They almost always walk
63%
of contests with a top-10 call
A call in 5 of 8 contests
A top-10 category call in 63% of their 8 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.
REDBONES
REDBONES is a competition barbecue team with 8 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2024 and 2025. Their best overall finish is 5th of 18 at the Smoke in the Park (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE) (2024). They are ranked #2801 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1511
peak 1515 · rated over 6 contests
Contests
8
in the data
First seen
Sep 6, 2024
latest Sep 20, 2025 · 1 year on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podium
Overall top-10s
1
13% of 8 contests
Avg finish
top 54%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
334.79
last 5 Backyard vs avg 334.79 (-0.00)
Walk rate
63%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±6.79
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 173.32 · weakest Chicken (163.47)
Road miles
661
across 8 mapped stops · furthest 158 mi
Schedule strength
70%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1588)
Purse competed for
$64K
listed at 6 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 2 state-championship entries
Backyard avg
334.79 / 360
6 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
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 REDBONES, each with one reason worth a look.
121 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#2,799 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1514
Careers of much the same size, 6 contests to 8, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#2,804 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1511
Level with REDBONES on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#2,787 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1517
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 6 years before REDBONES's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#2,790 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 14%
- Peak
- 1517
They were already cooking in 2013, 11 years before REDBONES's first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#2,809 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1520
Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 8 years before REDBONES's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#2,798 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 33%
- Peak
- 1525
Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 6 contests, alongside a 33% overall top-10 rate.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LEE LA Q | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| Say My Name BBQ | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| NORALA BBQ TEAM | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Deviant Smoke | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Rollin Smoke BBQ | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 171.9656 | 152.4800 | 163.47 | top 69% |
| Pork Ribs | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 175.4056 | 160.5144 | 169.84 | top 39% |
| Pork | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 175.4172 | 171.9772 | 173.32 | top 15% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 1 | 0 | top 28% |
| Medium (20–39) | 3 | 0 | top 68% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 46% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke in the Park (BACKYARD) | 2 | 5 | 0 | top 43% | Sep 20, 2025 |
More numbers
Contests a season
4
across 2 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
AL
6 of 8 contests · 2 states in all
Contests visited
5
1 of them more than once
Opponents faced
265
finished ahead 159 times, behind 188
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20253 milestones
- Career-best single call (Pork)175.4172 Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship
- Peak power rating (1515) Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship
- Most recent contest Smoke in the Park (BACKYARD)
20245 milestones
- First tracked contest Bernard Blues and BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) (ONE MEAT CHICKEN)
- First call Bernard Blues and BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY)
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score334.8000 Bernard Blues and BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY)
- First overall top-10 Smoke in the Park (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE)
- Career-best overall score345.0856 Smoke in the Park (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +12.7 | Smoke in the Park (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE) | Sep 20, 2024 |
| +2.7 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship | Mar 14, 2025 |
| +2.5 | Poosa Q | Oct 4, 2024 |
| +1 | Smoke in the Park (BACKYARD) | Sep 20, 2025 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -4.5 | Smoke on the Water BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) | Aug 1, 2025 |
| -3.3 | Bernard Blues and BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) | Sep 6, 2024 |
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 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 58% | 93.8% | 91.8% |
| 2024 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 75% | top 50% | 95.9% | 94.2% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 20, 2025 | Smoke in the Park (BACKYARD) Glencoe, AL | 13 / 22 (337.7028) | 11 (169.1772) | 13 (168.5256) | — | — |
| Aug 1, 2025 | Smoke on the Water BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Florence, AL | 17 / 23 (331.3488) | 16 (166.2516) | 16 (165.0972) | 6 (171.9772) | — |
| Mar 14, 2025 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship 🏅 Lebanon, TN | 40 / 100 (322.7428) | 42 (162.2284) | 40 (160.5144) | 7 (175.4172) | — |
| Mar 14, 2025 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship (ONE MEAT RIBS) Lebanon, TN | — | — | 26 (171.9772) | — | — |
| Oct 4, 2024 | Poosa Q 🏅 Montgomery, AL | 31 / 59 (337.0628) | 43 (162.8000) | 8 (174.2628) | — | — |
| Sep 20, 2024 | Smoke in the Park (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE) Glencoe, AL | 5 / 18 (345.0856) | 10 (171.9656) | 4 (173.1200) | 2 (172.5600) | — |
| Sep 6, 2024 | Bernard Blues and BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) Cullman, AL | 19 / 27 (334.8000) | 25 (159.3944) | 8 (175.4056) | — | — |
| Sep 6, 2024 | Bernard Blues and BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) (ONE MEAT CHICKEN) Cullman, AL | — | 16 (152.4800) | — | — | — |