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 pork.
- Pork ×1
DRIFTERS Q
DRIFTERS Q is a competition barbecue team with 11 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2019 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 7th of 43 at the Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest (2024). They are ranked #3243 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1499
peak 1516 · rated over 10 contests
Contests
11
in the data
First seen
May 31, 2019
latest Sep 25, 2026 · 7.3 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
1
2 podiums
Overall top-10s
1
9% of 11 contests
Avg finish
top 62%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
1 🔥
Current form
676.82 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 669.45 (+7.37)
Walk rate
73%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±14.84
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 171.71 · weakest Brisket (161.00)
Road miles
2,321
across 11 mapped stops · furthest 490 mi
Schedule strength
81%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1606)
Purse competed for
$107K
listed at 10 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 11 state-championship entries
Master avg
669.45 / 720
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Master | #941 (89 pts) | #826 (149 pts) | #669 (263 pts) | #876 (119 pts) | #961 (94 pts) |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #1148 (60 pts) | #1221 (60 pts) | #1293 (60 pts) | #1190 (60 pts) | #1190 (60 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #618 (270 pts) | #724 (235 pts) | #726 (250 pts) | #591 (315 pts) | #773 (195 pts) |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #1093 (103 pts) | #733 (228 pts) | #1358 (78 pts) | #1168 (93 pts) | #1185 (88 pts) |
| 2022 ↗ | Master | #848 (171 pts) | #668 (286 pts) | #841 (211 pts) | #799 (206 pts) | #964 (136 pts) |
| 2021 ↗ | Master | #1236 (60 pts) | #1286 (60 pts) | #877 (165 pts) | #1091 (105 pts) | #1245 (60 pts) |
| 2020 ↗ | Master | #856 (60 pts) | #406 (285 pts) | #913 (60 pts) | #838 (85 pts) | #883 (60 pts) |
| 2019 ↗ | Master | #1887 (70 pts) | #1884 (85 pts) | #1820 (95 pts) | #2029 (60 pts) | #1745 (100 pts) |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to DRIFTERS Q, each with one reason worth a look.
113 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#3,250 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 9%
- Peak
- 1511
Careers of much the same size, 11 contests to 11, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#3,262 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 9%
- Peak
- 1508
Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 9 years before DRIFTERS Q's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#3,240 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 10%
- Peak
- 1499
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 9 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#3,257 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1499
Level with DRIFTERS Q on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#3,256 of the rated field
- Contests
- 12
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 8%
- Peak
- 1509
12 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 8% top-10 finishes rather than wins.
⚔ Compare careers#3,253 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 18%
- Peak
- 1507
They were already cooking in 2013, 6 years before DRIFTERS Q's first contest.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MAN MEAT BBQ | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 10 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 177.7144 | 165.6912 | 171.71 | top 39% |
| Pork Ribs | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 175.4172 | 158.8460 | 168.03 | top 57% |
| Pork | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 180 🔥 | 156.5144 | 169.34 | top 53% |
| Brisket | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 173.1428 | 140.5372 | 161.00 | top 71% |
“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) | 1 | 0 | top 84% |
| Medium (20–39) | 6 | 0 | top 64% |
| Large (40+) | 3 | 0 | top 53% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest | 2 | 7 | 0 | top 50% | Jun 13, 2025 |
| Dodge City Days Smokin' Saddles BBQ Competition (Day 2) | 2 | 17 | 0 | top 71% | Jul 30, 2022 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2026
2 contests
Contests a season
1.4
across 8 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
KS
5 of 11 contests · 4 states in all
Contests visited
8
2 of them more than once
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
11 entries · 0 wins · 3 calls
Opponents faced
252
finished ahead 143 times, behind 225
Longest layoff
1.3 yrs
Jun 13, 2025 → Sep 25, 2026
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20262 milestones
- 10th tracked contest Sandhills Smoke Show BBQ (ONE MEAT RIBS)
- Most recent contest Sandhills Smoke Show BBQ
20244 milestones
- First overall top-10 Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest
- First perfect 180 (Pork) Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest
- Career-best overall score697.6684 Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest
- Peak power rating (1516) Shenandoah ShenDig BBQ
20202 milestones
- First call Hill City Wine Brew and BBQ Fest
- First category win (Chicken) Hill City Wine Brew and BBQ Fest
20192 milestones
- First tracked contest 8th Annual Valley Veterans BBQ Competition
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score657.5544 8th Annual Valley Veterans BBQ Competition
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +11.8 | Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest | Jun 7, 2024 |
| +5 | 9th Annual Valley Veterans BBQ Competition | May 28, 2021 |
| +4 | Big Blue BBQ Championship | Jun 2, 2023 |
| +3.8 | Shenandoah ShenDig BBQ | Jul 19, 2024 |
| +0.3 | 8th Annual Valley Veterans BBQ Competition | May 31, 2019 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -10.8 | Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest | Jun 13, 2025 |
| -6.6 | Hill City Wine Brew and BBQ Fest | Aug 21, 2020 |
| -5.8 | Sandhills Smoke Show BBQ | Sep 25, 2026 |
| -2.3 | Dodge City Days Smokin' Saddles BBQ Competition (Day 1) | Jul 29, 2022 |
| -0.2 | Dodge City Days Smokin' Saddles BBQ Competition (Day 2) | Jul 30, 2022 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 84% | 93.7% | 93.7% |
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 83% | 91.1% | 91.1% |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 30% | 96.9% | 95.8% |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 54% | 93.6% | 93.6% |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 71% | 94.4% | 92.8% |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 54% | 93.2% | 93.2% |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 100% | top 88% | 89.6% | 89.6% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 59% | 91.3% | 91.3% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 25, 2026 | Sandhills Smoke Show BBQ 🏅 North Platte, NE | 16 / 19 (674.8000) | 7 (175.4400) | 18 (161.6916) | 10 (171.9656) | 15 (165.7028) |
| Sep 25, 2026 | Sandhills Smoke Show BBQ (ONE MEAT RIBS) 🏅 North Platte, NE | — | — | 4 (174.2744) | — | — |
| Jun 13, 2025 | Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS | 30 / 36 (655.8512) | 25 (166.2856) | 30 (159.9428) | 28 (165.0856) | 30 (164.5372) |
| Jul 19, 2024 | Shenandoah ShenDig BBQ 🏅 Shenandoah, IA | 16 / 36 (682.1600) | 14 (171.9772) | 6 (175.4172) | 16 (171.9656) | 27 (162.8000) |
| Jun 7, 2024 | Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS | 7 / 43 (697.6684) | 13 (174.2744) | 22 (170.2512) | 4 (180) | 10 (173.1428) |
| Jun 2, 2023 | Big Blue BBQ Championship 🏅 Marysville, KS | 15 / 28 (673.6112) | 3 (176) | 20 (164.5372) | 17 (168.5140) | 18 (164.5600) |
| Jul 30, 2022 | Dodge City Days Smokin' Saddles BBQ Competition (Day 2) 🏅 Dodge City, KS | 17 / 25 (679.8628) | 4 (177.7144) | 15 (170.8228) | 16 (171.9656) | 20 (159.3600) |
| Jul 29, 2022 | Dodge City Days Smokin' Saddles BBQ Competition (Day 1) 🏅 Dodge City, KS | 19 / 26 (656.4456) | 18 (165.6916) | 13 (170.8228) | 13 (168.5372) | 23 (151.3940) |
| May 28, 2021 | 9th Annual Valley Veterans BBQ Competition 🏅 Valley, NE | 25 / 46 (671.3828) | 31 (165.6912) | 7 (174.2972) | 16 (170.2972) | 35 (161.0972) |
| Aug 21, 2020 | Hill City Wine Brew and BBQ Fest 🏅 Hill City, SD | 38 / 43 (645.1204) | 1 (177.1772) | 39 (158.8460) | 20 (168.5600) | 42 (140.5372) |
| May 31, 2019 | 8th Annual Valley Veterans BBQ Competition 🏅 Valley, NE | 23 / 39 (657.5544) | 20 (166.8344) | 18 (167.3828) | 34 (156.5144) | 17 (166.8228) |