High-water mark
508.5944
career-best overall
141.3% of a perfect 360
Their best day on record: 508.5944 at Smoke in the Grove (Day 2) — 141.3% of a perfect 360.
- Backyard
- 2022-07-30
Sweet Rick's BBQ
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1485
peak 1485 · rated over 10 contests ⓘ
Contests
10
in the data
First seen
2021-04-16
latest 2022-08-19
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
2
of 10 contests
Avg finish
top 57%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
378.92 ▲
last 5 Backyard vs avg 339.79 (+39.13)
Walk rate
20%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±81.86
std dev of Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 166.28 · weakest Chicken (152.83)
Road miles
627
mi across 10 mapped stops · furthest 141 mi
Schedule strength
58%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1574)
Purse competed for
$62K
listed at 7 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 7 state-championship entries
Backyard avg
339.79 / 360
10 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.
Storylines (7 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.
The one to beat
2×
one call ahead of them
2 Old Navy Chiefs and a Baker has finished one call ahead of Sweet Rick's BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
A tough matchup
8–1
behind in the head-to-head
Gold-N-Blue Barbecue ahead in 89% of their meetings
Gold-N-Blue Barbecue has come out ahead in 8 of their 9 shared contests.
The weak link
−13.4
points behind their best meat
Chicken is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 13.45 points below their pork, and turns into a call 10% of the time against 33%.
- Chicken avg 152.83
- Pork avg 166.28
- 1 calls in 10 entries
A strong matchup
7–0
ahead in the head-to-head
Ahead in 100% of their meetings
They've finished ahead of SOUTH BOWIE SMOKE in 7 of their 7 shared contests.
Boom or bust
±22.74%
swing around their own average
Their overall swings ±22.74% of a perfect score around its own average — when it lands they're dangerous, and when it doesn't the weekend is gone by lunch.
- averages 94.4% of a perfect score
- best 141.3%
A July team
Top 37%
average finish in July
Something about July: average finish in the top 37% across 3 contests, versus top 57% the rest of the year.
- 3 July contests
- top 57% the rest of the year
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.
151 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#3897 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 10%
- Peak
- 1485
No shared contest yet.
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 10 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Head-to-head#3926 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 10%
- Peak
- 1500
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 5 years before Sweet Rick's BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#3915 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1502
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#3903 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 18%
- Peak
- 1505
No shared contest yet.
They were already cooking in 2013, 8 years before Sweet Rick's BBQ's first contest.
⚔ Head-to-head#3883 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1485
No shared contest yet.
Level with Sweet Rick's BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#3918 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1485
No shared contest yet.
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 9 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Head-to-headFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHUNKY BBQ | 9 | 2 | 7 | 22% | ⚔ compare |
| Gold-N-Blue Barbecue | 9 | 1 | 8 | 11% | ⚔ compare |
| Zoni-Q | 9 | 1 | 8 | 11% | ⚔ compare |
| Optimus Swine | 8 | 2 | 6 | 25% | ⚔ compare |
| BOGGS HOG BBQ | 8 | 1 | 7 | 13% | ⚔ compare |
| Top Gun Barbecue | 8 | 1 | 7 | 13% | ⚔ compare |
| SOUTH BOWIE SMOKE | 7 | 7 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| BLUE EYED BBQ | 7 | 4 | 3 | 57% | ⚔ compare |
| Deans Rockn Rednecks | 7 | 4 | 2 | 57% | ⚔ compare |
| Weber's Backyard BBQ | 7 | 1 | 6 | 14% | ⚔ compare |
| Kane's BBQ | 7 | 1 | 6 | 14% | ⚔ compare |
| WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Ham Squad | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| LEM'S MEAT VARNISH | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 169.7028 | 132.3656 | 152.83 | top 62% |
| Pork Ribs | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 166.9144 | 135.9428 | 152.96 | top 56% |
| Pork | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 171.9772 | 158.8800 | 166.28 | top 22% |
| Brisket | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| MD | 5 | 0 | top 73% |
| PA | 4 | 0 | top 39% |
| WV | 1 | 0 | top 50% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 1 | 0 | top 92% |
| Medium (20–39) | 4 | 0 | top 66% |
| Large (40+) | 5 | 0 | top 43% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke in the Grove (Day 2) | 3 | 5 | 0 | top 37% | 2022-07-30 |
The story so far (16 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
1.3 yrs
2021-04-16 → 2022-08-19
Busiest season
2021
6 contests
Contests a season
5
across 2 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
MD
5 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 166.28 · weakest Chicken (152.83)
Walk rate
20%
a top-10 call in 2 of 10 contests
Overall top-10 rate
20%
2 of 10 contests
Backyard average
339.79
out of 360 · 10 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
210
217–340 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
627
10 mapped stops · furthest 141 mi
Schedule strength
1574
average field rating faced — tougher than 58% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$61,900
listed at 7 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 7 state-championship entries
Power rating
1485
peak 1485 · #3909 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2021
- First tracked contest Interstate BBQ Festival - Day 1
- Peak power rating (1495) Interstate BBQ Festival - Day 1
- 2022
- First call Almost Heaven BBQ Bash
- First overall top-10 Almost Heaven BBQ Bash
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score493.6800 Smoke in the Grove (Day 1)
- Career-best overall score508.5944 Smoke in the Grove (Day 2)
- Career-best single call (Pork)171.9772 Smoke in the Grove (Day 2)
- 10th tracked contest Pig Out in the Park (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Most recent contest Pig Out in the Park (BACKYARD ONLY)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +16.2 | Smoke in the Grove (Day 2) | 2022-07-30 |
| +3.6 | Smoke in the Grove (Day 1) | 2022-07-29 |
| +1 | York County BBQ Festival | 2021-06-18 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -10.5 | Dirty Boots BBQ and Meat Contest - Day 1 | 2021-08-27 |
| -8.7 | Pig Out in the Park (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2022-08-19 |
| -5.3 | Interstate BBQ Festival - Day 1 | 2021-04-16 |
| -4.8 | Smoke in the Grove | 2021-07-30 |
| -3 | Dirty Boots BBQ and Meat Contest - Day 2 | 2021-08-28 |
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)
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 50% | top 49% | 141.3% | 109.7% |
| 2021 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 62% | 88.4% | 84.2% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-08-19 | Pig Out in the Park (BACKYARD ONLY) Frostburg, MD | 11 / 12 (305.7144) | 11 (157.1544) | 11 (148.5600) | — | — |
| 2022-07-30 | Smoke in the Grove (Day 2) 🏅 Spring Grove, PA | 5 / 42 (508.5944) | 17 (169.7028) | 12 (166.9144) | 4 (171.9772) | — |
| 2022-07-29 | Smoke in the Grove (Day 1) 🏅 Spring Grove, PA | 23 / 54 (493.6800) | 26 (165.7028) | 22 (160.0000) | 11 (167.9772) | — |
| 2022-06-17 | Almost Heaven BBQ Bash 🏅 Roanoke, WV | 10 / 20 (271.1884) | 10 (132.3656) | 10 (138.8228) | — | — |
| 2021-08-28 | Dirty Boots BBQ and Meat Contest - Day 2 Boonsboro, MD | 14 / 20 (315.4400) | 17 (156.0228) | 13 (159.4172) | — | — |
| 2021-08-27 | Dirty Boots BBQ and Meat Contest - Day 1 Boonsboro, MD | 21 / 24 (287.3484) | 21 (151.4056) | 21 (135.9428) | — | — |
| 2021-07-30 | Smoke in the Grove 🏅 Spring Grove, PA | 31 / 54 (305.7488) | 31 (150.8572) | 24 (154.8916) | 19 (158.8800) | — |
| 2021-06-18 | York County BBQ Festival 🏅 Delta, PA | 18 / 41 (318.2968) | 18 (158.8568) | 17 (159.4400) | — | — |
| 2021-04-17 | Interstate BBQ Festival - Day 2 🏅 Hagerstown, MD | 19 / 34 (305.0628) | 19 (150.8228) | 19 (154.2400) | — | — |
| 2021-04-16 | Interstate BBQ Festival - Day 1 🏅 Hagerstown, MD | 28 / 47 (286.8344) | 28 (135.4288) | 25 (151.4056) | — | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 ↗ | Backyard | — | #119 (369 pts) | #109 (409 pts) | — | — |
| 2021 ↗ | Backyard | — | #111 (272 pts) | #102 (282 pts) | — | — |