Groundhog Smokers AL
Rating
1579
peak 1580 · rated over 15 contests
Best runs
4
straight top-10s
Contests
15
in the data
First seen
2019-02-22
latest 2026-03-13
Best ToY finish
#2910
Master 2016
Grand champs
1
1 reserve
Category wins
0
6 podiums
Overall top-10s
9
of 15 contests
Avg finish
top 32%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
401.65 ▲
last 5 Backyard vs avg 399.95 (+1.70)
Walk rate
80%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
4
best run (overall)
Consistency
±80.07
std dev of Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 170.71 · weakest Pork Ribs (165.16)
Road miles
1978
mi across 15 mapped stops · furthest 264 mi
Schedule strength
39%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1534)
Purse competed for
$234K
listed at 14 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 6 state-championship entries
Master avg
673.60 / 720
2 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
399.95 / 360
13 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.
Storylines
🎯 The one to beat
LEE LA Q has finished one call ahead of Groundhog Smokers 3 times — their closest competition in the data.
⚔️ A strong matchup
They've finished ahead of Holy Smokers in 8 of their 8 shared contests.
😤 Pork nemesis
Even in their strongest meat, RIBLIFE has out-cooked them in 3 of 4 shared pork entries.
Teams like this (closest power rating, AL first)
Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LEE LA Q | 14 | 4 | 10 | 29% | ⚔ compare |
| RIBLIFE | 12 | 6 | 6 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| REDBONES BBQ | 10 | 4 | 6 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| SNEAKY_CREEK_BBQ | 9 | 1 | 8 | 11% | ⚔ compare |
| Holy Smokers | 8 | 8 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| Hickory Hangover | 8 | 4 | 4 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| RAMMER JAMMER BBQ | 8 | 2 | 6 | 25% | ⚔ compare |
| PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q | 8 | 1 | 7 | 13% | ⚔ compare |
| BAMA BOYS BBQ | 7 | 3 | 4 | 43% | ⚔ compare |
| Flaps Up BBQ | 7 | 3 | 4 | 43% | ⚔ compare |
| Pigs in a Blanket | 6 | 6 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| T-Ray's Rack Rubbers | 6 | 6 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| PERFECTLY BLENDED | 6 | 4 | 2 | 67% | ⚔ compare |
| The Real Squeal BBQ | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| KEY'S Southern Spice | 5 | 5 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 15 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 176.0344 | 160.5484 | 169.93 | top 30% |
| Pork Ribs | 15 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 175.4400 | 155.9772 | 165.16 | top 45% |
| Pork | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 176.5600 | 163.3828 | 170.71 | top 25% |
| Brisket | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 167.3828 | 166.2400 | 166.81 | top 68% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AL | 14 | 1 | top 31% |
| TN | 1 | 0 | top 36% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 10 | 1 | top 25% |
| Large (40+) | 5 | 0 | top 45% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foley BBQ & Blues Cook-Off (BACKYARD ONLY) | 6 | 4 | 0 | top 24% | 2026-03-13 |
| Poosa Q | 4 | 12 | 0 | top 48% | 2024-10-04 |
The story so far
- Busiest season: 2019 (4 contests)
- Cooks mostly in AL (14 of 15 contests)
- Most-entered category: Chicken (15 entries)
- First Grand Championship in the data: Butlerfest 2019(BACKYARD ONLY) (2019-10-11)
- Wins it all in 7% of contests
- Average Master overall score: 673.60 / 720
- Average Backyard overall score: 399.95 / 360
Milestones
- 🚩 2019-02-22 — First tracked contest · Bama Q Capital City Cook-Off
- 📣 2019-02-22 — First call · Bama Q Capital City Cook-Off
- 🏆 2019-10-11 — First Grand Championship · Butlerfest 2019(BACKYARD ONLY)
- ⭐ 2023-10-05 — Career-best overall score (673.6116) · Poosa Q
- 📈 2024-03-09 — Peak power rating (1580) · Foley BBQ & Blues Cook-Off (BACKYARD ONLY)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +16.1 | Butlerfest 2019(BACKYARD ONLY) | 2019-10-11 |
| +14.4 | Kick It In The Sticks (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2020-06-05 |
| +10.9 | Foley BBQ & Blues Cook-Off (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2023-03-10 |
| +9.4 | Foley BBQ & Blues Cook Off (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2021-03-12 |
| +9.2 | Foley BBQ & Blues Cook Off (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2020-03-13 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -5.7 | Poosa Q | 2024-10-04 |
| -2.5 | Poosa Q | 2023-10-05 |
| -2.2 | Poosa Q | 2022-05-05 |
| -1.6 | Capital City Cook Off | 2020-02-21 |
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 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 30% | 92.7% | 92.7% |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 52% | 93.6% | 93.4% |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50% | top 32% | 140.1% | 116.8% |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 34% | 140.1% | 115.9% |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 21% | 138.9% | 138.9% |
| 2020 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 67% | top 27% | 137.6% | 108.4% |
| 2019 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 75% | top 26% | 139.2% | 105.6% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-13 | Foley BBQ & Blues Cook-Off (BACKYARD ONLY) Foley, AL | 9 / 30 (333.6804) | 5 (170.2860) | 16 (163.3944) | 2 (176.5600) | — |
| 2024-10-04 | Poosa Q 🏅 Montgomery, AL | 40 / 59 (673.5884) | 42 (167.4056) | 48 (164.5256) | 8 (175.4172) | 45 (166.2400) |
| 2024-03-09 | Foley BBQ & Blues Cook-Off (BACKYARD ONLY) Foley, AL | 10 / 28 (335.3484) | 6 (171.9656) | 17 (163.3828) | 6 (173.1428) | — |
| 2023-10-05 | Poosa Q 🏅 Montgomery, AL | 38 / 73 (673.6116) | 36 (168.5600) | 32 (170.2744) | 43 (167.3944) | 43 (167.3828) |
| 2023-03-10 | Foley BBQ & Blues Cook-Off (BACKYARD ONLY) Foley, AL | 4 / 31 (504.4684) | 5 (170.2628) | 5 (170.8228) | 11 (163.3828) | — |
| 2022-05-05 | Poosa Q 🏅 Montgomery, AL | 33 / 72 (330.2172) | 9 (173.1200) | 43 (157.0972) | — | — |
| 2022-03-12 | Foley BBQ & Blues Cook Off (BACKYARD ONLY) Foley, AL | 6 / 26 (504.5260) | 4 (175.4288) | 23 (155.9772) | 3 (173.1200) | — |
| 2021-03-12 | Foley BBQ & Blues Cook Off (BACKYARD ONLY) Foley, AL | 6 / 28 (499.9316) | 6 (171.9772) | 16 (157.6572) | 3 (170.2972) | — |
| 2020-06-05 | Kick It In The Sticks (BACKYARD ONLY) Butler, AL | 2 / 23 (343.4516) | 2 (173.7028) | 4 (169.7488) | — | — |
| 2020-03-13 | Foley BBQ & Blues Cook Off (BACKYARD ONLY) Foley, AL | 5 / 23 (495.2912) | 8 (163.9312) | 6 (165.1200) | 9 (166.2400) | — |
| 2020-02-21 | Capital City Cook Off 🏅 Montgomery, AL | 13 / 25 (331.9660) | 15 (167.3944) | 12 (164.5716) | — | — |
| 2019-10-25 | Jack Daniel's World Championship Shade Tree Contest (BACKYARD) (JUDGES FULL) Lynchburg, TN | 15 / 42 (501.1084) | 14 (168.0344) | 24 (162.2628) | 12 (170.8112) | — |
| 2019-10-11 | Butlerfest 2019(BACKYARD ONLY) Butler, AL | 1 / 20 (345.7028) | 4 (170.2628) | 2 (175.4400) | — | — |
| 2019-06-14 | Poosa-Q 🏅 Montgomery, AL | 12 / 48 (339.4288) | 5 (176.0344) | 22 (163.3944) | — | — |
| 2019-02-22 | Bama Q Capital City Cook-Off 🏅 Montgomery, AL | 10 / 27 (334.2512) | 14 (160.5484) | 3 (173.7028) | — | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 ↗ | Master | #2910 (55 pts) | #2916 (55 pts) | #2928 (55 pts) | #2271 (70 pts) | #2921 (55 pts) |