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
- 2026-04-17
McDonald Family BBQ
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1474
peak 1474 · rated over 6 contests ⓘ
Contests
6
in the data
First seen
2024-03-29
latest 2026-07-31
Best ToY finish
#148
Backyard 2026
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podiums
Overall top-10s
1
of 6 contests
Avg finish
top 80%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
323.23
last 4 Backyard vs avg 323.23 (+0.00)
Walk rate
17%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±12.42
std dev of Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 167.70 · weakest Pork Ribs (161.22)
Road miles
467
mi across 6 mapped stops · furthest 138 mi
Schedule strength
77%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1599)
Purse competed for
$62K
listed at 6 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 4 state-championship entries
Master avg
658.46 / 720
2 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
323.23 / 360
4 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
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 (7 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.
Their season
2026
their best year
2026 was the year it came together: 4 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 0 category wins, at an average finish in the top 70%.
- 4 contests
- 1 overall top-10s
- 0 category wins
- average top 70%
A tough matchup
6–0
behind in the head-to-head
Bramble BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings
Bramble BBQ has come out ahead in 6 of their 6 shared contests.
The weak link
−6.5
points behind their best meat
Pork Ribs is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 6.49 points below their pork, and turns into a call 0% of the time against 0%.
- Pork Ribs avg 161.22
- Pork avg 167.70
- 0 calls in 6 entries
A strong matchup
3–0
ahead in the head-to-head
Ahead in 100% of their meetings
They've finished ahead of JK Smokin BBQ in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
The comeback
1.5 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 1.5 years, then back at La Belle MO Show Me BBQ Showdown (2025-10-03).
- last seen 2024-03-29
- back 2025-10-03
A July team
Top 66%
average finish in July
Something about July: average finish in the top 66% across 3 contests, versus top 80% the rest of the year.
- 3 July contests
- top 80% the rest of the year
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.
148 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#4410 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1474
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 6 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#4452 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1473
No shared contest yet.
Level with McDonald Family BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#4409 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1474
No shared contest yet.
They were already cooking in 2013, 11 years before McDonald Family BBQ's first contest.
⚔ Head-to-head#4450 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1505
No shared contest yet.
They've been 1505 at their best, 31 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Head-to-head#4447 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1474
No shared contest yet.
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.
⚔ Head-to-head#4411 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1474
No shared contest yet.
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.
⚔ Head-to-headFamiliar 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 state / province
| Where | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| IA | 4 | 0 | top 76% |
| MO | 2 | 0 | top 88% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 5 | 0 | top 75% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 105% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring 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% | 2026-07-18 |
The story so far (18 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
2.3 yrs
2024-03-29 → 2026-07-31
Busiest season
2026
4 contests
Contests a season
2
across 3 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
IA
4 of 6 contests · 2 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
5
1 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
6 entries · 0 wins · 1 calls
Strongest meat
Pork
averages 167.70 · weakest Pork Ribs (161.22)
Walk rate
17%
a top-10 call in 1 of 6 contests
Overall top-10 rate
17%
1 of 6 contests
Master average
658.46
out of 720 · 2 contests · 0 GCs
Backyard average
323.23
out of 360 · 4 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
160
45–197 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
467
6 mapped stops · furthest 138 mi
Schedule strength
1599
average field rating faced — tougher than 77% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$62,250
listed at 6 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 4 state-championship entries
Longest layoff
1.5 yrs
2024-03-29 → 2025-10-03
Power rating
1474
peak 1474 · #4432 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2024
- First tracked contest Iowa State BBQ Championship
- Peak power rating (1488) Iowa State BBQ Championship
- 2025
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score650.1028 La Belle MO Show Me BBQ Showdown
- 2026
- 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'
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +10.7 | Cruisin' and BBQin' | 2026-07-31 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -11.9 | Iowa State BBQ Championship | 2024-03-29 |
| -8.2 | La Belle MO Show Me BBQ Showdown | 2025-10-03 |
| -6.3 | Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 2) | 2026-07-18 |
| -6.3 | Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 1) | 2026-07-17 |
| -4.2 | Knox Co. 4-H/FFA Ring of Smoke | 2026-04-17 |
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 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-31 | Cruisin' and BBQin' 🏅 Hampton, IA | 7 / 26 (339.9656) | 3 (174.8456) | 12 (165.1200) | — | — |
| 2026-07-18 | Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 2) Miles, IA | 24 / 28 (325.6456) | 26 (158.7884) | 18 (166.8572) | — | — |
| 2026-07-17 | Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 1) Miles, IA | 23 / 27 (322.2400) | 15 (168.5600) | 26 (153.6800) | — | — |
| 2026-04-17 | Knox Co. 4-H/FFA Ring of Smoke 🏅 Edina, MO | 21 / 25 (666.8228) | 19 (167.9772) | 23 (164.0000) | 14 (170.3200) | 16 (164.5256) |
| 2025-10-03 | 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) |
| 2024-03-29 | Iowa State BBQ Championship 🏅 Altoona, IA | 44 / 42 (305.0512) | 43 (158.2284) | 45 (146.8228) | — | — |
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 | #148 (265 pts) | #123 (370 pts) | #166 (245 pts) | — | — |
| 2026 ↗ | Master | #898 (70 pts) | #959 (80 pts) | #1051 (60 pts) | #858 (105 pts) | #879 (95 pts) |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #1148 (60 pts) | #1221 (60 pts) | #1293 (60 pts) | #1190 (60 pts) | #1190 (60 pts) |