Bar-Down BBQ IA
Rating
1529
peak 1535
Contests
5
in the data
First seen
2022-09-16
latest 2025-09-19
Best ToY finish
#237
Backyard 2024
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
4 podiums
Overall top-10s
4
of 5 contests
Avg finish
top 31%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
390.80
last 5 vs career avg 390.80 (+0.00)
Walk rate
80%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
3
best run (overall)
Consistency
±114.11
std dev of overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 169.68 · weakest Brisket (157.68)
Road miles
2294
mi across 5 mapped stops · furthest 1147 mi
Storylines
🎯 The one to beat
Bramble BBQ has finished one call ahead of Bar-Down BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
👀 Looking over their shoulder
WHEN PIGS DIE has landed one call behind them 2 times.
⚔️ A strong matchup
They've finished ahead of Bucknutz BBQ in 4 of their 4 shared contests.
🏕️ Happy hunting ground
Tri City BBQ Fest is their spot: an average finish in the top 14% across 3 visits.
📅 A September team
Something about September: average finish in the top 16% across 4 contests, versus top 31% the rest of the year.
🐣 Announced themselves early
Finished 3 of 25 at their very first tracked contest, Tri City BBQ Fest (2022-09-16).
Teams like this (closest power rating, IA first)
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 176.0000 | 149.7028 | 160.83 | top 35% |
| Pork Ribs | 5 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 173.1428 | 138.7656 | 162.27 | top 30% |
| Pork | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 169.6800 | 169.6800 | 169.68 | top 50% |
| Brisket | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 157.6800 | 157.6800 | 157.68 | top 87% |
“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 16% |
| FL | 1 | 0 | top 92% |
The story so far
- Busiest season: 2025 (2 contests)
- Cooks mostly in IA (4 of 5 contests)
- Most-entered category: Chicken (6 entries)
- All-time average overall score: 390.80
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
Category scores over time
Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)
Where they finish (overall)
Best vs average (by meat)
Team of the Year rank by season
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Category wins | Best overall | Avg overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 618.6512 | 470.74 |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 334.8344 | 334.83 |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 342.8800 | 342.88 |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 334.8000 | 334.80 |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-09-19 | Tri-City BBQ Fest Denison, IA | 6 / 26 (322.8344) | 6 (152.5372) | 2 (170.2972) | — | — |
| 2025-01-09 | 9th Annual Jimmy Jam BBQ Slam Elkton, FL | 35 / 38 (618.6512) | 20 (149.7028) | 38 (138.7656) | 19 (169.6800) | 33 (157.6800) |
| 2024-09-20 | Tri City BBQ Fest Denison, IA | 4 / 30 (334.8344) | 3 (172.5600) | 6 (162.2744) | — | — |
| 2023-09-15 | Tri City BBQ Fest Denison, IA | 5 / 32 (342.8800) | 2 (176.0000) | 4 (166.8800) | — | — |
| 2022-09-16 | Tri City BBQ Fest Denison, IA | 3 / 25 (334.8000) | 5 (161.6572) | 3 (173.1428) | — | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 ↗ | Backyard | #268 (148 pts) | #272 (148 pts) | #208 (233 pts) | — | — |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #1148 (60 pts) | #1221 (60 pts) | #1293 (60 pts) | #1087 (90 pts) | #1190 (60 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Backyard | #237 (184 pts) | #221 (209 pts) | #275 (149 pts) | — | — |
| 2023 ↗ | Backyard | — | #201 (232 pts) | #218 (182 pts) | — | — |
| 2022 ↗ | Backyard | — | #212 (157 pts) | #182 (207 pts) | — | — |