The heartbreaker
1.7144
points from the title
Came within 1.7144 points of the Grand Championship at Plant City Pig Jam (Nov 21, 2025).
Nuts & Butts
Nuts & Butts is a competition barbecue team with 12 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2019 and 2026. They have won 1 Grand Championship, at the Plant City Pig Jam (2024), and finished Reserve Grand Champion 3 times. They are ranked #1385 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1573
peak 1583 · rated over 12 contests
Contests
12
in the data
First seen
Jan 25, 2019
latest Apr 25, 2026 · 7.2 years on the trail
Grand champs
1
3 reserve · wins it all 8% of the time
Category wins
7
14 podiums
Overall top-10s
6
50% of 12 contests
Best top-10 run
4
straight overall top-10s
Avg finish
top 32%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
338.92 ▼
last 5 Backyard vs avg 339.95 (-1.03)
Walk rate
75%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±6.48
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 168.45 · weakest Brisket (164.46)
Road miles
134
across 12 mapped stops · furthest 36 mi
Schedule strength
37%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1548)
Purse competed for
$201K
listed at 11 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
1 🏅
won from 12 state-championship entries
Master avg
671.29 / 720
1 Master contest · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
339.95 / 360
8 Backyard contests · 1 GC
Backyard (4-meat) avg
641.01 / 720
3 Backyard (4-meat) contests · 0 GCs
These overall scores sit on different scales (Master out of 720, Backyard out of 360, Backyard (4-meat) out of 720), 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)
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Backyard | #84 (570 pts) | #95 (560 pts) | #126 (445 pts) | — | — |
| 2026 ↗ | Master | #1065 (60 pts) | #1085 (80 pts) | #1203 (60 pts) | #1028 (90 pts) | #1102 (60 pts) |
| 2025 ↗ | Backyard | #160 (327 pts) | #169 (302 pts) | #170 (327 pts) | — | — |
| 2024 ↗ | Backyard | #205 (231 pts) | #208 (231 pts) | #232 (206 pts) | — | — |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Nuts & Butts, each with one reason worth a look.
35 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#1,389 of the rated field
- Contests
- 14
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 50%
- Peak
- 1572
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 13 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#1,390 of the rated field
- Contests
- 19
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 16%
- Peak
- 1572
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.
⚔ Compare careers#1,387 of the rated field
- Contests
- 20
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 35%
- Peak
- 1579
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 20 contests to 12.
⚔ Compare careers#1,386 of the rated field
- Contests
- 26
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 27%
- Peak
- 1579
26 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 27% top-10 finishes rather than wins.
⚔ Compare careers#1,384 of the rated field
- Contests
- 33
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 21%
- Peak
- 1585
They were already cooking in 2013, 6 years before Nuts & Butts's first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#1,383 of the rated field
- Contests
- 44
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 39%
- Peak
- 1621
Level with Nuts & Butts on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar 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 field size and state
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% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeland Pig Festival | 6 | 3 | 0 | top 43% | Jan 22, 2026 |
| Plant City Pig Jam | 3 | 1 | 1 | top 7% | Nov 21, 2025 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2026
3 contests
Contests a season
2
across 6 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
FL
12 of 12 contests
Contests visited
5
2 of them more than once
First title
Nov 22, 2024
Plant City Pig Jam
Opponents faced
402
finished ahead 545 times, behind 291
Longest layoff
3 yrs
Jan 25, 2019 → Jan 28, 2022
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20264 milestones
- 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
20251 milestone
- Career-best single call (Chicken)177.7372 Plant City Pig Jam
20245 milestones
- 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
20233 milestones
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score654.7196 Lakeland Pig Festival
- First overall top-10 Plant City Pig Jam
- First overall podium Plant City Pig Jam
20192 milestones
- First tracked contest Lakeland Pig Festival
- First call Lakeland Pig Festival
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +16.1 | Lakeland Pig Festival | Jan 26, 2024 |
| +14.9 | Plant City Pig Jam | Nov 22, 2024 |
| +13.6 | Plant City Pig Jam | Nov 21, 2025 |
| +12.7 | Plant City Pig Jam | Nov 17, 2023 |
| +10.7 | Back Porch Jam at the Hillsborough County Fairgrounds | Mar 16, 2024 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -10.3 | Pitmasters in Paradise | Apr 25, 2026 |
| -7.5 | Lakeland Pig Festival | Jan 24, 2025 |
| -1.5 | Lakeland Pig Festival | Jan 27, 2023 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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% | 93.3% | 92.1% |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 42% | 87.4% | 87.4% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 40% | 88.8% | 88.8% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 25, 2026 | Pitmasters in Paradise 🏅 Auburndale, FL | 28 / 35 (671.2916) | 21 (170.8228) | 30 (165.1088) | 19 (170.8344) | 28 (164.5256) |
| Mar 13, 2026 | Jeepin 4 Justice 🏅 Shady Hills, FL | 2 / 15 (337.6688) | 2 (172.5716) | 3 (165.0972) | 1 (173.1084) | 2 (170.8456) |
| Jan 22, 2026 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 18 / 63 (335.3712) | 27 (165.0740) | 17 (170.2972) | 12 (169.6800) | 27 (160.5600) |
| Nov 21, 2025 | Plant City Pig Jam 🏅 Plant City, FL | 2 / 31 (348.5600) | 1 (177.7372) | 8 (170.8228) | 6 (170.8228) | 5 (169.1428) |
| Jan 24, 2025 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 32 / 40 (327.8972) | 33 (162.8116) | 33 (165.0856) | 4 (175.4056) | 8 (171.4288) |
| Nov 22, 2024 | Plant City Pig Jam 🏅 Plant City, FL | 1 / 26 (345.0972) | 2 (169.6800) | 1 (175.4172) | 5 (165.0972) | 1 (169.1084) |
| Mar 16, 2024 | 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) |
| Jan 26, 2024 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 3 / 61 (342.8232) | 1 (177.7028) | 31 (165.1204) | 31 (161.6572) | 5 (171.4172) |
| Nov 17, 2023 | Plant City Pig Jam 🏅 Plant City, FL | 3 / 25 (335.9200) | 5 (167.3944) | 3 (168.5256) | 11 (158.2400) | 15 (147.3828) |
| Jan 27, 2023 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 32 / 51 (654.7196) | 23 (163.9428) | 19 (170.8112) | 48 (154.2056) | 16 (165.7600) |
| Jan 28, 2022 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 25 / 60 (628.9716) | 38 (147.8972) | 7 (167.9772) | 15 (163.9656) | 30 (149.1316) |
| Jan 25, 2019 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 23 / 58 (639.3260) | 48 (150.8228) | 19 (162.8688) | 10 (169.1316) | 25 (156.5028) |