A tough matchup
6–0
behind in the head-to-head
Hickory Hangover ahead in 100% of their meetings
Hickory Hangover has come out ahead in 6 of their 6 shared contests.
American BBQ
American BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 9 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2019 and 2023. Their best overall finish is 23rd of 30 at the Railyard BBQ Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) (2021). They are ranked #5299 of 6,477 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1456
peak 1456 · rated over 6 contests
Contests
9
in the data
First seen
May 3, 2019
latest Oct 27, 2023 · 4.5 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
0% of 9 contests
Avg finish
top 112%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
276.50 ▼
last 5 Backyard vs avg 280.41 (-3.91)
Walk rate
11%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±58.16
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 156.77 · weakest Pork Ribs (149.77)
Road miles
42
across 9 mapped stops
Schedule strength
29%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1539)
Purse competed for
$45K
listed at 5 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 4 state-championship entries
Backyard avg
280.41 / 360
6 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
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 American BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
126 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#5,315 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1456
Fewer contests behind them than American BBQ has cooked, 6 to 9, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Compare careers#5,291 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1456
Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 6 years before American BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#5,311 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1456
Level with American BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#5,279 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1456
Their last contest in the data was back in 2016, 7 years before American BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#5,301 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 14%
- Peak
- 1456
Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 9, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#5,305 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1456
Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 9, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BUTSY-Q | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| Hickory Hangover | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 169.7028 | 142.8572 | 156.77 | top 63% |
| Pork Ribs | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 157.1084 | 142.2172 | 149.77 | top 116% |
“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 250% |
| Medium (20–39) | 3 | 0 | top 95% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 69% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ | 2 | 29 | 0 | top 85% | Sep 8, 2022 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2023
2 contests
Contests a season
1.3
across 7 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
AL
9 of 9 contests
Contests visited
5
1 of them more than once
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
6 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls
Opponents faced
268
finished ahead 107 times, behind 307
Longest layoff
2.3 yrs
May 3, 2019 → Aug 13, 2021
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20231 milestone
- Most recent contest Railyard BBQ Brawl 2023
20213 milestones
- First call Railyard BBQ Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Career-best overall score311.9200 Railyard BBQ Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Career-best single call (Chicken)169.7028 Railyard BBQ Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
20191 milestone
- Peak power rating (1495) The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ
20151 milestone
- First tracked contest The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -12.1 | Railyard BBQ Brawl 2023 | Oct 27, 2023 |
| -12.1 | Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY) | Jun 9, 2023 |
| -7.9 | Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ | Sep 8, 2022 |
| -6.4 | Railyard BBQ Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) | Oct 22, 2021 |
| -5.2 | The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ | May 3, 2019 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 173% | 83.5% | 62.7% |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 111% | 86.3% | 86.3% |
| 2021 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 68% | 86.6% | 86.2% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 80% | 83.3% | 83.3% |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 27, 2023 | Railyard BBQ Brawl 2023 🏅 Madison, AL | 35 / 14 (150.7888) | — | 32 (150.7888) | — | — |
| Jun 9, 2023 | Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY) Huntsville, AL | 25 / 26 (300.4460) | 26 (147.3716) | 23 (153.0744) | — | — |
| Sep 8, 2022 | Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ 🏅 Huntsville, AL | 39 / 35 (310.8232) | 12 (168.0116) | 55 (142.8116) | — | — |
| Oct 22, 2021 | Railyard BBQ Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) Madison, AL | 23 / 30 (311.9200) | 10 (169.7028) | 29 (142.2172) | — | — |
| Aug 13, 2021 | Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ 🏅 Huntsville, AL | 29 / 49 (308.5256) | 26 (155.9312) | 31 (152.5944) | — | — |
| May 3, 2019 | The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ 🏅 Huntsville, AL | 43 / 54 (299.9656) | 52 (142.8572) | 33 (157.1084) | — | — |
| May 4, 2018 | The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ Huntsville, AL | — | — | — | — | — |
| May 6, 2016 | The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ Huntsville, AL | — | — | — | — | — |
| May 1, 2015 | The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ Huntsville, AL | — | — | — | — | — |