High-water mark
342.8688
career-best overall
95.2% of a perfect 360
Their best day on record: 342.8688 at WhistleStop BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) — 95.2% of a perfect 360.
- Backyard
- Oct 18, 2024
Idle Times
Idle Times is a competition barbecue team with 13 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2023 and 2025. Their best overall finish is 8th of 50 at the WhistleStop BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) (2024). They are ranked #3256 of 6,477 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1499
peak 1509 · rated over 12 contests
Contests
13
in the data
First seen
Oct 20, 2023
latest May 2, 2025 · 1.5 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podium
Overall top-10s
1
8% of 13 contests
Avg finish
top 60%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
330.11 ▲
last 5 Backyard vs avg 327.85 (+2.26)
Walk rate
23%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±10.10
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 164.50 · weakest Pork (159.41)
Road miles
1,487
across 13 mapped stops · furthest 245 mi
Schedule strength
55%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1571)
Purse competed for
$62K
listed at 11 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 4 state-championship entries
Backyard avg
327.85 / 360
12 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.
Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Idle Times, each with one reason worth a look.
110 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#3,270 of the rated field
- Contests
- 12
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1513
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 6 years before Idle Times's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#3,248 of the rated field
- Contests
- 13
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 23%
- Peak
- 1531
They've been 1531 at their best, 32 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Compare careers#3,250 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 9%
- Peak
- 1511
Careers of much the same size, 11 contests to 13, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#3,276 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1499
They were already cooking in 2015, 8 years before Idle Times's first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#3,262 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 9%
- Peak
- 1508
Level with Idle Times on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#3,259 of the rated field
- Contests
- 14
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1505
14 contests and no Grand Championship yet.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NORALA BBQ TEAM | 11 | 0 | 11 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| LEE LA Q | 9 | 1 | 8 | 11% | ⚔ compare |
| Deviant Smoke | 9 | 0 | 9 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Electro-Que-ted | 9 | 0 | 9 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Smokey Bees BBQ - MS | 9 | 0 | 9 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Rollin Smoke BBQ | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Say My Name BBQ | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Dogpatch Q | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| Red, White & Que | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Modest Meats | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| PUDDLEDUCK BBQ | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| Ghost Hill BBQ | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| Mad Rocket Barbecue | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Hickory Hangover | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 177.1544 | 149.6572 | 163.02 | top 65% |
| Pork Ribs | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 173.1660 | 155.9200 | 164.50 | top 57% |
| Pork | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 171.4056 | 142.8228 | 159.41 | top 49% |
“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 109% |
| Medium (20–39) | 4 | 0 | top 70% |
| Large (40+) | 7 | 0 | top 47% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship | 2 | 34 | 0 | top 42% | Mar 14, 2025 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2024
8 contests
Contests a season
4.3
across 3 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
AL
9 of 13 contests · 3 states in all
Contests visited
11
1 of them more than once
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
13 entries · 0 wins · 1 call
Opponents faced
431
finished ahead 318 times, behind 398
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20252 milestones
- 10th tracked contest Foley BBQ & Blues Cook-Off (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Most recent contest O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Day 1
20245 milestones
- First call WhistleStop BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)
- First overall top-10 WhistleStop BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Career-best overall score342.8688 WhistleStop BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Career-best single call (Chicken)177.1544 WhistleStop BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Peak power rating (1509) Atlanta BBQ Store Classic
20232 milestones
- First tracked contest The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY)
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score328.6060 The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +12.5 | WhistleStop BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) | Oct 18, 2024 |
| +5.8 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship | Mar 14, 2025 |
| +4.4 | The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY) | Oct 20, 2023 |
| +3.5 | Atlanta BBQ Store Classic | Nov 15, 2024 |
| +0.7 | O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Day 1 | May 2, 2025 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -8.4 | Singing River Smoke-O-Rama (BACKYARD ONLY) | Mar 21, 2025 |
| -8.2 | Scottsboro BBQ Festival (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE) | Oct 11, 2024 |
| -5.3 | Foley BBQ & Blues Cook-Off (BACKYARD ONLY) | Mar 7, 2025 |
| -3.1 | Christmas on the River State Bar B Q Championship | Dec 6, 2024 |
| -2.9 | Smoke on the Water BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) | Apr 26, 2024 |
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 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25% | top 63% | 92.9% | 91.3% |
| 2024 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 25% | top 61% | 95.2% | 90.9% |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 40% | 91.3% | 91.3% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 2025 | O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Day 1 Oneonta, AL | 17 / 28 (334.2400) | 22 (165.7028) | 18 (168.5372) | 7 (171.4056) | — |
| Mar 21, 2025 | Singing River Smoke-O-Rama (BACKYARD ONLY) Athens, AL | 36 / 43 (323.9200) | 36 (160.5372) | 30 (163.3828) | — | — |
| Mar 14, 2025 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship 🏅 Lebanon, TN | 34 / 100 (334.2976) | 43 (161.1316) | 11 (173.1660) | 34 (165.1200) | — |
| Mar 7, 2025 | Foley BBQ & Blues Cook-Off (BACKYARD ONLY) Foley, AL | 22 / 30 (322.1828) | 14 (166.2628) | 26 (155.9200) | 25 (158.2744) | — |
| Dec 6, 2024 | Christmas on the River State Bar B Q Championship 🏅 Demopolis, AL | 12 / 11 (335.9200) | 15 (165.0972) | 8 (170.8228) | — | — |
| Nov 15, 2024 | Atlanta BBQ Store Classic 🏅 Cuming, GA | 24 / 58 (331.9316) | 27 (163.9544) | 16 (167.9772) | — | — |
| Oct 18, 2024 | WhistleStop BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Huntsville, AL | 8 / 50 (342.8688) | 2 (177.1544) | 24 (165.7144) | — | — |
| Oct 11, 2024 | Scottsboro BBQ Festival (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE) Scottsboro, AL | 32 / 38 (311.8860) | 35 (154.2288) | 28 (157.6572) | — | — |
| Sep 13, 2024 | Smoke on the Water Guntersville (BACKYARD ONLY) Guntersville, AL | 20 / 33 (333.6688) | 24 (166.2744) | 17 (167.3944) | — | — |
| Apr 26, 2024 | Smoke on the Water BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Florence, AL | 27 / 40 (329.0632) | 26 (163.9544) | 26 (165.1088) | — | — |
| Mar 15, 2024 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship 🏅 Lebanon, TN | 46 / 93 (305.6000) | 47 (149.6572) | 39 (155.9428) | 49 (142.8228) | — |
| Mar 15, 2024 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship (ONE MEAT RIBS) Lebanon, TN | — | — | 57 (160.5600) | — | — |
| Oct 20, 2023 | The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY) Huntsville, AL | 20 / 50 (328.6060) | 30 (162.3316) | 26 (166.2744) | — | — |