High-water mark
666.8228
career-best overall
92.6% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 666.8228 at Knox Co. 4-H/FFA Ring of Smoke — 92.6% of a perfect 720.
- Master
- Apr 17, 2026
McDonald Family BBQ
McDonald Family BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 6 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2024 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 7th of 26 at the Cruisin' and BBQin' (2026). They are ranked #4459 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1474
peak 1474 · rated over 6 contests
Contests
6
in the data
First seen
Mar 29, 2024
latest Jul 31, 2026 · 2.3 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podium
Overall top-10s
1
17% of 6 contests
Avg finish
top 80%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
17%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±12.42
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 167.70 · weakest Pork Ribs (161.22)
Road miles
467
across 6 mapped stops · furthest 138 mi
Schedule strength
76%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1599)
Purse competed for
$62K
listed at 6 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 4 state-championship entries
Master avg
658.46 / 720
2 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
323.23 / 360
4 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
These overall scores sit on different scales (Master 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.
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 | #162 (265 pts) | #133 (370 pts) | #179 (245 pts) | — | — |
| 2026 ↗ | Master | #1029 (70 pts) | #1085 (80 pts) | #1203 (60 pts) | #978 (105 pts) | #1010 (95 pts) |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #1148 (60 pts) | #1221 (60 pts) | #1293 (60 pts) | #1190 (60 pts) | #1190 (60 pts) |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to McDonald Family BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
146 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#4,446 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1474
Careers of much the same size, 6 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#4,481 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1473
Level with McDonald Family BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#4,477 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1505
They've been 1505 at their best, 31 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Compare careers#4,479 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1473
Their last contest in the data was back in 2021, 5 years before McDonald Family BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#4,436 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1474
They were already cooking in 2017, 7 years before McDonald Family BBQ's first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#4,441 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1503
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 7 years before McDonald Family BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bramble BBQ | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 174.8456 | 155.9544 | 164.06 | top 73% |
| Pork Ribs | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 170.8228 | 146.8228 | 161.22 | top 80% |
| Pork | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 170.3200 | 165.0856 | 167.70 | top 74% |
| Brisket | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 164.5256 | 158.2400 | 161.38 | top 76% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 5 | 0 | top 75% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 105% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 2) | 2 | 23 | 0 | top 85% | Jul 18, 2026 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2026
4 contests
Contests a season
2
across 3 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
IA
4 of 6 contests · 2 states in all
Contests visited
5
1 of them more than once
Opponents faced
160
finished ahead 45 times, behind 197
Longest layoff
1.5 yrs
Mar 29, 2024 → Oct 3, 2025
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20265 milestones
- Career-best overall score666.8228 Knox Co. 4-H/FFA Ring of Smoke
- First call Cruisin' and BBQin'
- First overall top-10 Cruisin' and BBQin'
- Career-best single call (Chicken)174.8456 Cruisin' and BBQin'
- Most recent contest Cruisin' and BBQin'
20251 milestone
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score650.1028 La Belle MO Show Me BBQ Showdown
20242 milestones
- First tracked contest Iowa State BBQ Championship
- Peak power rating (1488) Iowa State BBQ Championship
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +10.7 | Cruisin' and BBQin' | Jul 31, 2026 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -11.9 | Iowa State BBQ Championship | Mar 29, 2024 |
| -8.2 | La Belle MO Show Me BBQ Showdown | Oct 3, 2025 |
| -6.4 | Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 2) | Jul 18, 2026 |
| -6.3 | Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 1) | Jul 17, 2026 |
| -4.1 | Knox Co. 4-H/FFA Ring of Smoke | Apr 17, 2026 |
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 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 25% | top 70% | 94.4% | 91.8% |
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 92% | 90.3% | 90.3% |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 105% | 84.7% | 84.7% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 31, 2026 | Cruisin' and BBQin' 🏅 Hampton, IA | 7 / 26 (339.9656) | 3 (174.8456) | 12 (165.1200) | — | — |
| Jul 18, 2026 | Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 2) Miles, IA | 24 / 28 (325.6456) | 26 (158.7884) | 18 (166.8572) | — | — |
| Jul 17, 2026 | Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 1) Miles, IA | 23 / 27 (322.2400) | 15 (168.5600) | 26 (153.6800) | — | — |
| Apr 17, 2026 | Knox Co. 4-H/FFA Ring of Smoke 🏅 Edina, MO | 21 / 25 (666.8228) | 19 (167.9772) | 23 (164) | 14 (170.3200) | 16 (164.5256) |
| Oct 3, 2025 | La Belle MO Show Me BBQ Showdown 🏅 La Belle, MO | 36 / 39 (650.1028) | 38 (155.9544) | 28 (170.8228) | 36 (165.0856) | 34 (158.2400) |
| Mar 29, 2024 | Iowa State BBQ Championship 🏅 Altoona, IA | 44 / 42 (305.0512) | 43 (158.2284) | 45 (146.8228) | — | — |