The comeback
2.9 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 2.9 years, then back at RTrowbridge Memorial Cook Flyin (BACKYARD) (2024-05-17).
- last seen 2021-06-11
- back 2024-05-17
FREEDOM BBQ
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1464
peak 1464 · rated over 5 contests ⓘ
Contests
8
in the data
First seen
2013-09-20
latest 2024-05-17
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
of 8 contests
Avg finish
top 76%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
624.65
last 3 Master vs avg 624.65 (+0.00)
Walk rate
0%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±18.42
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 156.66 · weakest Brisket (151.96)
Road miles
3,406
mi across 8 mapped stops · furthest 1179 mi
Schedule strength
32%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1543)
Purse competed for
$15K
listed at 3 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 1 state-championship entries
Master avg
624.65 / 720
3 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
295.32 / 360
2 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
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 (2 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.
The long haul
3,406
road miles between contests
Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 3,406 miles across 8 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 1,179 miles to Hogs & Hops Dover.
- 8 mapped stops
- furthest 1,179 mi
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.
142 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#4879 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1465
1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to FREEDOM BBQ)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team FREEDOM BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#4914 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1464
No shared contest yet.
Fewer contests behind them than FREEDOM BBQ has cooked, 5 to 8, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Head-to-head#4893 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1465
No shared contest yet.
Level with FREEDOM BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#4902 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1464
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2021, 3 years before FREEDOM BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#4887 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1465
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 5 years before FREEDOM BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#4913 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1464
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 5 years before FREEDOM BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-headBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 167.4172 | 144.5028 | 156.66 | top 65% |
| Pork Ribs | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 168.5716 | 141.6916 | 153.39 | top 67% |
| Pork | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 161.6800 | 145.1200 | 154.44 | top 85% |
| Brisket | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 161.6688 | 141.0744 | 151.96 | top 73% |
“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 | 3 | 0 | top 90% |
| PA | 1 | 0 | top 30% |
| DE | 1 | 0 | top 80% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 1 | 0 | top 100% |
| Medium (20–39) | 2 | 0 | top 86% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 55% |
The story so far (18 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
10.7 yrs
2013-09-20 → 2024-05-17
Busiest season
2024
1 contest
Contests a season
1
across 8 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
KS
6 of 8 contests · 3 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
5
0 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
6 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls
Strongest meat
Chicken
averages 156.66 · weakest Brisket (151.96)
Walk rate
0%
a top-10 call in 0 of 8 contests
Overall top-10 rate
0%
0 of 8 contests
Master average
624.65
out of 720 · 3 contests · 0 GCs
Backyard average
295.32
out of 360 · 2 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
192
62–151 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
3,406
8 mapped stops · furthest 1,179 mi
Schedule strength
1543
average field rating faced — tougher than 32% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$15,050
listed at 3 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 1 state-championship entries
Longest layoff
2.9 yrs
2021-06-11 → 2024-05-17
Power rating
1464
peak 1464 · #4900 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2013
- First tracked contest Hogs & Hops Dover
- Peak power rating (1491) Hogs & Hops Dover
- 2014
- Career-best overall score647.3032 Derby BBQ Festival
- 2016
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)168.5716 *Derby BBQ Festival
- 2024
- Most recent contest RTrowbridge Memorial Cook Flyin (BACKYARD)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +3.1 | Smoke in the Grove | 2019-07-26 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -13.3 | RTrowbridge Memorial Cook Flyin (BACKYARD) | 2024-05-17 |
| -9.8 | *Derby BBQ Festival | 2016-09-09 |
| -8.8 | Hogs & Hops Dover | 2013-09-20 |
| -6.9 | Derby BBQ Festival | 2014-09-12 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 100% | 84.6% | 84.6% |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 30% | 79.5% | 79.5% |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 92% | 86.7% | 86.7% |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 79% | 89.9% | 89.9% |
| 2013 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 80% | 83.6% | 83.6% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-05-17 | RTrowbridge Memorial Cook Flyin (BACKYARD) Derby, KS | 14 / 14 (304.4456) | 14 (152.5256) | 13 (151.9200) | — | — |
| 2021-06-11 | Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest - One Meat Contest - Ribs Derby, KS | — | — | 12 (158.2516) | — | — |
| 2019-07-26 | Smoke in the Grove 🏅 Spring Grove, PA | 16 / 53 (286.1944) | 19 (144.5028) | 16 (141.6916) | — | — |
| 2017-09-08 | *Derby BBQ Festival(JUDGES FULL) Derby, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2016-09-09 | *Derby BBQ Festival Derby, KS | 35 / 38 (624.4572) | 31 (158.2856) | 13 (168.5716) | 35 (156.5256) | 38 (141.0744) |
| 2015-09-11 | *Derby BBQ Festival Derby, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2014-09-12 | Derby BBQ Festival Derby, KS | 30 / 38 (647.3032) | 20 (167.4172) | 32 (156.5372) | 26 (161.6800) | 26 (161.6688) |
| 2013-09-20 | Hogs & Hops Dover Dover, DE | 36 / 45 (602.1832) | 24 (160.5600) | 40 (143.3716) | 42 (145.1200) | 23 (153.1316) |