High-water mark
673.6456
career-best overall
93.6% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 673.6456 at KTD Smokin' Gobbler Cook-Off — 93.6% of a perfect 720.
- Master
- Sep 18, 2015
Spark BBQ
Spark BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 5 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2015 and 2025. Their best overall finish is 11th of 26 at the KTD Smokin' Gobbler Cook-Off (2015). They are ranked #3096 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1503
peak 1514 · rated over 5 contests
Contests
5
in the data
First seen
Sep 18, 2015
latest Aug 29, 2025 · 9.9 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podium
Overall top-10s
0
0% of 5 contests
Avg finish
top 57%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
60%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±13.02
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 166.61 · weakest Chicken (160.55)
Road miles
448
across 5 mapped stops · furthest 96 mi
Schedule strength
51%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1566)
Purse competed for
$13K
listed at 1 contest — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 1 state-championship entry
Master avg
655.93 / 720
5 Master contests · 0 GCs
Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #1148 (60 pts) | #1221 (60 pts) | #1293 (60 pts) | #1190 (60 pts) | #1190 (60 pts) |
| 2016 ↗ | Master | #1088 (289 pts) | #1046 (334 pts) | #1278 (249 pts) | #1012 (364 pts) | #1274 (244 pts) |
| 2015 ↗ | Master | #1674 (121 pts) | #2069 (86 pts) | #1773 (121 pts) | #1754 (126 pts) | #1287 (226 pts) |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Spark BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
109 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#3,082 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 25%
- Peak
- 1522
0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to Spark BBQ)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Spark BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#3,084 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1521
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#3,103 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 40%
- Peak
- 1511
Level with Spark BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#3,113 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1506
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 6 years before Spark BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#3,098 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 40%
- Peak
- 1507
Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2015.
⚔ Compare careers#3,090 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1503
Their last contest in the data was back in 2013, 12 years before Spark BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careersBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 171.4056 | 145.0856 | 160.55 | top 65% |
| Pork Ribs | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 169.6800 | 157.7144 | 165.83 | top 53% |
| Pork | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 172 | 159.3828 | 166.61 | top 48% |
| Brisket | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 173.1200 | 156.5372 | 162.95 | top 52% |
“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) | 3 | 0 | top 53% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 63% |
More numbers
Busiest season
2016
3 contests
Contests a season
1.7
across 3 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
SD
3 of 5 contests · 2 states in all
Contests visited
5
a different one every time
Opponents faced
142
finished ahead 77 times, behind 103
Longest layoff
9 yrs
Sep 9, 2016 → Aug 29, 2025
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20251 milestone
- Most recent contest SD BBQ Shootout @ Huset's Speedway
20161 milestone
- Peak power rating (1514) Ribs, Rods and Rock'n Roll
20155 milestones
- First tracked contest KTD Smokin' Gobbler Cook-Off
- First call KTD Smokin' Gobbler Cook-Off
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score673.6456 KTD Smokin' Gobbler Cook-Off
- Career-best overall score673.6456 KTD Smokin' Gobbler Cook-Off
- Career-best single call (Brisket)173.1200 KTD Smokin' Gobbler Cook-Off
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +8.4 | Original SD BBQ Championships | Jun 3, 2016 |
| +5.4 | Ribs, Rods and Rock'n Roll | Sep 9, 2016 |
| +4.6 | KTD Smokin' Gobbler Cook-Off | Sep 18, 2015 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -10.5 | SD BBQ Shootout @ Huset's Speedway | Aug 29, 2025 |
| -4.8 | SMSU Smokefest | Aug 19, 2016 |
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 95% | 89.3% | 89.3% |
| 2016 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 67% | top 49% | 92.6% | 90.9% |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 42% | 93.6% | 93.6% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 29, 2025 | SD BBQ Shootout @ Huset's Speedway 🏅 Brandon, SD | 42 / 44 (642.7540) | 43 (159.3940) | 27 (167.4400) | 41 (159.3828) | 39 (156.5372) |
| Sep 9, 2016 | Ribs, Rods and Rock'n Roll Vermillion, SD | 15 / 34 (655.9656) | 15 (164.5712) | 24 (157.7144) | 17 (165.6800) | 12 (168) |
| Aug 19, 2016 | SMSU Smokefest Marshall, MN | 27 / 37 (640.4228) | 37 (145.0856) | 18 (166.2744) | 7 (172) | 25 (157.0628) |
| Jun 3, 2016 | Original SD BBQ Championships Huron, SD | 13 / 44 (666.8568) | 7 (171.4056) | 19 (168.0344) | 17 (167.4056) | 26 (160.0112) |
| Sep 18, 2015 | KTD Smokin' Gobbler Cook-Off Worthington, MN | 11 / 26 (673.6456) | 18 (162.2856) | 11 (169.6800) | 10 (168.5600) | 3 (173.1200) |