Family Tradition BBQ IA
Rating
1530
peak 1531 · rated over 11 contests
Contests
11
in the data
First seen
2024-03-29
latest 2026-07-18
Best ToY finish
#124
Backyard 2026
Grand champs
1
0 reserve
Category wins
0
4 podiums
Overall top-10s
5
of 11 contests
Avg finish
top 50%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
408.74 ▲
last 5 Backyard vs avg 371.94 (+36.80)
Walk rate
64%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
2
best run (overall)
Consistency
±100.72
std dev of Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 170.05 · weakest Brisket (163.10)
Road miles
1583
mi across 11 mapped stops · furthest 211 mi
Schedule strength
66%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1561)
Purse competed for
$63K
listed at 11 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 5 state-championship entries
Master avg
673.66 / 720
1 Master contest · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
371.94 / 360
10 Backyard contests · 1 GC
Master and Backyard overall scores sit on different scales (Master is out of 720, Backyard out of 360), so they're kept separate — averaging them together would be misleading.
Storylines
⚔️ A tough matchup
Bramble BBQ has come out ahead in 8 of their 8 shared contests.
⚔️ A strong matchup
They've finished ahead of BUCKSHOT BBQ - TX in 4 of their 4 shared contests.
😤 Pork Ribs nemesis
Even in their strongest meat, Chester's Twisted Que has out-cooked them in 6 of 10 shared pork ribs entries.
🃏 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)
Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chester's Twisted Que | 10 | 3 | 7 | 30% | ⚔ compare |
| BBQ Pit Bros | 9 | 4 | 5 | 44% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKEY GQ | 8 | 2 | 6 | 25% | ⚔ compare |
| Bramble BBQ | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| DAWGS BBQ | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Rudes BBQ | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| All Smoked Up BBQ | 6 | 2 | 4 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| BootsBBQ | 5 | 4 | 1 | 80% | ⚔ compare |
| Smokey Bros Barbecue | 5 | 4 | 1 | 80% | ⚔ compare |
| Skinny Pig BBQ | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| SmoQued On Main St | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| Smoke N Poke BBQ | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| Big Racks BBQ | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKEY D'S WANNABEES | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| TEAM CRAWFORD | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 11 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 178.8572 | 156.5028 | 168.75 | top 51% |
| Pork Ribs | 11 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 177.7028 | 163.9428 | 170.05 | top 45% |
| 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 | 10 | 1 | top 52% |
| MO | 1 | 0 | top 30% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 4 | 1 | top 47% |
| Medium (20–39) | 4 | 0 | top 50% |
| Large (40+) | 3 | 0 | top 55% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 2) | 3 | 9 | 0 | top 61% | 2026-07-18 |
| Iowa State BBQ Championship | 3 | 13 | 0 | top 55% | 2026-04-03 |
The story so far
- Busiest season: 2026 (5 contests)
- Cooks mostly in IA (10 of 11 contests)
- Most-entered category: Chicken (11 entries)
- First Grand Championship in the data: Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) (2026-06-26)
- Wins it all in 9% of contests
- Average Master overall score: 673.66 / 720
- Average Backyard overall score: 371.94 / 360
Milestones
- 🚩 2024-03-29 — First tracked contest · Iowa State BBQ Championship
- 📣 2025-05-16 — First call · King of the Corn
- ⭐ 2025-05-16 — Career-best overall score (673.6572) · King of the Corn
- 🏆 2026-06-26 — First Grand Championship · Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
- 📈 2026-06-26 — Peak power rating (1531) · Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +16.2 | Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2026-06-26 |
| +9 | Iowa State BBQ Championship | 2026-04-03 |
| +8.9 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue Backyard Contest | 2026-03-20 |
| +6.8 | Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2025-06-20 |
| +3.4 | Iowa State BBQ Championship | 2025-04-04 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -8.1 | Iowa State BBQ Championship | 2024-03-29 |
| -4.5 | King of the Corn | 2025-05-16 |
| -2 | Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 1) | 2025-07-11 |
| -1 | SmokeHouse Barbeque Showdown (OPEN FORMAT) (REGISTRATION FULL) | 2026-05-01 |
| -0.8 | Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 2) | 2026-07-18 |
Category scores over time
Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)
Where they finish (overall)
Best vs average (by meat)
How entries end (by meat)
Team of the Year rank by season
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 60% | top 37% | 187.1% | 113.5% |
| 2025 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 80% | top 56% | 95.2% | 93.7% |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 88% | 90.8% | 90.8% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-18 | Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 2) Miles, IA | 17 / 28 (336.5144) | 13 (170.2744) | 21 (166.2400) | — | — |
| 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) | — | — |
Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)
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 | #124 (314 pts) | #101 (439 pts) | #113 (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) |