SPANKY & THE MEAT MAFIA

At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)

Power ranking

#3438

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1494

peak 1513 · rated over 10 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2014-07-25

latest 2017-07-28

Best ToY finish

#1021

Master 2016

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

2 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 10 contests

Avg finish

top 62%

overall standings

Best overall

678.2168 / 720

Master · Smokin On Big Creek BBQ Contest Benefiting Operation BBQ Relief(Judges Full)

Perfect 180s

Current form

649.41 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 638.96 (+10.45)

Walk rate

50%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

178.3200

Chicken · Sam's Club National BBQ Tour

Consistency

±48.78

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork

avg 163.58 · weakest Pork Ribs (152.10)

Road miles

771

mi across 10 mapped stops · furthest 200 mi

Schedule strength

62%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1578)

Master avg

638.96 / 720

10 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (6 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.

High-water mark

678.2168 career-best overall

94.2% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 678.2168 at Smokin On Big Creek BBQ Contest Benefiting Operation BBQ Relief(Judges Full) — 94.2% of a perfect 720.

Master
2015-04-03

Their season

2015 their best year

2015 was the year it came together: 3 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 0 category wins, at an average finish in the top 45%.

3 contests
0 overall top-10s
0 category wins
average top 45%

A tough matchup

7–1 behind in the head-to-head

PORKY BUTTS BBQ ahead in 88% of their meetings

PORKY BUTTS BBQ has come out ahead in 7 of their 8 shared contests.

The weak link

−11.5 points behind their best meat

Pork Ribs is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 11.48 points below their pork, and turns into a call 40% of the time against 20%.

Pork Ribs avg 152.10
Pork avg 163.58
4 calls in 10 entries

A strong matchup

3–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of JDS in 3 of their 3 shared contests.

Pork nemesis

6 of 8 shared pork entries lost

PORKY BUTTS BBQ ahead 75% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, PORKY BUTTS BBQ has out-cooked them in 6 of 8 shared pork entries.

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.

123 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.

3 Master Basters

#3454 of the rated field

1494 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1510

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 10 contests to 10, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 10 contests
last seen 2023-06-23

⚔ Head-to-head

BIG MOOK'S BBQ

#3448 of the rated field

1494 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1500

No shared contest yet.

Level with SPANKY & THE MEAT MAFIA on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 10 contests
last seen 2015-05-29

⚔ Head-to-head

BIG BONE BBQ-MT

#3441 of the rated field

1494 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 27%
Peak: 1507

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.

rated over 11 contests
last seen 2017-06-16

⚔ Head-to-head

Black Sail BBQ

#3444 of the rated field

1494 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1501

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 9 contests to 10, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2026-07-24

⚔ Head-to-head

Mates Nice Rack BBQ

#3427 of the rated field

1495 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 11%
Peak: 1518

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 9 contests to 10, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2026-07-11

⚔ Head-to-head

SMOKE 'M ALL ST. LOUIS

#3452 of the rated field

1494 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1514

No shared contest yet.

Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2014.

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2019-04-26

⚔ Head-to-head

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
PORKY BUTTS BBQ	8	1	7	13%	⚔ compare
TREEFROG BBQ	7	1	6	14%	⚔ compare
GOTHIC TOWN GRILLERS	6	1	5	17%	⚔ compare
WHEN PIGS DIE	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN CHICKEN BBQ	5	3	2	60%	⚔ compare
KEV'S CHEW CHEW BBQ	5	2	3	40%	⚔ compare
WOODWARD BARBEQUE	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
TEMPLETON RYE WOODFELLAS	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
TRUE SMOKE BBQ	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
SPITFIRE	5	0	5	0%	⚔ compare
DIG-IN COOKERS	5	0	5	0%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	10	1	1	178.3200	153.6456	162.27	top 65%
Pork Ribs	10	4	1	178.2972	20.0000	152.10	top 42%
Pork	10	2	0	174.2856	150.2400	163.58	top 57%
Brisket	10	1	0	173.1544	152.0116	161.01	top 62%

“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	Avg finish
IA	8	top 70%
NE	1	top 45%
MO	1	top 20%

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	7	0	top 66%
Large (40+)	3	0	top 55%

Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
Sam's Club National BBQ Tour	3	17	0	top 60%	2016-07-29

The story so far (14 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 3 yrs 2014-07-25 → 2017-07-28

Busiest season 2016 4 contests

Contests a season 2.5 across 4 seasons in the data

Cooks most in IA 8 of 10 contests · 3 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 8 1 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 10 entries · 0 wins · 1 calls

Strongest meat Pork averages 163.58 · weakest Pork Ribs (152.10)

Walk rate 50% a top-10 call in 5 of 10 contests

Overall top-10 rate 0% 0 of 10 contests

Master average 638.96 out of 720 · 10 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 227 155–208 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 771 10 mapped stops · furthest 200 mi

Schedule strength 1578 average field rating faced — tougher than 62% of rated contests

Power rating 1494 peak 1513 · #3438 of 6,413 rated

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

2014
Jul 25 First tracked contest Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
Jul 25 First call Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
Jul 25 First overall past 90% of a perfect score661.6456 Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
2015
Apr 3 Career-best overall score678.2168 Smokin On Big Creek BBQ Contest Benefiting Operation BBQ Relief(Judges Full)
Apr 3 Peak power rating (1513) Smokin On Big Creek BBQ Contest Benefiting Operation BBQ Relief(Judges Full)
2017
Jul 28 10th tracked contest Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
Jul 28 Career-best single call (Chicken)178.3200 Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
Jul 28 Most recent contest Sam's Club National BBQ Tour

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+12.7	Smokin On Big Creek BBQ Contest Benefiting Operation BBQ Relief(Judges Full)	2015-04-03
+3.5	5th Annual Valley Veteran's BBQ Competition	2016-05-20
+0.8	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour	2015-07-31
+0.4	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour	2016-07-29
+0.3	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour	2014-07-25

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-12.3	Central Iowa Expo BBQ (Day 1) (Judges Full)	2016-04-22
-7.1	Central Iowa Expo BBQ & Cruise (Day 1)	2017-04-28
-1.9	BBQ in the Bluffs	2016-05-13
-1.1	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour	2017-07-28
-1	Smokin' in the Junction	2015-05-23

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	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2017	2	50%	top 77%	91.7%	89.5%
2016	4	50%	top 68%	91.4%	85.2%
2015	3	33%	top 45%	94.2%	91.8%
2014	1	100%	top 62%	91.9%	91.9%

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2017-07-28	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Ankeny, IA	21 / 30 (660.5600)	3 (178.3200)	5 (170.2972)	30 (150.2400)	24 (161.7028)
2017-04-28	Central Iowa Expo BBQ & Cruise (Day 1) Boone, IA	26 / 31 (628.4344)	29 (154.2400)	26 (152.5372)	25 (158.2516)	20 (163.4056)
2016-07-29	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Des Moines, IA	17 / 28 (658.2400)	28 (153.6456)	2 (178.2972)	4 (174.2856)	27 (152.0116)
2016-05-20	5th Annual Valley Veteran's BBQ Competition Valley, NE	19 / 42 (651.3716)	29 (159.9772)	8 (168.5716)	23 (163.9772)	22 (158.8456)
2016-05-13	BBQ in the Bluffs Council Bluffs, IA	22 / 33 (648.4572)	26 (162.2628)	15 (163.9772)	13 (165.7028)	22 (156.5144)
2016-04-22	Central Iowa Expo BBQ (Day 1) (Judges Full) Boone, IA	42 / 42 (497.0744)	39 (155.4172)	42 (20.0000)	19 (168.5372)	41 (153.1200)
2015-07-31	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Des Moines, IA	17 / 30 (656.5256)	11 (166.8800)	23 (157.1084)	6 (170.8344)	19 (161.7028)
2015-05-23	Smokin' in the Junction West Des Moines, IA	22 / 37 (649.1084)	27 (159.9656)	14 (166.8572)	22 (164.0228)	25 (158.2628)
2015-04-03	Smokin On Big Creek BBQ Contest Benefiting Operation BBQ Relief(Judges Full) Pleasant Hill, MO	14 / 71 (678.2168)	14 (171.4400)	12 (171.4056)	48 (163.9656)	13 (171.4056)
2014-07-25	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Des Moines, IA	18 / 29 (661.6456)	22 (160.5600)	5 (171.9656)	25 (155.9656)	4 (173.1544)

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
2017 ↗	Master	#1662 (131 pts)	#1158 (286 pts)	#1302 (236 pts)	#1982 (111 pts)	#1702 (141 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#1021 (316 pts)	#1343 (231 pts)	#699 (576 pts)	#813 (481 pts)	#1216 (261 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#1050 (285 pts)	#1070 (300 pts)	#1086 (305 pts)	#1094 (305 pts)	#1144 (265 pts)
2014 ↗	Master	#2006 (89 pts)	#2563 (69 pts)	#1522 (179 pts)	#2799 (54 pts)	#1415 (204 pts)