Mad Rocket Barbecue AL
Rating
1652
peak 1667
Contests
32
in the data
First seen
2022-04-08
latest 2024-10-18
Best ToY finish
#25
Backyard 2024
Grand champs
4
1 reserve
Category wins
3
11 podiums
Overall top-10s
17
of 32 contests
Avg finish
top 36%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
1 🔥
Current form
339.71 ▼
last 5 vs career avg 357.74 (-18.02)
Walk rate
75%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
12
best run (overall)
Consistency
±49.67
std dev of overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 171.27 · weakest Pork (165.44)
Road miles
2137
mi across 32 mapped stops · furthest 134 mi
Storylines
🎯 The one to beat
NORALA BBQ TEAM has finished one call ahead of Mad Rocket Barbecue 4 times — their closest competition in the data.
👀 Looking over their shoulder
Deviant Smoke has landed one call behind them 3 times.
⚔️ A tough matchup
Smokey Bees BBQ - MS has come out ahead in 13 of their 17 shared contests.
⚔️ A strong matchup
They've finished ahead of Modest Meats in 12 of their 15 shared contests.
🏕️ Happy hunting ground
Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY) is their spot: an average finish in the top 19% across 2 visits.
💔 The heartbreaker
Came within 1.1428 points of the Grand Championship at Fire at the Foothills (BACKYARD ONLY) (2024-04-05).
🗡️ Giant slayer
Took the Grand Championship over a 40-team field at Smoke on the Water BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY).
🃏 Against the odds
Their Grand Championship at O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) #1 (2023-09-22) came as the ratings underdog — roughly a 27-in-100 shot against the field's top-rated team, LEE LA Q.
Teams like this (closest power rating, AL first)
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 31 | 17 | 3 | 8 | 180.0000 🔥 | 153.6228 | 171.27 | top 39% |
| Pork Ribs | 31 | 20 | 0 | 3 | 176.0000 | 156.5488 | 169.01 | top 40% |
| Pork | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 169.6800 | 161.0856 | 165.44 | top 60% |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AL | 26 | 4 | top 35% |
| TN | 4 | 0 | top 41% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 8 | 2 | top 45% |
| Medium (20–39) | 14 | 1 | top 32% |
| Large (40+) | 8 | 1 | top 33% |
The story so far
- Busiest season: 2024 (13 contests)
- Cooks mostly in AL (27 of 32 contests)
- Most-entered category: Chicken (31 entries)
- First Grand Championship in the data: O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) #1 (2023-09-22)
- Wins it all in 13% of contests
- All-time average overall score: 357.74
- 1 perfect 180 on the books 🔥
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
Category scores over time
Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)
Where they finish (overall)
Best vs average (by meat)
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Category wins | Best overall | Avg overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 353.7028 | 342.76 |
| 2023 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 511.9544 | 370.71 |
| 2022 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 501.6116 | 361.74 |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-10-18 | WhistleStop BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Huntsville, AL | 5 / 50 (348.5140) | 4 (175.4056) | 5 (173.1084) | — | — |
| 2024-10-11 | Scottsboro BBQ Festival (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE) Scottsboro, AL | 15 / 38 (339.3600) | 13 (173.1200) | 16 (166.2400) | — | — |
| 2024-10-04 | Poosa Q Montgomery, AL | 42 / 59 (329.0856) | 39 (163.9428) | 41 (165.1428) | — | — |
| 2024-09-13 | Smoke on the Water Guntersville (BACKYARD ONLY) Guntersville, AL | 12 / 33 (342.2284) | 16 (168.5256) | 5 (173.7028) | — | — |
| 2024-09-06 | Bernard Blues and BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) (ONE MEAT CHICKEN) Cullman, AL | — | 15 (153.6228) | — | — | — |
| 2024-09-06 | Bernard Blues and BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) Cullman, AL | 15 / 27 (339.3828) | 6 (176.5600) | 22 (162.8228) | — | — |
| 2024-07-12 | The Art of the 'Cue (BACKYARD ONLY) Shelbyville, TN | 7 / 17 (345.0972) | 7 (174.2628) | 8 (170.8344) | 11 (166.2400) | — |
| 2024-06-07 | Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY) Huntsville, AL | 9 / 35 (341.0856) | 12 (171.4056) | 10 (169.6800) | — | — |
| 2024-05-25 | 6th Annual KCBS World Invitational - BACKYARD SERIES INVITATIONAL Lebanon, TN | 41 / 47 (335.8968) | 30 (170.8112) | 45 (165.0856) | — | — |
| 2024-05-17 | The High on the Hog Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Winchester, TN | 8 / 39 (345.1316) | 10 (173.7144) | 11 (171.4172) | — | — |
| 2024-04-26 | Smoke on the Water BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Florence, AL | 1 / 40 (353.7028) | 3 (177.7028) | 3 (176.0000) | — | — |
| 2024-04-05 | Fire at the Foothills (BACKYARD ONLY) Chelsea, AL | 2 / 16 (346.2516) | 4 (173.1316) | 2 (173.1200) | 9 (167.3828) | — |
| 2024-03-22 | Singing River Smoke-O-Rama (BACKYARD ONLY) Athens, AL | 3 / 38 (347.4056) | 6 (174.2628) | 8 (173.1428) | — | — |
| 2023-10-27 | Railyard BBQ Brawl 2023 Madison, AL | 1 / 14 (355.4172) | 1 (180.0000) | 4 (175.4172) | — | — |
| 2023-10-20 | The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY) Huntsville, AL | 6 / 50 (343.9544) | 3 (175.4172) | 19 (168.5372) | — | — |
| 2023-10-13 | Scottsboro BBQ Festival (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE ONLY) Scottsboro, AL | 1 / 27 (350.8456) | 1 (176.5828) | 4 (174.2628) | — | — |
| 2023-09-22 | O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) #2 Oneonta, AL | 3 / 11 (337.0744) | 2 (171.9772) | 7 (165.0972) | — | — |
| 2023-09-22 | O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) #1 Oneonta, AL | 1 / 18 (351.9772) | 2 (176.5600) | 2 (175.4172) | — | — |
| 2023-09-08 | Bernard Blues and BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) Cullman, AL | 10 / 19 (330.7656) | 10 (167.9656) | 10 (162.8000) | — | — |
| 2023-08-26 | Smoke on the Water BBQ Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) Lincoln, AL | 6 / 17 (341.6456) | 2 (177.7028) | 10 (163.9428) | — | — |
| 2023-08-11 | Smoke in the Park (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE) Glencoe, AL | 6 / 35 (511.9544) | 1 (176.5600) | 7 (172.5716) | 25 (162.8228) | — |
| 2023-08-04 | Smoke in the Outfield (BACKYARD) (TEAM REGISTRATION FULL) Madison, AL | 31 / 58 (336.5028) | 17 (170.8228) | 38 (165.6800) | — | — |
| 2023-06-09 | Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY) Huntsville, AL | 3 / 26 (346.2284) | 4 (174.2628) | 6 (171.9656) | — | — |
| 2023-04-28 | Smoke on the Water BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Florence, AL | 22 / 36 (501.6112) | 18 (167.4056) | 9 (173.1200) | 29 (161.0856) | — |
| 2023-03-17 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship Lebanon, TN | 12 / 80 (340.5372) | 11 (172.5600) | 17 (167.9772) | — | — |
| 2023-03-17 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship (One Meat Ribs) Lebanon, TN | — | — | 55 (156.5488) | — | — |
| 2022-10-28 | Railyard BBQ Brawl Madison, AL | 18 / 10 (323.8972) | 28 (155.3600) | 9 (168.5372) | — | — |
| 2022-10-07 | Scottsboro BBQ Festival (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE ONLY) Scottsboro, AL | 22 / 38 (327.9084) | 18 (166.8228) | 25 (161.0856) | — | — |
| 2022-09-08 | Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ Huntsville, AL | 6 / 35 (339.9544) | 7 (169.6916) | 7 (170.2628) | — | — |
| 2022-05-05 | Poosa Q Montgomery, AL | 11 / 72 (341.0972) | 23 (167.9656) | 6 (173.1316) | — | — |
| 2022-04-22 | Smoke on the Water BBQ Festival (Backyard) Florence, AL | 15 / 34 (501.6116) | 11 (170.8228) | 25 (161.1088) | 9 (169.6800) | — |
| 2022-04-08 | Smoke on the Falls Gadsden, AL | 17 / 34 (335.9544) | 31 (164.5372) | 7 (171.4172) | — | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 ↗ | Backyard | #25 (1101 pts) | #38 (978 pts) | #37 (999 pts) | — | — |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | — | #1131 (91 pts) | — | — | — |
| 2023 ↗ | Backyard | — | #4 (1332 pts) | #49 (986 pts) | — | — |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | — | — | #1432 (60 pts) | — | — |
| 2022 ↗ | Backyard | — | #90 (519 pts) | #71 (706 pts) | — | — |