A tough matchup
4–0
behind in the head-to-head
Hickory Hangover ahead in 100% of their meetings
Hickory Hangover has come out ahead in 4 of their 4 shared contests.
You Don't Win Friends with Salad
You Don't Win Friends with Salad is a competition barbecue team with 9 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2013 and 2025. Their best overall finish is 16th of 49 at the Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ (2021). They are ranked #4599 of 6,477 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1471
peak 1471 · rated over 8 contests
Contests
9
in the data
First seen
Jun 20, 2013
latest Oct 17, 2025 · 12.3 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
0% of 9 contests
Avg finish
top 70%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
11%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±21.98
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 160.84 · weakest Pork Ribs (151.75)
Road miles
2,776
across 9 mapped stops · furthest 631 mi
Schedule strength
29%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1540)
Purse competed for
$29K
listed at 4 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 1 state-championship entry
Master avg
611.77 / 720
4 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
324.39 / 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)
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to You Don't Win Friends with Salad, each with one reason worth a look.
136 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#4,608 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1471
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#4,611 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1471
Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 8 years before You Don't Win Friends with Salad's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#4,594 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 11%
- Peak
- 1471
Careers of much the same size, 9 contests to 9, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#4,588 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1471
Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2013.
⚔ Compare careers#4,613 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1471
Level with You Don't Win Friends with Salad on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#4,616 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 14%
- Peak
- 1507
They've been 1507 at their best, 37 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Compare careersBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 168.0344 | 140.4796 | 160.84 | top 54% |
| Pork Ribs | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 169.7144 | 125.6228 | 151.75 | top 75% |
| Pork | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 162.8456 | 146.2972 | 154.41 | top 75% |
| Brisket | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 167.4516 | 144.5372 | 156.55 | top 64% |
“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) | 2 | 0 | top 63% |
| Large (40+) | 6 | 0 | top 72% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WhistleStop BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2 | 20 | 0 | top 59% | Oct 17, 2025 |
| Naptown barBAYq Contest and Music Festival | 2 | 47 | 0 | top 91% | May 6, 2016 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2017
2 contests
Contests a season
1.1
across 8 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
AL
5 of 9 contests · 3 states in all
Contests visited
6
2 of them more than once
Opponents faced
312
finished ahead 149 times, behind 285
Longest layoff
4.3 yrs
May 5, 2017 → Aug 13, 2021
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20252 milestones
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)169.7144 WhistleStop BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Most recent contest WhistleStop BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)
20241 milestone
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score324.5372 WhistleStop BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)
20161 milestone
- First call Naptown barBAYq Contest and Music Festival
20133 milestones
- First tracked contest Rock'n Freedom
- Career-best overall score643.9994 Rock'n Freedom
- Peak power rating (1493) Rock'n Freedom
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +9 | Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ | Aug 13, 2021 |
| +2.9 | WhistleStop BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) | Oct 17, 2025 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -10.6 | Naptown barBAYq Contest and Music Festival | May 6, 2016 |
| -10.4 | Naptown barBAYq Contest and Music Festival | May 1, 2015 |
| -7.5 | Rock'n Freedom | Jun 20, 2013 |
| -6.3 | The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY) | Oct 20, 2023 |
| -3.4 | Naptown barBAYq Cooking Contest | May 5, 2017 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 51% | 93% | 93% |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 66% | 90.1% | 90.1% |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 76% | 89% | 89% |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 33% | 88.2% | 88.2% |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 76% | 85.8% | 85.8% |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 92% | 81.2% | 81.2% |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 89% | 83.5% | 83.5% |
| 2013 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 78% | 89.4% | 89.4% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 17, 2025 | WhistleStop BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Huntsville, AL | 20 / 39 (334.8688) | 23 (165.1544) | 16 (169.7144) | — | — |
| Oct 18, 2024 | WhistleStop BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Huntsville, AL | 33 / 50 (324.5372) | 26 (165.1200) | 36 (159.4172) | — | — |
| Oct 20, 2023 | The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY) Huntsville, AL | 38 / 50 (320.5144) | 26 (163.9772) | 37 (156.5372) | — | — |
| Aug 13, 2021 | Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ 🏅 Huntsville, AL | 16 / 49 (317.6228) | 16 (161.7028) | 25 (155.9200) | — | — |
| May 5, 2017 | The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ Huntsville, AL | — | — | — | — | — |
| May 5, 2017 | Naptown barBAYq Cooking Contest Crownsville, MD | 28 / 37 (617.5884) | 36 (140.4796) | 32 (146.8116) | 19 (162.8456) | 12 (167.4516) |
| May 6, 2016 | Naptown barBAYq Contest and Music Festival Annapolis, MD | 47 / 51 (584.4916) | 10 (168.0344) | 51 (125.6228) | 41 (146.2972) | 40 (144.5372) |
| May 1, 2015 | Naptown barBAYq Contest and Music Festival Annapolis, MD | 57 / 64 (601.0052) | 47 (155.9768) | 58 (141.7144) | 59 (147.9428) | 45 (155.3712) |
| Jun 20, 2013 | Rock'n Freedom Seymour, MO | 39 / 50 (643.9994) | 25 (166.2854) | 43 (158.2856) | 39 (160.5714) | 38 (158.8570) |