Iron Head Barbeque

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

Power ranking

#6127

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1423

peak 1502 · rated over 12 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2022-07-07

latest 2023-06-16

Best ToY finish

#583

Master 2023

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

0 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 16 contests

Avg finish

top 84%

overall standings

Best overall

668.4916 / 720

Master · South Carolina Festival of Discovery

Perfect 180s

Current form

638.59 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 635.34 (+3.25)

Walk rate

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

176.5600

Chicken · Papa Joe's Banjo-B-Que Music Festival

Consistency

±42.82

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork Ribs

avg 164.81 · weakest Brisket (156.96)

Road miles

2,309

mi across 16 mapped stops · furthest 450 mi

Schedule strength

74%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1594)

Purse competed for

$151K

listed at 12 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

GCs in 12 state-championship entries

Master avg

635.34 / 720

12 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (8 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

668.4916 career-best overall

92.8% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 668.4916 at South Carolina Festival of Discovery — 92.8% of a perfect 720.

Master
2022-07-07

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

HOGGY BOTTOM BOYS has finished one call ahead of Iron Head Barbeque 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

A tough matchup

11–0 behind in the head-to-head

HOLD YOUR HORSES BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings

HOLD YOUR HORSES BBQ has come out ahead in 11 of their 11 shared contests.

The weak link

−7.8 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 7.85 points below their pork ribs, and turns into a call 0% of the time against 7%.

Brisket avg 156.96
Pork Ribs avg 164.81
0 calls in 12 entries

A strong matchup

3–1 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 75% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of Wine Me, Dine Me and Swine Me in 3 of their 4 shared contests.

Pork Ribs nemesis

12 of 13 shared pork ribs entries lost

Smoke Central BBQ ahead 92% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, Smoke Central BBQ has out-cooked them in 12 of 13 shared pork ribs entries.

Going the wrong way

-79 rating points in a year

The rating has slipped 79 points across 12 contests since 2022-07-07 — from 1502 down to 1423.

12 contests since 2022-07-07
now 1423

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

Wiggle Butts BBQ has landed one call behind them 2 times.

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.

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

HICKORY FLAT BBQ CO.

#6124 of the rated field

1423 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 16
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1423

1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to Iron Head Barbeque)

One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Iron Head Barbeque has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.

rated over 16 contests
last seen 2025-08-15

⚔ Head-to-head

CLAUDE'S Q

#6129 of the rated field

1423 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 69
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 7%
Peak: 1510

2–1 in 3 shared contests (67% to Iron Head Barbeque)

They've been 1510 at their best, 87 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 67 contests
last seen 2026-05-08

⚔ Head-to-head

HAWG PEN

#6121 of the rated field

1424 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1424

No shared contest yet.

Fewer contests behind them than Iron Head Barbeque has cooked, 9 to 16, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2021-06-04

⚔ Head-to-head

Oncue BBQ Team

#6126 of the rated field

1423 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1423

No shared contest yet.

Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 4 years before Iron Head Barbeque's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 9 contests

⚔ Head-to-head

Partycrowd BBQ

#6125 of the rated field

1423 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1423

No shared contest yet.

They were already cooking in 2013, 9 years before Iron Head Barbeque's first contest.

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2018-04-06

⚔ Head-to-head

SMOKING AND THE BANDITS

#6123 of the rated field

1423 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1423

No shared contest yet.

Level with Iron Head Barbeque on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 8 contests
last seen 2023-09-27

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
HOLD YOUR HORSES BBQ	11	0	11	0%	⚔ compare
MAYA JANE BBQ CO.	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
Smoke Central BBQ	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
SMOKE SHOW MAFIA	9	0	9	0%	⚔ compare
BAD ROOSTER BBQ	8	0	8	0%	⚔ compare
Bald Hawg BBQ	8	0	8	0%	⚔ compare
Peckerwood Country Club	7	1	6	14%	⚔ compare
ELITE BBQ SMOKERS	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
MUTTLEY CREW BBQ	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
Under the Radar	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
Organizer Portal	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
Willingham's	6	2	4	33%	⚔ compare
OLD HENRY'S BBQ	6	2	4	33%	⚔ compare
Dogpatch Q	6	1	5	17%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	13	0	176.5600	151.9428	163.97	top 74%
Pork Ribs	15	1	175.4400	151.3716	164.81	top 70%
Pork	11	0	173.1200	150.7884	161.78	top 78%
Brisket	12	0	170.2628	145.1084	156.96	top 82%

“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
GA	7	top 82%
NC	2	top 97%
WV	1	top 96%
FL	1	top 90%
SC	1	top 51%

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	6	0	top 91%
Large (40+)	6	0	top 77%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
Shelby BBQ Extravaganza (Day 2)	2	33	0	top 97%	2022-10-29

The story so far (16 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 0.9 yrs 2022-07-07 → 2023-06-16

Busiest season 2022 12 contests

Contests a season 8 across 2 seasons in the data

Cooks most in GA 11 of 16 contests · 5 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 11 1 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Pork Ribs 15 entries · 0 wins · 1 calls

Strongest meat Pork Ribs averages 164.81 · weakest Brisket (156.96)

Walk rate 6% a top-10 call in 1 of 16 contests

Overall top-10 rate 0% 0 of 16 contests

Master average 635.34 out of 720 · 12 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 386 120–577 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 2,309 16 mapped stops · furthest 450 mi

Schedule strength 1594 average field rating faced — tougher than 74% of rated contests

Purse competed for $150,550 listed at 12 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships 0 from 12 state-championship entries

Power rating 1423 peak 1502 · #6127 of 6,413 rated

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

2022
Jul 7 First tracked contest South Carolina Festival of Discovery
Jul 7 First overall past 90% of a perfect score668.4916 South Carolina Festival of Discovery
Jul 7 Career-best overall score668.4916 South Carolina Festival of Discovery
Jul 7 Peak power rating (1502) South Carolina Festival of Discovery
Oct 14 Career-best single call (Chicken)176.5600 Papa Joe's Banjo-B-Que Music Festival
Oct 29 10th tracked contest Shelby BBQ Extravaganza (Day 2)
2023
Jan 27 First call Lakeland Pig Festival
Jun 16 Most recent contest Almost Heaven BBQ Bash

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+2.2	South Carolina Festival of Discovery	2022-07-07

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-12.6	Swine At the Shrine	2022-08-05
-8.9	Swampfest	2023-03-31
-8.6	Shelby BBQ Extravaganza (Day 2)	2022-10-29
-8.3	Almost Heaven BBQ Bash	2023-06-16
-8	Shelby BBQ Extravaganza (Day 1)	2022-10-28

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)
2023	4	0	0	0	25%	top 91%	90.1%	88.1%
2022	12	0	0	0	0%	top 80%	92.8%	88.3%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2023-06-16	Almost Heaven BBQ Bash 🏅 Buckhannon, WV	27 / 28 (621.6116)	26 (157.6800)	23 (162.2972)	28 (150.8344)	28 (150.8000)
2023-03-31	Swampfest 🏅 Waycross, GA	27 / 28 (625.5540)	28 (151.9428)	24 (162.8000)	22 (165.7028)	28 (145.1084)
2023-03-03	Sip & Swine BBQ Festival 🏅 Lawrenceville, GA	53 / 65 (648.9372)	45 (166.2512)	58 (160.5144)	17 (173.1200)	60 (149.0516)
2023-01-27	Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL	46 / 51 (640.4232)	46 (162.8000)	7 (175.4400)	45 (155.9316)	49 (146.2516)
2022-11-18	Atlanta BBQ Store Classic 🏅 Cumming, GA	39 / 57 (656.4116)	37 (165.0972)	38 (163.9428)	29 (167.3828)	48 (159.9888)
2022-11-17	Atlanta BBQ Store Classic (One Meat Ribs) Cumming, GA	—	—	28 (165.0972)	—	—
2022-10-29	Shelby BBQ Extravaganza (Day 2) 🏅 Shelby, NC	34 / 34 (639.8628)	17 (171.4400)	29 (165.6800)	34 (150.7884)	34 (151.9544)
2022-10-28	Shelby BBQ Extravaganza (Day 1) 🏅 Shelby, NC	33 / 35 (641.5084)	34 (158.2516)	25 (166.2628)	34 (158.1940)	32 (158.8000)
2022-10-14	Papa Joe's Banjo-B-Que Music Festival 🏅 Grovetown, GA	36 / 51 (667.3144)	13 (176.5600)	33 (167.3944)	48 (162.2628)	43 (161.0972)
2022-10-14	Papa Joe's Banjo-B-Que Music Festival - One Meat Chicken Grovetown, GA	—	28 (163.9428)	—	—	—
2022-10-07	The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival 🏅 Lyons, GA	22 / 30 (665.0404)	26 (164.5256)	16 (167.4060)	22 (164.5488)	17 (168.5600)
2022-09-16	Smoketember Fest 🏅 Baxley, GA	25 / 30 (647.2344)	22 (165.6800)	21 (163.9428)	27 (163.9544)	26 (153.6572)
2022-09-16	Smoketember Fest (One Meat Ribs) Baxley, GA	—	—	17 (151.3716)	—	—
2022-08-05	Swine At the Shrine 🏅 Savannah, GA	49 / 49 (501.6920)	45 (159.4060)	20 (172.0232)	—	24 (170.2628)
2022-08-05	Swine At the Shrine (One Meat Ribs) Savannah, GA	—	—	21 (162.2516)	—	—
2022-07-07	South Carolina Festival of Discovery 🏅 Greenwood, SC	47 / 92 (668.4916)	42 (167.9888)	57 (165.6684)	51 (166.8572)	41 (167.9772)

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
2023 ↗	Master	#583 (286 pts)	#642 (286 pts)	#503 (464 pts)	#558 (341 pts)	#609 (286 pts)