The comeback
5.6 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 5.6 years, then back at Southaven Springfest (2023-04-21).
- last seen 2017-09-08
- back 2023-04-21
The Barbecue Experiment
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1475
peak 1475 · rated over 3 contests ⓘ
Contests
5
in the data
First seen
2017-06-09
latest 2023-04-21
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
of 5 contests
Avg finish
top 86%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
629.33
last 3 Master vs avg 629.33 (+0.00)
Walk rate
0%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±15.25
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 161.28 · weakest Brisket (151.74)
Road miles
93
mi across 5 mapped stops · furthest 45 mi
Schedule strength
57%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1572)
Purse competed for
$55K
listed at 3 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 1 state-championship entries
Master avg
629.33 / 720
3 Master contests · 0 GCs
Storylines (1 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.
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.
The Barbecue Experiment has 3 rated contests — short of the five it takes to earn a power ranking — so this rating has barely moved off the 1500 every team starts on and 146 rated teams sit within a point of it. Read the list as the nearest company at a number nobody here has moved far from, not as a verdict on who this team belongs with.
#4348 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1505
No shared contest yet.
They've been 1505 at their best, 30 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Head-to-head#4350 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1475
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#4357 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1475
No shared contest yet.
Level with The Barbecue Experiment on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#4340 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1501
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 5 years before The Barbecue Experiment's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#4359 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1475
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 6 years before The Barbecue Experiment's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#4375 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1475
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2016, 7 years before The Barbecue Experiment's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-headBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 166.8456 | 148.5140 | 157.29 | top 86% |
| Pork Ribs | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 168.5600 | 147.9544 | 159.02 | top 71% |
| Pork | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 167.4056 | 157.0628 | 161.28 | top 78% |
| Brisket | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 158.7884 | 144.4800 | 151.74 | top 88% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| MS | 1 | 0 | top 91% |
| TN | 1 | 0 | top 90% |
| AR | 1 | 0 | top 76% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 1 | 0 | top 91% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 83% |
The story so far (17 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
5.9 yrs
2017-06-09 → 2023-04-21
Busiest season
2017
2 contests
Contests a season
1.3
across 4 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
TN
3 of 5 contests · 3 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
3
0 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
3 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls
Strongest meat
Pork
averages 161.28 · weakest Brisket (151.74)
Walk rate
0%
a top-10 call in 0 of 5 contests
Overall top-10 rate
0%
0 of 5 contests
Master average
629.33
out of 720 · 3 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
104
18–100 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
93
5 mapped stops · furthest 45 mi
Schedule strength
1572
average field rating faced — tougher than 57% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$54,700
listed at 3 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 1 state-championship entries
Longest layoff
5.6 yrs
2017-09-08 → 2023-04-21
Power rating
1475
peak 1475 · #null of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2017
- First tracked contest Delta Smoke BBQ Contest
- Career-best overall score640.9252 Delta Smoke BBQ Contest
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)168.5600 Delta Smoke BBQ Contest
- Peak power rating (1495) Delta Smoke BBQ Contest
- 2026
- Most recent contest World Championship Hot Wings Contest & Festival (COMPETITORS SERIES)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -10.9 | International Goat Days Championship BBQ Contest-SMOKIN IN THE GOAT PEN | 2017-09-08 |
| -8.6 | Southaven Springfest | 2023-04-21 |
| -5.1 | Delta Smoke BBQ Contest | 2017-06-09 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 91% | 88.8% | 88.8% |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 83% | 89% | 86.7% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-18 | World Championship Hot Wings Contest & Festival (COMPETITORS SERIES) Memphis, TN | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2024-04-20 | World Championship Hot Wings Contest & Festival (COMPETITORS SERIES) Memphis, TN | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2023-04-21 | Southaven Springfest 🏅 Southaven, MS | 31 / 34 (639.2684) | 25 (166.8456) | 27 (160.5372) | 21 (167.4056) | 33 (144.4800) |
| 2017-09-08 | International Goat Days Championship BBQ Contest-SMOKIN IN THE GOAT PEN Millington, TN | 38 / 42 (607.7828) | 39 (148.5140) | 39 (147.9544) | 35 (159.3600) | 36 (151.9544) |
| 2017-06-09 | Delta Smoke BBQ Contest Wynne, AR | 34 / 45 (640.9252) | 41 (156.5140) | 19 (168.5600) | 40 (157.0628) | 37 (158.7884) |