They almost always walk
60%
of contests with a top-10 call
A call in 6 of 10 contests
A top-10 category call in 60% of their 10 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.
DR. LOVE'S BBQ
DR. LOVE'S BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 10 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2014 and 2025. Their best overall finish is 6th of 28 at the Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest (2021). They are ranked #1903 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings. Also listed in KCBS results as “Dr Love's BBQ”.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1543
peak 1544 · rated over 7 contests
Contests
10
in the data
First seen
Sep 12, 2014
latest Jun 13, 2025 · 10.8 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podium
Overall top-10s
5
50% of 10 contests
Best top-10 run
5
straight overall top-10s
Avg finish
top 29%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
332.19
last 5 Backyard vs avg 331.76 (+0.42)
Walk rate
60%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±4.81
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 167.33 · weakest Brisket (163.38)
Road miles
4
across 10 mapped stops
Schedule strength
37%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1548)
Purse competed for
$83K
listed at 6 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 6 state-championship entries
Master avg
669.66 / 720
1 Master contest · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
331.76 / 360
6 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
These overall scores sit on different scales (Master out of 720, Backyard out of 360), so they're kept separate — averaging them together would be misleading.
This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to DR. LOVE'S BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
59 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#1,897 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 63%
- Peak
- 1543
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#1,908 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 33%
- Peak
- 1546
Fewer contests behind them than DR. LOVE'S BBQ has cooked, 6 to 10, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Compare careers#1,906 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 11%
- Peak
- 1543
They turned up 8 years after DR. LOVE'S BBQ did, first appearing in 2022.
⚔ Compare careers#1,899 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 33%
- Peak
- 1546
Level with DR. LOVE'S BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#1,898 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 22%
- Peak
- 1550
Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 7 years before DR. LOVE'S BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#1,900 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1543
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 6 years before DR. LOVE'S BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEER DART BBQ | 6 | 6 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| Smokin Carr BBQ | 6 | 6 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| ALWAYS SAUCED | 6 | 5 | 1 | 83% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKIN ELVISES | 5 | 5 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| Scrappy's BBQ | 5 | 4 | 1 | 80% | ⚔ compare |
| IMAT BBQ | 5 | 4 | 1 | 80% | ⚔ compare |
| KS BBQ | 5 | 4 | 1 | 80% | ⚔ compare |
| Royal Schmidt's BBQ competition team | 5 | 3 | 1 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
| MAN MEAT BBQ | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| MUNNY'S STOVE | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 173.7144 | 156.5372 | 166.02 | top 28% |
| Pork Ribs | 7 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 177.1544 | 161.6572 | 167.33 | top 29% |
| Pork | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 163.4284 | 163.4284 | 163.43 | top 66% |
| Brisket | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 163.3828 | 163.3828 | 163.38 | top 63% |
“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) | 6 | 0 | top 31% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 16% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest | 4 | 6 | 0 | top 23% | Jun 9, 2023 |
| Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest | 2 | 7 | 0 | top 30% | Jun 13, 2025 |
More numbers
Contests a season
1
across 10 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
KS
10 of 10 contests
Contests visited
3
2 of them more than once
Opponents faced
193
finished ahead 225 times, behind 109
Longest layoff
2 yrs
Jun 7, 2019 → Jun 11, 2021
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20252 milestones
- 10th tracked contest Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest
- Most recent contest Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest
20241 milestone
- Peak power rating (1544) Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest
20211 milestone
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)177.1544 Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest
20191 milestone
- First overall top-10 Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest
20144 milestones
- First tracked contest Derby BBQ Festival
- First call Derby BBQ Festival
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score669.6572 Derby BBQ Festival
- Career-best overall score669.6572 Derby BBQ Festival
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +11.2 | Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest | Jun 7, 2019 |
| +9.8 | Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest | Jun 7, 2024 |
| +9.4 | Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest | Jun 11, 2021 |
| +5.5 | Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest | Jun 10, 2022 |
| +4.5 | Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest | Jun 9, 2023 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -0.4 | Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest | Jun 13, 2025 |
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 44% | 91.1% | 91.1% |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 16% | 94.9% | 94.9% |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 28% | 91.4% | 91.4% |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 28% | 91.3% | 91.3% |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 21% | 92.7% | 92.7% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 15% | 91.6% | 91.6% |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 47% | 93% | 93% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 13, 2025 | Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS | 16 / 36 (327.9200) | 14 (166.2628) | 18 (161.6572) | — | — |
| Jun 7, 2024 | Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS | 7 / 43 (341.6800) | 9 (168.5600) | 7 (173.1200) | — | — |
| Jun 9, 2023 | Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS | 9 / 32 (329.0856) | 9 (166.2512) | 10 (162.8344) | — | — |
| Jun 10, 2022 | Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS | 8 / 29 (328.5488) | 12 (163.4172) | 9 (165.1316) | — | — |
| Jun 11, 2021 | Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS | 6 / 28 (333.6916) | 13 (156.5372) | 2 (177.1544) | — | — |
| Jun 7, 2019 | Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS | 6 / 39 (329.6460) | 4 (167.3944) | 9 (162.2516) | — | — |
| Jun 8, 2018 | Derby BBQ Festival Derby, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sep 9, 2016 | Derby BBQ Festival Derby, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sep 11, 2015 | Derby BBQ Festival Derby, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sep 12, 2014 | Derby BBQ Festival Derby, KS | 18 / 38 (669.6572) | 4 (173.7144) | 18 (169.1316) | 25 (163.4284) | 24 (163.3828) |