High-water mark
508.5944
career-best overall
94.2% of a perfect 540
Their best day on record: 508.5944 at Smoke in the Grove (Day 2) — 94.2% of a perfect 540.
- Backyard
- Jul 30, 2022
Sweet Rick's BBQ
Sweet Rick's BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 10 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2021 and 2022. Their best overall finish is 5th of 42 at the Smoke in the Grove (Day 2) (2022). They are ranked #3917 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1485
peak 1485 · rated over 10 contests
Contests
10
in the data
First seen
Apr 16, 2021
latest Aug 19, 2022 · 1.3 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
2
20% of 10 contests
Avg finish
top 57%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
297.09 ▼
last 5 Backyard vs avg 299.45 (-2.37)
Walk rate
20%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±15.11
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 166.28 · weakest Chicken (152.83)
Road miles
627
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 🏅
won from 7 state-championship entries
Backyard avg
299.45 / 360
8 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
Backyard (3-meat) avg
501.14 / 540
2 Backyard (3-meat) contests · 0 GCs
These overall scores sit on different scales (Backyard out of 360, Backyard (3-meat) out of 540), 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.
Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Sweet Rick's BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
167 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#3,906 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 18%
- Peak
- 1515
They've been 1515 at their best, 30 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Compare careers#3,929 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 10%
- Peak
- 1500
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.
⚔ Compare careers#3,934 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 9%
- Peak
- 1485
Careers of much the same size, 11 contests to 10, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#3,904 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 9%
- Peak
- 1515
They were already cooking in 2013, 8 years before Sweet Rick's BBQ's first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#3,942 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 11%
- Peak
- 1484
Level with Sweet Rick's BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#3,905 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1485
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 9 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar 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% |
“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 field size and state
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% |
Repeat visits (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% | Jul 30, 2022 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2021
6 contests
Contests a season
5
across 2 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
MD
5 of 10 contests · 3 states in all
Contests visited
8
1 of them more than once
Opponents faced
210
finished ahead 217 times, behind 340
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20227 milestones
- 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)
20212 milestones
- First tracked contest Interstate BBQ Festival - Day 1
- Peak power rating (1495) Interstate BBQ Festival - Day 1
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +16.2 | Smoke in the Grove (Day 2) | Jul 30, 2022 |
| +3.6 | Smoke in the Grove (Day 1) | Jul 29, 2022 |
| +1 | York County BBQ Festival | Jun 18, 2021 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -10.5 | Dirty Boots BBQ and Meat Contest - Day 1 | Aug 27, 2021 |
| -8.7 | Pig Out in the Park (BACKYARD ONLY) | Aug 19, 2022 |
| -5.4 | Interstate BBQ Festival - Day 1 | Apr 16, 2021 |
| -4.8 | Smoke in the Grove | Jul 30, 2021 |
| -3 | Dirty Boots BBQ and Meat Contest - Day 2 | Aug 28, 2021 |
Scores over time (% of a perfect score — tap a meat to add it)
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% | 94.2% | 86.5% |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 19, 2022 | Pig Out in the Park (BACKYARD ONLY) Frostburg, MD | 11 / 12 (305.7144) | 11 (157.1544) | 11 (148.5600) | — | — |
| Jul 30, 2022 | Smoke in the Grove (Day 2) 🏅 Spring Grove, PA | 5 / 42 (508.5944) | 17 (169.7028) | 12 (166.9144) | 4 (171.9772) | — |
| Jul 29, 2022 | Smoke in the Grove (Day 1) 🏅 Spring Grove, PA | 23 / 54 (493.6800) | 26 (165.7028) | 22 (160) | 11 (167.9772) | — |
| Jun 17, 2022 | Almost Heaven BBQ Bash 🏅 Roanoke, WV | 10 / 20 (271.1884) | 10 (132.3656) | 10 (138.8228) | — | — |
| Aug 28, 2021 | Dirty Boots BBQ and Meat Contest - Day 2 Boonsboro, MD | 14 / 20 (315.4400) | 17 (156.0228) | 13 (159.4172) | — | — |
| Aug 27, 2021 | Dirty Boots BBQ and Meat Contest - Day 1 Boonsboro, MD | 21 / 24 (287.3484) | 21 (151.4056) | 21 (135.9428) | — | — |
| Jul 30, 2021 | Smoke in the Grove 🏅 Spring Grove, PA | 31 / 54 (305.7488) | 31 (150.8572) | 24 (154.8916) | 19 (158.8800) | — |
| Jun 18, 2021 | York County BBQ Festival 🏅 Delta, PA | 18 / 41 (318.2968) | 18 (158.8568) | 17 (159.4400) | — | — |
| Apr 17, 2021 | Interstate BBQ Festival - Day 2 🏅 Hagerstown, MD | 19 / 34 (305.0628) | 19 (150.8228) | 19 (154.2400) | — | — |
| Apr 16, 2021 | Interstate BBQ Festival - Day 1 🏅 Hagerstown, MD | 28 / 47 (286.8344) | 28 (135.4288) | 25 (151.4056) | — | — |