Perfect scores on the board
1
perfect 180s
1 perfect 180 in the data — every judge at the table handing back a nine, all in chicken.
- Chicken ×1
Good News BBQ
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1531
peak 1531 · rated over 5 contests ⓘ
Best runs
3
straight top-10s
Contests
5
in the data
First seen
2015-08-21
latest 2026-06-12
Grand champs
1
0 reserve
Category wins
1
2 podiums
Overall top-10s
3
of 5 contests
Avg finish
top 36%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
1 🔥
Current form
341.54
last 4 Backyard vs avg 341.54 (+0.00)
Walk rate
80%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
3
and counting
Consistency
±8.52
std dev of Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 166.95 · weakest Brisket (152.55)
Road miles
1,216
mi across 5 mapped stops · furthest 1148 mi
Schedule strength
57%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1572)
Purse competed for
$50K
listed at 4 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
1 🏅
GCs in 4 state-championship entries
Master avg
590.22 / 720
1 Master contest · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
341.54 / 360
4 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.
This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.
Storylines (7 found in this team's record)
Each card leads with the number that made it a story — read straight out of their results, no editorialising.
Giant slayer
36
teams beaten in one weekend
Took the Grand Championship over a 36-team field at Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest.
- 2026-06-12
State champions
1
state championships won
They've taken 1 state championship from 4 entries at contests carrying the title.
- 4 state-championship entries
The one to beat
2×
one call ahead of them
CEO BBQ has finished one call ahead of Good News BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
A strong matchup
4–0
ahead in the head-to-head
Ahead in 100% of their meetings
They've finished ahead of WOOD HOOK BBQ in 4 of their 4 shared contests.
The comeback
8.8 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 8.8 years, then back at Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest (2024-06-07).
- last seen 2015-08-21
- back 2024-06-07
A June team
Top 19%
average finish in June
Something about June: average finish in the top 19% across 3 contests, versus top 36% the rest of the year.
- 3 June contests
- top 36% the rest of the year
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The nearest teams in the power rankings, with a different reason on each card — six teams on one rating are rarely on it for the same reason. Rating decides who makes the list; where teams tie on it, the ones this team has actually cooked against come first, then teams at a similar point in their own career. KCBS doesn’t publish where a team is from, so nothing here is inferred from geography.
77 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#2185 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 40%
- Peak
- 1531
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#2173 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 40%
- Peak
- 1532
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2015, 11 years before Good News BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#2189 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 50%
- Peak
- 1531
No shared contest yet.
They turned up 6 years after Good News BBQ did, first appearing in 2021.
⚔ Head-to-head#2193 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 50%
- Peak
- 1553
No shared contest yet.
Level with Good News BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#2192 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1531
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2013, 13 years before Good News BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#2190 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 29%
- Peak
- 1531
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-headBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 180.0000 🔥 | 150.8456 | 166.95 | top 32% |
| Pork Ribs | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 175.4172 | 129.1544 | 162.28 | top 39% |
| Pork | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 157.6684 | 157.6684 | 157.67 | top 83% |
| Brisket | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 152.5488 | 152.5488 | 152.55 | top 83% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| KS | 4 | 1 | top 20% |
| VA | 1 | 0 | top 100% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 1 | 0 | top 25% |
| Medium (20–39) | 2 | 1 | top 15% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 63% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest | 2 | 10 | 0 | top 27% | 2025-06-13 |
The story so far (22 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
10.8 yrs
2015-08-21 → 2026-06-12
Busiest season
2024
2 contests
Contests a season
1.3
across 4 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
KS
4 of 5 contests · 2 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
4
1 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
5 entries · 1 win · 3 calls
Strongest meat
Chicken
averages 166.95 · weakest Brisket (152.55)
Walk rate
80%
a top-10 call in 4 of 5 contests
Overall top-10 rate
60%
3 of 5 contests
Wins it all
20%
1 Grand Championship · 0 reserve
First title
2026-06-12
Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest
Best top-10 run
3
straight contests — and still running
Master average
590.22
out of 720 · 1 contest · 0 GCs
Backyard average
341.54
out of 360 · 4 contests · 1 GC
Perfect 180s
1
every judge at the table handing back a nine
Opponents faced
162
140–87 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
1,216
5 mapped stops · furthest 1,148 mi
Schedule strength
1572
average field rating faced — tougher than 57% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$49,695
listed at 4 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
1
from 4 state-championship entries
Longest layoff
8.8 yrs
2015-08-21 → 2024-06-07
Power rating
1531
peak 1531 · #2182 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2015
- First tracked contest VA BBQ Championships
- Career-best overall score590.2172 VA BBQ Championships
- 2024
- First call Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score334.8572 Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest
- First overall top-10 Saucy and Glazed
- First overall podium Saucy and Glazed
- 2026
- First category win (Chicken) Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest
- First Grand Championship Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest
- First state championship Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest
- First perfect 180 (Chicken) Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest
- Biggest field won (36 teams) Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest
- Peak power rating (1531) Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest
- Most recent contest Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +18.8 | Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest | 2026-06-12 |
| +10.1 | Saucy and Glazed | 2024-07-12 |
| +8 | Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest | 2025-06-13 |
| +7.3 | Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest | 2024-06-07 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -13.1 | VA BBQ Championships | 2015-08-21 |
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)
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 100% | top 3% | 98.7% | 98.7% |
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 28% | 92.8% | 92.8% |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 25% | 94.9% | 94% |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 100% | 82% | 82% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-12 | Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS | 1 / 36 (355.4172) | 1 (180.0000) | 5 (175.4172) | — | — |
| 2025-06-13 | Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS | 10 / 36 (334.2400) | 8 (169.6800) | 14 (164.5600) | — | — |
| 2024-07-12 | Saucy and Glazed 🏅 Newton, KS | 3 / 12 (341.6456) | 2 (173.1084) | 4 (168.5372) | — | — |
| 2024-06-07 | Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS | 11 / 43 (334.8572) | 12 (161.1200) | 4 (173.7372) | — | — |
| 2015-08-21 | VA BBQ Championships Hampton, VA | 46 / 46 (590.2172) | 41 (150.8456) | 46 (129.1544) | 38 (157.6684) | 38 (152.5488) |