Family Tradition BBQ IA
Rating
1531
peak 1531
Contests
10
in the data
First seen
2024-03-29
latest 2026-06-26
Best ToY finish
#106
Backyard 2026
Grand champs
1
0 reserve
Category wins
0
4 podiums
Overall top-10s
5
of 10 contests
Avg finish
top 49%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
410.00 ▲
last 5 vs career avg 405.65 (+4.35)
Walk rate
70%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
2
and counting
Consistency
±134.11
std dev of overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 170.43 · weakest Brisket (163.10)
Road miles
1270
mi across 10 mapped stops · furthest 205 mi
Storylines
⚔️ A tough matchup
Bramble BBQ has come out ahead in 7 of their 7 shared contests.
⚔️ A strong matchup
They've finished ahead of BUCKSHOTBBQ in 4 of their 4 shared contests.
🃏 Against the odds
Their Grand Championship at Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) (2026-06-26) came as the ratings underdog — roughly a 29-in-100 shot against the field's top-rated team, BBQ Pit Bros.
Teams like this (closest power rating, IA first)
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 10 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 178.8572 | 156.5028 | 168.60 | top 51% |
| Pork Ribs | 10 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 177.7028 | 163.9428 | 170.43 | top 42% |
| Pork | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 174.8572 | 165.0856 | 168.35 | top 76% |
| Brisket | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 164.5256 | 161.6800 | 163.10 | top 110% |
“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 | 9 | 1 | top 51% |
| MO | 1 | 0 | top 30% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 4 | 1 | top 47% |
| Medium (20–39) | 3 | 0 | top 47% |
| Large (40+) | 3 | 0 | top 55% |
The story so far
- Busiest season: 2025 (5 contests)
- Cooks mostly in IA (9 of 10 contests)
- Most-entered category: Chicken (10 entries)
- First Grand Championship in the data: Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) (2026-06-26)
- Wins it all in 10% of contests
- All-time average overall score: 405.65
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 673.6000 | 426.79 |
| 2025 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 673.6572 | 404.51 |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 326.7772 | 326.78 |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-26 | Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) Sioux City, IA | 1 / 19 (347.4056) | 6 (171.4056) | 2 (176.0000) | — | — |
| 2026-05-01 | SmokeHouse Barbeque Showdown (OPEN FORMAT) (REGISTRATION FULL) Cambridge, IA | 10 / 17 (673.6000) | 3 (176.5600) | 14 (170.2628) | 25 (165.0972) | 23 (161.6800) |
| 2026-04-03 | Iowa State BBQ Championship Altoona, IA | 13 / 42 (342.8000) | 11 (173.1200) | 15 (169.6800) | — | — |
| 2026-03-20 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue Backyard Contest Kansas City, MO | 10 / 33 (343.3712) | 21 (169.6684) | 5 (173.7028) | — | — |
| 2025-07-12 | Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 2) Miles, IA | 9 / 16 (342.8000) | 3 (178.8572) | 15 (163.9428) | — | — |
| 2025-07-11 | Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 1) Miles, IA | 12 / 18 (338.8116) | 11 (169.6800) | 9 (169.1316) | 10 (165.0856) | — |
| 2025-06-20 | Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) Sioux City, IA | 7 / 20 (334.2056) | 11 (156.5028) | 2 (177.7028) | — | — |
| 2025-05-16 | King of the Corn Ottumwa, IA | 25 / 33 (673.6572) | 31 (161.7144) | 7 (172.5600) | 8 (174.8572) | 28 (164.5256) |
| 2025-04-04 | Iowa State BBQ Championship Altoona, IA | 22 / 49 (333.0744) | 21 (169.1200) | 26 (163.9544) | — | — |
| 2024-03-29 | Iowa State BBQ Championship Altoona, IA | 37 / 42 (326.7772) | 42 (159.3828) | 20 (167.3944) | — | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Backyard | #106 (314 pts) | #82 (439 pts) | #91 (424 pts) | — | — |
| 2025 ↗ | Backyard | #192 (234 pts) | #159 (329 pts) | #200 (245 pts) | — | — |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #1404 (58 pts) | #1441 (58 pts) | #896 (163 pts) | #850 (153 pts) | #1422 (58 pts) |