The heartbreaker
1.7144
points from the title
Came within 1.7144 points of the Grand Championship at Plant City Pig Jam (2025-11-21).
Nuts & Butts
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1573
peak 1583 · rated over 12 contests ⓘ
Best runs
4
straight top-10s
Contests
12
in the data
First seen
2019-01-25
latest 2026-04-25
Best ToY finish
#79
Backyard 2026
Grand champs
1
3 reserve
Category wins
7
14 podiums
Overall top-10s
6
of 12 contests
Avg finish
top 32%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
338.92 ▼
last 5 Backyard vs avg 422.06 (-83.14)
Walk rate
75%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
4
best run (overall)
Consistency
±134.31
std dev of Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 168.45 · weakest Brisket (164.46)
Road miles
134
mi across 12 mapped stops · furthest 36 mi
Schedule strength
37%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1549)
Purse competed for
$201K
listed at 11 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
1 🏅
GCs in 12 state-championship entries
Master avg
671.29 / 720
1 Master contest · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
422.06 / 360
11 Backyard contests · 1 GC
Master and Backyard overall scores sit on different scales (Master is out of 720, Backyard out of 360), 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.
Storylines (15 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.
Happy hunting ground
1×
Grand Championships here
Plant City Pig Jam is their spot: 1 Grand Championship in 3 visits.
- 3 visits
- best finish 1st
- average top 7%
Multi-meat days
2
contests with 2+ category wins
They've won two or more meats on the same day 2 times — the best of them 2 category wins at Plant City Pig Jam (2024-11-22).
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Brisket 1st
They almost always walk
75%
of contests with a top-10 call
A call in 9 of 12 contests
A top-10 category call in 75% of their 12 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.
High-water mark
671.2916
career-best overall
93.2% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 671.2916 at Pitmasters in Paradise — 93.2% of a perfect 720.
- Master
- 2026-04-25
State champions
1
state championships won
They've taken 1 state championship from 12 entries at contests carrying the title.
- 12 state-championship entries
The one to beat
2×
one call ahead of them
Kings BBQ Team has finished one call ahead of Nuts & Butts 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
Their season
2024
1 Grand Championship
2024 was the year it came together: 3 contests, 1 Grand Championship and 5 category wins, at an average finish in the top 7%.
- 3 contests
- 3 overall top-10s
- 5 category wins
- average top 7%
A tough matchup
5–1
behind in the head-to-head
SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA ahead in 83% of their meetings
SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA has come out ahead in 5 of their 6 shared contests.
A strong matchup
8–1
ahead in the head-to-head
Ahead in 89% of their meetings
They've finished ahead of SMOKIN ACES BBQ - FL in 8 of their 9 shared contests.
The comeback
3 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 3 years, then back at Lakeland Pig Festival (2022-01-28).
- last seen 2019-01-25
- back 2022-01-28
Always the bridesmaid
3
reserve championships
Runner-up for the whole thing 3 times against 1 Grand Championship — close enough to touch it, over and over.
- 1 Grand Championship
- 12 contests
Boom or bust
±36.33%
swing around their own average
Their overall swings ±36.33% 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 115.2% of a perfect score
- best 181.9%
A November team
Top 7%
average finish in November
Something about November: average finish in the top 7% across 3 contests, versus top 32% the rest of the year.
- 3 November contests
- top 32% the rest of the year
A standing appointment
5
years running at one contest
They've cooked Lakeland Pig Festival every year from 2022 to 2026 — the contest they never miss.
- 6 visits in all
- best finish 3rd
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.
38 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#1362 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 36%
- Peak
- 1573
No shared contest yet.
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 11 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Head-to-head#1359 of the rated field
- Contests
- 17
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 29%
- Peak
- 1573
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 8 years before Nuts & Butts's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#1365 of the rated field
- Contests
- 20
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 35%
- Peak
- 1579
No shared contest yet.
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 20 contests to 12.
⚔ Head-to-head#1363 of the rated field
- Contests
- 27
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 7%
- Peak
- 1573
No shared contest yet.
27 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 7% top-10 finishes rather than wins.
⚔ Head-to-head#1360 of the rated field
- Contests
- 44
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 39%
- Peak
- 1621
No shared contest yet.
They were already cooking in 2014, 5 years before Nuts & Butts's first contest.
⚔ Head-to-head#1367 of the rated field
- Contests
- 57
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 16%
- Peak
- 1587
No shared contest yet.
Level with Nuts & Butts on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-headFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smokin' Ain't EZ | 10 | 6 | 4 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
| Accutech BBQ | 10 | 4 | 4 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKIN ACES BBQ - FL | 9 | 8 | 1 | 89% | ⚔ compare |
| K & E's Little Smokers | 8 | 7 | 1 | 88% | ⚔ compare |
| Slapulator BBQ | 8 | 7 | 1 | 88% | ⚔ compare |
| Mad Dog BBQ | 8 | 7 | 1 | 88% | ⚔ compare |
| KEEPIN IT SMOKIN BBQ | 8 | 5 | 2 | 63% | ⚔ compare |
| Belly Bustin Bistro | 8 | 5 | 3 | 63% | ⚔ compare |
| Tillman's BBQ | 8 | 4 | 3 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| Kings BBQ Team | 8 | 2 | 4 | 25% | ⚔ compare |
| Porkganic BBQ | 7 | 7 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| Cold Beer BBQ | 7 | 6 | 1 | 86% | ⚔ compare |
| SWEET SMOKE Q FLORIDA | 7 | 5 | 2 | 71% | ⚔ compare |
| BBQmyway | 7 | 5 | 2 | 71% | ⚔ compare |
| JP BBQ and Catering | 7 | 5 | 2 | 71% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 12 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 177.7372 | 147.8972 | 166.54 | top 36% |
| Pork Ribs | 12 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 175.4172 | 162.8688 | 168.45 | top 34% |
| Pork | 12 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 177.7028 | 154.2056 | 167.49 | top 31% |
| Brisket | 12 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 177.7144 | 147.3828 | 164.46 | top 31% |
“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 contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 2 | 0 | top 13% |
| Medium (20–39) | 4 | 1 | top 26% |
| Large (40+) | 6 | 0 | top 43% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeland Pig Festival | 6 | 3 | 0 | top 43% | 2026-01-22 |
| Plant City Pig Jam | 3 | 1 | 1 | top 7% | 2025-11-21 |
The story so far (21 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
7.2 yrs
2019-01-25 → 2026-04-25
Busiest season
2026
3 contests
Contests a season
2
across 6 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
FL
12 of 12 contests
Contests visited
5
2 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
12 entries · 2 wins · 6 calls
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
averages 168.45 · weakest Brisket (164.46)
Walk rate
75%
a top-10 call in 9 of 12 contests
Overall top-10 rate
50%
6 of 12 contests
Wins it all
8%
1 Grand Championship · 3 reserve
First title
2024-11-22
Plant City Pig Jam
Best top-10 run
4
straight contests
Master average
671.29
out of 720 · 1 contest · 0 GCs
Backyard average
422.06
out of 360 · 11 contests · 1 GC
Opponents faced
402
545–291 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
134
12 mapped stops · furthest 36 mi
Schedule strength
1549
average field rating faced — tougher than 37% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$200,810
listed at 11 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
1
from 12 state-championship entries
Longest layoff
3 yrs
2019-01-25 → 2022-01-28
Power rating
1573
peak 1583 · #1364 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2019
- First tracked contest Lakeland Pig Festival
- First call Lakeland Pig Festival
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score639.3260 Lakeland Pig Festival
- 2023
- First overall top-10 Plant City Pig Jam
- First overall podium Plant City Pig Jam
- 2024
- First category win (Chicken) Lakeland Pig Festival
- First Reserve Championship Back Porch Jam at the Hillsborough County Fairgrounds
- First multi-meat day Back Porch Jam at the Hillsborough County Fairgrounds
- First Grand Championship Plant City Pig Jam
- First state championship Plant City Pig Jam
- 2025
- Career-best single call (Chicken)177.7372 Plant City Pig Jam
- 2026
- 10th tracked contest Lakeland Pig Festival
- Peak power rating (1583) Jeepin 4 Justice
- Career-best overall score671.2916 Pitmasters in Paradise
- Most recent contest Pitmasters in Paradise
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +16.1 | Lakeland Pig Festival | 2024-01-26 |
| +15 | Plant City Pig Jam | 2024-11-22 |
| +13.6 | Plant City Pig Jam | 2025-11-21 |
| +12.8 | Plant City Pig Jam | 2023-11-17 |
| +10.7 | Back Porch Jam at the Hillsborough County Fairgrounds | 2024-03-16 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -10.3 | Pitmasters in Paradise | 2026-04-25 |
| -7.5 | Lakeland Pig Festival | 2025-01-24 |
| -1.5 | Lakeland Pig Festival | 2023-01-27 |
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 | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 33% | top 41% | 93.8% | 93.4% |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 100% | top 43% | 96.8% | 94% |
| 2024 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 100% | top 7% | 96.2% | 95.8% |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50% | top 37% | 181.9% | 137.6% |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 42% | 174.7% | 174.7% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 40% | 177.6% | 177.6% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-25 | Pitmasters in Paradise 🏅 Auburndale, FL | 28 / 35 (671.2916) | 21 (170.8228) | 30 (165.1088) | 19 (170.8344) | 28 (164.5256) |
| 2026-03-13 | Jeepin 4 Justice 🏅 Shady Hills, FL | 2 / 15 (337.6688) | 2 (172.5716) | 3 (165.0972) | 1 (173.1084) | 2 (170.8456) |
| 2026-01-22 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 18 / 63 (335.3712) | 27 (165.0740) | 17 (170.2972) | 12 (169.6800) | 27 (160.5600) |
| 2025-11-21 | Plant City Pig Jam 🏅 Plant City, FL | 2 / 31 (348.5600) | 1 (177.7372) | 8 (170.8228) | 6 (170.8228) | 5 (169.1428) |
| 2025-01-24 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 32 / 40 (327.8972) | 33 (162.8116) | 33 (165.0856) | 4 (175.4056) | 8 (171.4288) |
| 2024-11-22 | Plant City Pig Jam 🏅 Plant City, FL | 1 / 26 (345.0972) | 2 (169.6800) | 1 (175.4172) | 5 (165.0972) | 1 (169.1084) |
| 2024-03-16 | Back Porch Jam at the Hillsborough County Fairgrounds 🏅 Dover, FL | 2 / 15 (346.2516) | 2 (171.9888) | 3 (174.2628) | 1 (177.7028) | 1 (177.7144) |
| 2024-01-26 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 3 / 61 (342.8232) | 1 (177.7028) | 31 (165.1204) | 31 (161.6572) | 5 (171.4172) |
| 2023-11-17 | Plant City Pig Jam 🏅 Plant City, FL | 3 / 25 (335.9200) | 5 (167.3944) | 3 (168.5256) | 11 (158.2400) | 15 (147.3828) |
| 2023-01-27 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 32 / 51 (654.7196) | 23 (163.9428) | 19 (170.8112) | 48 (154.2056) | 16 (165.7600) |
| 2022-01-28 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 25 / 60 (628.9716) | 38 (147.8972) | 7 (167.9772) | 15 (163.9656) | 30 (149.1316) |
| 2019-01-25 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 23 / 58 (639.3260) | 48 (150.8228) | 19 (162.8688) | 10 (169.1316) | 25 (156.5028) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Backyard | #79 (570 pts) | #85 (560 pts) | #112 (445 pts) | — | — |
| 2026 ↗ | Master | #927 (60 pts) | #959 (80 pts) | #1051 (60 pts) | #900 (90 pts) | #950 (60 pts) |
| 2025 ↗ | Backyard | #160 (327 pts) | #169 (302 pts) | #170 (327 pts) | — | — |
| 2024 ↗ | Backyard | #205 (231 pts) | #208 (231 pts) | #232 (206 pts) | — | — |