.80
last 5 Master vs avg 633.48 (+0.32)
Walk rate
70%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
2
best run (overall)
Consistency
±17.98
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 161.89 · weakest Brisket (156.71)
Road miles
7,676
mi across 10 mapped stops · furthest 1147 mi
Schedule strength
48%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1562)
Purse competed for
$66K
listed at 6 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 7 state-championship entries
Master avg
633.48 / 720
6 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
333.84 / 360
4 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
Master and Backyard overall scores sit on different scales (Master is out of 720, Backyard out of 360), so they're kept separate — averaging them together would be misleading.
This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.
Storylines (12 found in this team's record)
Each card leads with the number that made it a story — read straight out of their results, no editorialising.
They almost always walk
70%
of contests with a top-10 call
A call in 7 of 10 contests
A top-10 category call in 70% of their 10 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.
High-water mark
663.2456
career-best overall
92.1% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 663.2456 at 10th Annual Jimmy Jam BBQ Slam — 92.1% of a perfect 720.
- Master
- 2026-01-09
The one to beat
2×
one call ahead of them
Bramble BBQ has finished one call ahead of Bar Down BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
A tough matchup
3–0
behind in the head-to-head
HASHTAG BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings
HASHTAG BBQ has come out ahead in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
The weak link
−5.2
points behind their best meat
Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 5.18 points below their pork, and turns into a call 0% of the time against 17%.
- Brisket avg 156.71
- Pork avg 161.89
- 0 calls in 6 entries
A strong matchup
4–0
ahead in the head-to-head
Ahead in 100% of their meetings
They've finished ahead of Bucknutz BBQ in 4 of their 4 shared contests.
Announced themselves early
3rd
at their very first contest
Finished 3 of 25 at their very first tracked contest, Tri City BBQ Fest (2022-09-16).
- 2022-09-16
- 25-team field
Looking over their shoulder
2×
one call behind them
WHEN PIGS DIE has landed one call behind them 2 times.
A September team
Top 16%
average finish in September
Something about September: average finish in the top 16% across 4 contests, versus top 59% the rest of the year.
- 4 September contests
- top 59% the rest of the year
The long haul
7,676
road miles between contests
Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 7,676 miles across 10 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 1,147 miles to 10th Annual Jimmy Jam BBQ Slam.
- 10 mapped stops
- furthest 1,147 mi
A standing appointment
4
years running at one contest
They've cooked Tri-City BBQ Fest every year from 2022 to 2025 — the contest they never miss.
- 4 visits in all
- best finish 3rd
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The nearest teams in the power rankings, with a different reason on each card — six teams on one rating are rarely on it for the same reason. Rating decides who makes the list; where teams tie on it, the ones this team has actually cooked against come first, then teams at a similar point in their own career. KCBS doesn’t publish where a team is from, so nothing here is inferred from geography.
118 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#4022 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 33%
- Peak
- 1502
0–3 in 3 shared contests (0% to Bar Down BBQ)
These two have cooked 3 of the same contests — What For BBQ ahead 3–0 — so there's a record behind this pairing and not just a matching number.
⚔ Head-to-head#4016 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1504
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 7 years before Bar Down BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#4009 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 18%
- Peak
- 1504
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 11 contests to 10, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#4000 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 9%
- Peak
- 1514
No shared contest yet.
They've been 1514 at their best, 31 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Head-to-head#3996 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 9%
- Peak
- 1483
No shared contest yet.
They were already cooking in 2013, 9 years before Bar Down BBQ's first contest.
⚔ Head-to-head#4021 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 22%
- Peak
- 1482
No shared contest yet.
Level with Bar Down BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-headFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PARROTHEAD SMOKERS | 6 | 2 | 4 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 13 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 176.0000 | 149.7028 | 161.16 | top 53% |
| Pork Ribs | 10 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 173.1428 | 138.7656 | 160.84 | top 50% |
| Pork | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 176.0000 | 147.9772 | 161.89 | top 71% |
| Brisket | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 168.5372 | 149.6456 | 156.71 | top 83% |
“Calls” = top-10 category finishes (getting called to the stage). Scores here are the final weighted totals KCBS publishes; per-criterion appearance/taste/tenderness marks aren’t in the public results feed.
By state / province
| Where | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| IA | 4 | 0 | top 16% |
| ON | 3 | 0 | top 84% |
| FL | 3 | 0 | top 92% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 9 | 0 | top 56% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 91% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tri-City BBQ Fest | 4 | 3 | 0 | top 16% | 2025-09-19 |
| JACK9 Memorial BBQ Competition | 2 | 17 | 0 | top 81% | 2026-05-23 |
The story so far (18 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
3.7 yrs
2022-09-16 → 2026-05-23
Busiest season
2025
3 contests
Contests a season
2
across 5 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
IA
4 of 10 contests · 3 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
6
2 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
13 entries · 0 wins · 5 calls
Strongest meat
Pork
averages 161.89 · weakest Brisket (156.71)
Walk rate
70%
a top-10 call in 7 of 10 contests
Overall top-10 rate
40%
4 of 10 contests
Best top-10 run
2
straight contests
Master average
633.48
out of 720 · 6 contests · 0 GCs
Backyard average
333.84
out of 360 · 4 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
239
129–256 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
7,676
10 mapped stops · furthest 1,147 mi
Schedule strength
1562
average field rating faced — tougher than 48% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$66,400
listed at 6 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 7 state-championship entries
Power rating
1483
peak 1526 · #4012 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2022
- First tracked contest Tri City BBQ Fest
- First call Tri City BBQ Fest
- First overall top-10 Tri City BBQ Fest
- First overall podium Tri City BBQ Fest
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score334.8000 Tri City BBQ Fest
- 2023
- Peak power rating (1526) Tri City BBQ Fest
- 2026
- Career-best overall score663.2456 10th Annual Jimmy Jam BBQ Slam
- Career-best single call (Pork)176.0000 10th Annual Jimmy Jam BBQ Slam
- 10th tracked contest JACK9 Memorial BBQ Competition
- Most recent contest JACK9 Memorial BBQ Competition
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +14.9 | Tri City BBQ Fest | 2022-09-16 |
| +13.7 | Tri City BBQ Fest | 2024-09-20 |
| +11.2 | Tri City BBQ Fest | 2023-09-15 |
| +8.6 | Tri-City BBQ Fest | 2025-09-19 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -13.6 | 8th Annual Jimmy Jam BBQ Slam & Car Show | 2024-01-04 |
| -12.2 | 9th Annual Jimmy Jam BBQ Slam | 2025-01-09 |
| -11.8 | Jack 9 Memorial | 2024-05-25 |
| -10.9 | 10th Annual Jimmy Jam BBQ Slam | 2026-01-09 |
| -10.1 | JACK9 Memorial BBQ Competition | 2026-05-23 |
Category scores over time
Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)
Where they finish (overall)
Best vs average (by meat)
How entries end (by meat)
Team of the Year rank by season
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 89% | 92.1% | 91.2% |
| 2025 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 67% | top 64% | 89.7% | 87.4% |
| 2024 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33% | top 65% | 93% | 88.6% |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 16% | 95.2% | 95.2% |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 12% | 93% | 93% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-23 | JACK9 Memorial BBQ Competition La Salette, ON | 17 / 20 (650.7312) | 11 (167.9656) | 6 (171.4172) | 18 (157.1312) | 19 (154.2172) |
| 2026-01-09 | 10th Annual Jimmy Jam BBQ Slam 🏅 St. Augustine, FL | 35 / 38 (663.2456) | 8 (173.1084) | 37 (157.0628) | 9 (176.0000) | 25 (168.5372) |
| 2025-09-19 | Tri-City BBQ Fest 🏅 Denison, IA | 6 / 26 (322.8344) | 6 (152.5372) | 2 (170.2972) | — | — |
| 2025-05-24 | Jack9 Memorial BBQ Competition La Salette, ON | 20 / 26 (623.9200) | 13 (162.8800) | 10 (163.4172) | 25 (147.9772) | 23 (149.6456) |
| 2025-01-09 | 9th Annual Jimmy Jam BBQ Slam 🏅 Elkton, FL | 35 / 38 (618.6512) | 20 (149.7028) | 38 (138.7656) | 19 (169.6800) | 33 (157.6800) |
| 2024-09-20 | Tri City BBQ Fest 🏅 Denison, IA | 4 / 30 (334.8344) | 3 (172.5600) | 6 (162.2744) | — | — |
| 2024-05-25 | Jack 9 Memorial La Salette, ON | 18 / 20 (612.4348) | 19 (156.5484) | 20 (143.9888) | 19 (153.6688) | 13 (158.2288) |
| 2024-01-04 | 8th Annual Jimmy Jam BBQ Slam & Car Show 🏅 Elkton, FL | 39 / 43 (631.8972) | 25 (155.9656) | 37 (161.1428) | 30 (166.8572) | 42 (151.9544) |
| 2023-09-15 | Tri City BBQ Fest 🏅 Denison, IA | 5 / 32 (342.8800) | 2 (176.0000) | 4 (166.8800) | — | — |
| 2022-09-16 | Tri City BBQ Fest 🏅 Denison, IA | 3 / 25 (334.8000) | 5 (161.6572) | 3 (173.1428) | — | — |
Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)
Team of the Year standings (rank per category by season — year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Master | #688 (145 pts) | #705 (175 pts) | #666 (220 pts) | #600 (225 pts) | #744 (135 pts) |
| 2025 ↗ | Backyard | #268 (148 pts) | #272 (148 pts) | #208 (233 pts) | — | — |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #1148 (60 pts) | #1221 (60 pts) | #1293 (60 pts) | #1087 (90 pts) | #1190 (60 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Backyard | #237 (184 pts) | #221 (209 pts) | #275 (149 pts) | — | — |
| 2023 ↗ | Backyard | — | #201 (232 pts) | #218 (182 pts) | — | — |
| 2022 ↗ | Backyard | — | #212 (157 pts) | #182 (207 pts) | — | — |