Dirt Bag Barbeque

Dirt Bag Barbeque is a competition barbecue team with 26 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2022 and 2026. They have won 1 Grand Championship, at the Frog Alley BREW-B-QUE Cookoff (2023), and finished Reserve Grand Champion twice. They are ranked #1272 of 6,477 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#1,272

of 6,477 rated · rankings

Rating

1581

peak 1589 · rated over 23 contests3 invitational or side-series contests not counted

Contests

in the data

First seen

Apr 22, 2022

latest Jun 13, 2026 · 4.1 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#72

Master 2023 · every season

Grand champs

2 reserve · wins it all 4% of the time

Category wins

10 podiums

Overall top-10s

31% of 26 contests

Best top-10 run

straight overall top-10s

Avg finish

top 43%

overall standings

Best overall

699.3944 / 720

Master · American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Invitational Contest

Perfect 180s

1 🔥

Current form

678.06 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 675.50 (+2.56)

Walk rate

73%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

180 🔥

Chicken · Grand American Barbecue New York State Championship (Open)

Consistency

±13.12

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork

avg 171.30 · weakest Brisket (165.03)

Road miles

4,399

across 26 mapped stops · furthest 1,097 mi

Schedule strength

59%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1574)

Purse competed for

$336K

listed at 26 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 21 state-championship entries

Master avg

675.50 / 720

24 Master contests · 1 GC

Storylines (16 found in their record)

Each card leads with the number behind the story, straight from their results.

The heartbreaker

0.5944 points from the title

Came within 0.5944 points of the Grand Championship at Green Mountain BBQ Championship - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Sep 8, 2023).

Perfect scores on the board

1 perfect 180

1 perfect 180 in the data — every judge at the table handing back a nine, all in chicken.

Chicken ×1

Against the odds

13-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings

The ratings favoured the top seed the other 87 times in 100

Their Grand Championship at Frog Alley BREW-B-QUE Cookoff (Jun 24, 2023) came as the ratings underdog — roughly a 13-in-100 shot against the field's top-rated team, INSANE SWINE BBQ.

They almost always walk

73% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 19 of 26 contests

A top-10 category call in 73% of their 26 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

699.3944 career-best overall

97.1% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 699.3944 at American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Invitational Contest — 97.1% of a perfect 720.

Master
Sep 27, 2023

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

iQue has finished one call ahead of Dirt Bag Barbeque 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

Their season

2023 1 Grand Championship

2023 was the year it came together: 11 contests, 1 Grand Championship and 1 category win, at an average finish in the top 28%.

11 contests
6 overall top-10s
1 category win
average top 28%

Show 9 more storylines

A tough matchup

15–4 behind in the head-to-head

SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA ahead in 79% of their meetings

SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA has come out ahead in 15 of their 19 shared contests.

The weak link

−6.3 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 6.27 points below their pork, and turns into a call 35% of the time against 42%.

Brisket avg 165.03
Pork avg 171.30
9 calls in 26 entries

The drought

17 contests since the last title

Their last Grand Championship came at Frog Alley BREW-B-QUE Cookoff on Jun 24, 2023 — 17 contests and 3.3 years ago.

last GC Jun 24, 2023
3.3 years ago

A strong matchup

13–3 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 81% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of Mullen It Over BBQ in 13 of their 16 shared contests.

The comeback

1.7 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 1.7 years, then back at York County BBQ Festival (Day 1) (Jun 27, 2025).

last seen Oct 20, 2023
back Jun 27, 2025

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

DIG'N N PIG'N has landed one call behind them 2 times.

A September team

Top 15% average finish in September

Something about September: average finish in the top 15% across 4 contests, versus top 43% the rest of the year.

4 September contests
top 43% the rest of the year

The long haul

4,399 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 4,399 miles across 26 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 1,097 miles to American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Invitational Contest.

26 mapped stops
furthest 1,097 mi

The metronome

±1.76% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±1.76% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 93.8% of a perfect score
26 contests

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
2026 ↗	Master	#182 (988 pts)	#169 (1,063 pts)	#176 (1,098 pts)	#177 (988 pts)	#177 (988 pts)
2025 ↗	Master	#740 (176 pts)	#467 (486 pts)	#994 (126 pts)	#732 (206 pts)	#788 (176 pts)
2023 ↗	Master	#72 (1,652 pts)	#131 (1,307 pts)	#122 (1,432 pts)	#87 (1,522 pts)	#187 (1,058 pts)
2022 ↗	Master	#478 (438 pts)	#432 (538 pts)	#399 (638 pts)	#364 (653 pts)	#699 (263 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to Dirt Bag Barbeque, each with one reason worth a look.

49 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.

Menke Boys BBQ

#1,273 of the rated field

1581 power rating

Contests: 53
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 25%
Peak: 1584

1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to Dirt Bag Barbeque)

One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Dirt Bag Barbeque has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.

rated over 51 contests
last seen Oct 10, 2025

⚔ Head-to-head

BM Grils & Smokers

#1,269 of the rated field

1581 power rating

Contests: 25
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 60%
Peak: 1581

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 24 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 24 contests
last seen Jun 5, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

What’cha Got BBQ

#1,266 of the rated field

1581 power rating

Contests: 25
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 36%
Peak: 1596

Careers of much the same size, 25 contests to 26, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 25 contests
last seen Jun 14, 2025

⚔ Compare careers

MAD DAWGZ BBQ

#1,262 of the rated field

1582 power rating

Contests: 21
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 14%
Peak: 1582

Their last contest in the data was back in 2016, 10 years before Dirt Bag Barbeque's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 21 contests

⚔ Compare careers

PACS BBQ

#1,277 of the rated field

1581 power rating

Contests: 19
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 37%
Peak: 1581

Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 19 contests, alongside a 37% overall top-10 rate.

rated over 19 contests
last seen Sep 18, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

Homestead Smoke Shack

#1,264 of the rated field

1581 power rating

Contests: 31
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 61%
Peak: 1598

Level with Dirt Bag Barbeque on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 31 contests
last seen Jun 19, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA	19	4	15	21%	⚔ compare
PADDY MCQ'S	18	4	14	22%	⚔ compare
FIRE AT THE END OF THE DAY	17	3	14	18%	⚔ compare
Mullen It Over BBQ	16	13	3	81%	⚔ compare
ELJEFE SMOKE	16	6	10	38%	⚔ compare
PHILLY BLIND PIG BBQ	13	7	6	54%	⚔ compare
CHUNKY BBQ	13	2	11	15%	⚔ compare
Let It Smoke Barbecue	12	9	3	75%	⚔ compare
Up-2 BBQ	12	4	8	33%	⚔ compare
STICKS & STONES BBQ	11	4	7	36%	⚔ compare
Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit	11	1	10	9%	⚔ compare
Matt's Backyard BBQ	10	8	2	80%	⚔ compare
SUSQUEHANNA SMOKERS	10	4	6	40%	⚔ compare
Grandpa Val's BBQ	10	1	9	10%	⚔ compare
CIDER BOYS BBQ	9	7	2	78%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	26	11	1	3	180 🔥	158.8000	170.77	top 43%
Pork Ribs	26	9	1	3	177.7144	159.4172	168.51	top 47%
Pork	26	11	2	2	178.8800	162.7884	171.30	top 37%
Brisket	26	9	1	2	178.2972	143.3256	165.03	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
Small (<20 teams)	3	1	top 16%
Medium (20–39)	14	0	top 48%
Large (40+)	9	0	top 44%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
NY	6	1	top 52%
PA	5	0	top 41%
NJ	5	0	top 55%
CT	2	0	top 59%
KS	2	0	top 21%
NH	2	0	top 56%
VT	1	0	top 8%
ME	1	0	top 7%
RI	1	0	top 16%
MA	1	0	top 24%

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
York County BBQ Festival (Day 2)	3	4	top 40%	Jun 13, 2026
New Jersey KnoQ-out - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (DAY 2)	3	12	top 51%	Apr 18, 2026
Twin Valley Fire and Smoke (Day 1)	2	11	top 43%	May 15, 2026
Southern New England Barbecue Throwdown - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (DAY 1)	2	19	top 59%	Apr 10, 2026
Granite State BBQ Championship - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES	2	13	top 56%	Jun 3, 2023

More numbers

Busiest season 2023 11 contests · 1 GC

Contests a season 6.5 across 4 seasons in the data

Most contests held in NY 6 of 26 contests · 10 states in all

Contests visited 19 5 of them more than once

First title Jun 24, 2023 Frog Alley BREW-B-QUE Cookoff

Opponents faced 801 finished ahead 1,000 times, behind 686

Longest layoff 1.7 yrs Oct 20, 2023 → Jun 27, 2025

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

20262 milestones

Jun 12 25th tracked contest York County BBQ Festival (Day 1)
Jun 13 Most recent contest York County BBQ Festival (Day 2)

20251 milestone

Aug 2 First perfect 180 (Chicken) Grand American Barbecue New York State Championship (Open)

20236 milestones

Jun 24 First overall podium Frog Alley BREW-B-QUE Cookoff
Jun 24 First Grand Championship Frog Alley BREW-B-QUE Cookoff
Aug 19 10th tracked contest Kora Shriners BBQ Competition
Sep 1 First Reserve Championship I Love Barbecue & Music Festival
Sep 27 Career-best overall score699.3944 American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Invitational Contest
Sep 27 Peak power rating (1589) American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest

20225 milestones

Apr 22 First tracked contest New Jersey KnoQ-out: Day 1-CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES
Apr 22 First call New Jersey KnoQ-out: Day 1-CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES
Apr 22 First overall past 90% of a perfect score653.6000 New Jersey KnoQ-out: Day 1-CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES
Jun 4 First category win (Pork) Granite State BBQ Championship - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES
Oct 1 First overall top-10 Nor'Easter BBQ Showdown - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+19	Frog Alley BREW-B-QUE Cookoff	Jun 24, 2023
+16.6	I Love Barbecue & Music Festival	Sep 1, 2023
+14.7	Green Mountain BBQ Championship - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES	Sep 8, 2023
+14	Kora Shriners BBQ Competition	Aug 19, 2023
+12.1	HOGS 4 HEROES	May 6, 2023

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-10.2	New Jersey KnoQ-out - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (DAY 2)	Apr 18, 2026
-7.4	Granite State BBQ Championship - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES	Jun 3, 2023
-6	New Jersey KnoQ-out: Day 1-CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES	Apr 22, 2022
-4.6	Grand American Barbecue New York State Championship Open (OPEN FORMAT)	May 2, 2026
-4.4	Red White & Que - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 1)	Oct 20, 2023

Scores over time (% of a perfect score, averaged over 5 contests — 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)
2026	8	0	1	1	75%	top 54%	96.1%	94%
2025	3	0	0	1	67%	top 70%	94.5%	93.8%
2023	11	1	6	1	64%	top 28%	97.1%	94.2%
2022	4	0	1	2	100%	top 43%	93.8%	92.6%

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Jun 13, 2026	York County BBQ Festival (Day 2) 🏅 Delta, PA	4 / 13 (691.9428)	6 (173.7144)	6 (172)	12 (168.5256)	1 (177.7028)
Jun 12, 2026	York County BBQ Festival (Day 1) 🏅 Delta, PA	11 / 25 (685.0284)	16 (171.9656)	15 (168.5372)	5 (175.4172)	10 (169.1084)
May 15, 2026	Twin Valley Fire and Smoke (Day 1) 🏅 Morgantown, PA	11 / 25 (672.4688)	4 (175.4056)	20 (159.9888)	13 (169.6800)	9 (167.3944)
May 2, 2026	Grand American Barbecue New York State Championship Open (OPEN FORMAT) 🏅 New Paltz, NY	39 / 59 (674.1600)	47 (168.5256)	44 (167.3828)	23 (171.9772)	35 (166.2744)
May 1, 2026	Grand American Barbecue World Championship Invitational (COMPETITOR SERIES) unrated New Paltz, NY	29 / 43 (682.2516)	42 (158.8000)	31 (168)	7 (177.1544)	3 (178.2972)
Apr 18, 2026	New Jersey KnoQ-out - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (DAY 2) 🏅 Blairstown, NJ	19 / 26 (666.6968)	14 (167.9540)	20 (164.5372)	15 (169.6800)	21 (164.5256)
Apr 17, 2026	New Jersey KnoQ-out - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (DAY 1) 🏅 Blairstown, NJ	12 / 26 (669.0972)	4 (173.1200)	15 (164.5944)	9 (169.6800)	22 (161.7028)
Apr 10, 2026	Southern New England Barbecue Throwdown - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (DAY 1) 🏅 Bristol, CT	19 / 33 (672.4112)	21 (169.1200)	18 (169.6800)	28 (162.7884)	9 (170.8228)
Aug 2, 2025	Grand American Barbecue New York State Championship (Open) 🏅 Port Jervis, NY	31 / 47 (680.4916)	1 (180)	28 (169.6800)	41 (163.3944)	32 (167.4172)
Aug 1, 2025	Grand American Barbecue World Championship (Invitational) (COMPETITOR SERIES) unrated Port Jervis, NY	33 / 34 (671.2800)	31 (165.0972)	21 (170.8228)	31 (165.6916)	25 (169.6684)
Jun 27, 2025	York County BBQ Festival (Day 1) 🏅 Delta, PA	12 / 26 (674.1136)	4 (174.8456)	22 (161.6340)	8 (173.1200)	12 (164.5140)
Oct 20, 2023	Red White & Que - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 1) 🏅 Jackson, NJ	17 / 34 (664.5372)	21 (164.5944)	2 (177.1544)	12 (169.6800)	29 (153.1084)
Sep 27, 2023	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Invitational Contest unrated Kansas City, KS	8 / 211 (699.3944)	99 (171.9656)	30 (175.4288)	16 (176.5600)	24 (175.4400)
Sep 27, 2023	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest 🏅 Kansas City, KS	189 / 487 (678.7768)	381 (161.6912)	208 (170.2628)	11 (178.8572)	219 (167.9656)
Sep 8, 2023	Green Mountain BBQ Championship - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES 🏅 Braintree, VT	2 / 26 (693.0856)	2 (177.7144)	8 (169.7028)	7 (170.8228)	4 (174.8456)
Sep 1, 2023	I Love Barbecue & Music Festival Lake Placid, NY	2 / 18 (682.7660)	11 (168.5372)	2 (172.5716)	4 (173.1200)	6 (168.5372)
Aug 19, 2023	Kora Shriners BBQ Competition 🏅 Hiram, ME	3 / 46 (693.6572)	7 (176)	6 (174.8572)	17 (169.6916)	6 (173.1084)
Jun 24, 2023	Frog Alley BREW-B-QUE Cookoff Schenectady, NY	1 / 19 (693.6800)	5 (173.1200)	5 (171.4172)	1 (178.8800)	9 (170.2628)
Jun 3, 2023	Granite State BBQ Championship - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES 🏅 Merrimack, NH	30 / 39 (641.4852)	26 (165.6912)	20 (166.2400)	18 (166.2284)	38 (143.3256)
May 6, 2023	HOGS 4 HEROES 🏅 Jamestown, RI	8 / 50 (674.2856)	3 (174.8456)	28 (164.5600)	6 (173.1316)	23 (161.7484)
Apr 21, 2023	New Jersey KnoQ-out - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 1) 🏅 Blairstown, NJ	12 / 36 (672.4340)	14 (170.2512)	6 (169.1316)	6 (173.1200)	27 (159.9312)
Apr 15, 2023	Southern New England Barbecue Throwdown - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES 🏅 Bristol, CT	26 / 43 (663.3484)	26 (169.1084)	34 (159.9428)	22 (169.1316)	21 (165.1656)
Oct 1, 2022	Nor'Easter BBQ Showdown - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES 🏅 Southwick, MA	8 / 33 (675.3368)	15 (169.1084)	1 (177.7144)	7 (170.8456)	21 (157.6684)
Jun 4, 2022	Granite State BBQ Championship - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES 🏅 Merrimack, NH	13 / 37 (666.7656)	11 (170.2512)	20 (163.3828)	1 (176.0116)	24 (157.1200)
May 13, 2022	Twin Valley Fire and Smoke 🏅 Morgantown, PA	16 / 39 (672.5256)	8 (174.8456)	4 (172.5716)	16 (169.6800)	32 (155.4284)
Apr 22, 2022	New Jersey KnoQ-out: Day 1-CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES 🏅 Blairstown, NJ	34 / 48 (653.6000)	9 (173.7144)	38 (159.4172)	17 (170.8228)	44 (149.6456)

An unrated contest — an invitational, or a Competitor or Kosher Series board — is in the record but doesn’t move the power rating.

Dirt Bag Barbeque

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

Rating

Contests

First seen

Best ToY finish

Grand champs

Category wins

Overall top-10s

Best top-10 run

Avg finish

Best overall

Perfect 180s

Current form

Walk rate

Best single call

Consistency

Strongest meat

Road miles

Schedule strength

Purse competed for

State championships

Master avg

Storylines (16 found in their record)

The heartbreaker

Perfect scores on the board

Against the odds

They almost always walk

High-water mark

The one to beat

Their season

A tough matchup

The weak link

The drought

A strong matchup

The comeback

Looking over their shoulder

A September team

The long haul

The metronome

Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

By meat

By field size and state

By contest size

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

More numbers

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

📉 Toughest weekends

Scores over time (% of a perfect score, averaged over 5 contests — 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

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)