High-water mark
666.2060
career-best overall
92.5% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 666.2060 at Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle — 92.5% of a perfect 720.
- Master
- Jun 24, 2017
Make BBQ Great Again
Make BBQ Great Again is a competition barbecue team with 12 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2017 and 2025. Their best overall finish is 11th of 33 at the Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle (2017). They are ranked #3516 of 6,477 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1493
peak 1514 · rated over 8 contests
Contests
12
in the data
First seen
Jun 24, 2017
latest Oct 10, 2025 · 8.3 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
0% of 12 contests
Avg finish
top 68%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
33%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±8.61
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Brisket
avg 165.89 · weakest Pork Ribs (157.75)
Road miles
4,046
across 12 mapped stops · furthest 753 mi
Schedule strength
33%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1545)
Purse competed for
$63K
listed at 5 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 6 state-championship entries
Master avg
661.35 / 720
2 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
313.86 / 360
5 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.
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Make BBQ Great Again, each with one reason worth a look.
138 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#3,505 of the rated field
- Contests
- 13
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 8%
- Peak
- 1493
0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to Make BBQ Great Again)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Make BBQ Great Again has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#3,510 of the rated field
- Contests
- 19
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 32%
- Peak
- 1566
0–2 in 2 shared contests (0% to Make BBQ Great Again)
They've been 1566 at their best, 73 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Head-to-head#3,517 of the rated field
- Contests
- 20
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 5%
- Peak
- 1493
1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to Make BBQ Great Again)
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 6 years before Make BBQ Great Again's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#3,538 of the rated field
- Contests
- 38
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 11%
- Peak
- 1510
0–5 in 5 shared contests (0% to Make BBQ Great Again)
38 contests to 12: their number has had years to settle where Make BBQ Great Again's is still finding its level.
⚔ Head-to-head#3,541 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 25%
- Peak
- 1492
Level with Make BBQ Great Again on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#3,528 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1513
Their last contest in the data was back in 2021, 4 years before Make BBQ Great Again'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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Meat Coma | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Bone Suckin' Good BBQ | 5 | 4 | 1 | 80% | ⚔ compare |
| Pig Kahunas | 5 | 4 | 1 | 80% | ⚔ compare |
| Capt. Blue BBQ | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| Blue Line BBQ | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| HARCO LOCO BBQ | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 168.5828 | 147.4168 | 158.90 | top 66% |
| Pork Ribs | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 169.7028 | 138.2172 | 157.75 | top 70% |
| Pork | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 164 | 163.4288 | 163.71 | top 45% |
| Brisket | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 170.8228 | 161.1544 | 165.89 | top 30% |
“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) | 6 | 0 | top 68% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 70% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland State BBQ Bash | 4 | 14 | 0 | top 71% | Oct 13, 2023 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2018
3 contests
Contests a season
1.5
across 8 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
MD
6 of 12 contests · 5 states in all
Contests visited
5
1 of them more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
8 entries · 0 wins · 2 calls
Opponents faced
393
finished ahead 200 times, behind 332
Longest layoff
2.2 yrs
Aug 9, 2019 → Oct 15, 2021
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20251 milestone
- Most recent contest MD State BBQ Bash
20221 milestone
- 10th tracked contest Maryland State BBQ Bash
20181 milestone
- Peak power rating (1514) Sun BBQ Fest
20173 milestones
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score666.2060 Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle
- Career-best overall score666.2060 Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle
- Career-best single call (Brisket)170.8228 Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle
20162 milestones
- First tracked contest St. Louis 1st Annual Kosher BBQ Cookoff ( COMPETITOR'S SERIES)
- First call St. Louis 1st Annual Kosher BBQ Cookoff ( COMPETITOR'S SERIES)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +9.3 | Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle | Jun 24, 2017 |
| +4.3 | Sun BBQ Fest | Jun 2, 2018 |
| +2.3 | Maryland State BBQ Bash | Oct 13, 2023 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -10 | The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ | May 3, 2019 |
| -6.7 | MD State BBQ Bash | Oct 10, 2025 |
| -4 | Maryland State BBQ Bash | Aug 9, 2019 |
| -2.1 | Maryland State BBQ Bash | Oct 14, 2022 |
| -0.6 | Maryland State BBQ Bash | Oct 15, 2021 |
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 90% | 88.2% | 88.2% |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 61% | 89.7% | 89.7% |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 73% | 87.1% | 87.1% |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 72% | 88.2% | 88.2% |
| 2019 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 86% | 82.7% | 82.1% |
| 2018 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 46% | 91.2% | 91.2% |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 33% | 92.5% | 92.5% |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | — | — | — |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 10, 2025 | MD State BBQ Bash 🏅 Bel Air, MD | 26 / 29 (317.5884) | 20 (159.9428) | 24 (157.6456) | — | — |
| Oct 13, 2023 | Maryland State BBQ Bash 🏅 Bel Air, MD | 14 / 23 (322.7884) | 25 (154.2284) | 5 (168.5600) | — | — |
| Oct 14, 2022 | Maryland State BBQ Bash 🏅 Belair, MD | 22 / 30 (313.6000) | 21 (158.8000) | 25 (154.8000) | — | — |
| Oct 15, 2021 | Maryland State BBQ Bash 🏅 Belair, MD | 18 / 25 (317.6572) | 8 (168.5828) | 29 (149.0744) | — | — |
| Aug 9, 2019 | Maryland State BBQ Bash 🏅 Belair, MD | 23 / 30 (293.6000) | — | — | — | — |
| May 3, 2019 | The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ 🏅 Huntsville, AL | 51 / 54 (297.6572) | 15 (159.4400) | 65 (138.2172) | — | — |
| Aug 10, 2018 | Maryland State BBQ Bash Bel Air, MD | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jun 2, 2018 | Sun BBQ Fest Uncasville, CT | 27 / 59 (656.4912) | 44 (157.0856) | 11 (169.7028) | 26 (164) | 14 (165.7028) |
| May 4, 2018 | The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ Huntsville, AL | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jun 24, 2017 | Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle Washington, DC | 11 / 33 (666.2060) | 16 (165.6916) | 15 (166.2628) | 15 (163.4288) | 5 (170.8228) |
| May 5, 2017 | The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ Huntsville, AL | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sep 10, 2016 | St. Louis 1st Annual Kosher BBQ Cookoff ( COMPETITOR'S SERIES) Olivette, MO | — | 8 (147.4168) | — | — | 4 (161.1544) |