High-water mark
333.0856
career-best overall
92.5% of a perfect 360
Their best day on record: 333.0856 at Chippewa Valley Ribfest (BACKYARD ONLY) — 92.5% of a perfect 360.
- Backyard
- Aug 7, 2026
Not Bad BBQ
Not Bad BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 10 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2025 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 10th of 14 at the Chippewa Valley Ribfest (BACKYARD ONLY) (2026). They are ranked #4951 of 6,485 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1464
peak 1464 · rated over 7 contests
Contests
10
in the data
First seen
May 9, 2025
latest Aug 7, 2026 · 1.2 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
1
10% of 10 contests
Avg finish
top 75%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
321.41 ▲
last 5 Backyard vs avg 315.67 (+5.74)
Walk rate
20%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±12.55
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 160.08 · weakest Chicken (156.12)
Road miles
699
across 10 mapped stops · furthest 162 mi
Schedule strength
73%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1593)
Purse competed for
$49K
listed at 9 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 4 state-championship entries
Backyard avg
315.67 / 360
7 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 Not Bad BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
140 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#4,947 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1464
Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 10, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#4,949 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 14%
- Peak
- 1509
They've been 1509 at their best, 45 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Compare careers#4,936 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1464
Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 8 years before Not Bad BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#4,940 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1464
They were already cooking in 2016, 9 years before Not Bad BBQ's first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#4,960 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1464
Level with Not Bad BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#4,959 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1464
Their last contest in the data was back in 2015, 11 years before Not Bad 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMOKEY GQ | 7 | 1 | 6 | 14% | ⚔ compare |
| Big Bear BBQ | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| DAWGS BBQ | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| FENDER BENDER BBQ | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Big Mike's Smokehouse | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Big Ten Bones | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Sensuous BBQ | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Ole Mae I BBQ | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| DAD BOD BARBEQUE | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Natural Born Grillers | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Porket About It | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| SASSY SMOKE BBQ | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Berg's BBQ | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 167.4056 | 148.5028 | 156.12 | top 76% |
| Pork Ribs | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 172.5600 | 149.7028 | 160.08 | top 68% |
“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 71% |
| Medium (20–39) | 3 | 0 | top 84% |
| Large (40+) | 3 | 0 | top 68% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota in May | 2 | 32 | 0 | top 55% | May 8, 2026 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2026
8 contests
Contests a season
5
across 2 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
MN
6 of 10 contests · 2 states in all
Contests visited
6
1 of them more than once
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
10 entries · 0 wins · 2 calls
Opponents faced
199
finished ahead 92 times, behind 327
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20267 milestones
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score327.3600 Spring into Summer Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY)
- First call Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD)
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)172.5600 Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD)
- First overall top-10 Chippewa Valley Ribfest (BACKYARD ONLY)
- 10th tracked contest Chippewa Valley Ribfest (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Career-best overall score333.0856 Chippewa Valley Ribfest (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Most recent contest Chippewa Valley Ribfest (BACKYARD ONLY)
20252 milestones
- First tracked contest Minnesota in May (ONE MEAT RIBS)
- Peak power rating (1493) Minnesota in May
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +2.8 | Minnesota in May | May 8, 2026 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -11 | Smoke & Fire (BACKYARD ONLY) | Apr 24, 2026 |
| -9.3 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) | Jun 12, 2026 |
| -7.3 | Minnesota in May | May 9, 2025 |
| -6.1 | Spring into Summer Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY) | May 29, 2026 |
| -4.3 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) | Jun 13, 2026 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 25% | top 76% | 92.5% | 88.4% |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 69% | 83.6% | 83.6% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 7, 2026 | Chippewa Valley Ribfest (BACKYARD ONLY) Montevideo, MN | 10 / 14 (333.0856) | 8 (167.4056) | 10 (165.6800) | — | — |
| Jun 13, 2026 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 27 / 37 (323.8740) | 28 (151.3140) | 4 (172.5600) | — | — |
| Jun 12, 2026 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 37 / 40 (319.9200) | 36 (161.6800) | 36 (158.2400) | — | — |
| Jun 12, 2026 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (ONE MEAT RIBS) West Salem, WI | — | — | 21 (163.4172) | — | — |
| May 29, 2026 | Spring into Summer Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY) Owatonna, MN | 20 / 25 (327.3600) | 23 (161.6684) | 15 (165.6916) | — | — |
| May 8, 2026 | Minnesota in May 🏅 St. Peter, MN | 32 / 77 (302.8228) | 33 (153.1200) | 32 (149.7028) | — | — |
| May 8, 2026 | Minnesota in May (ONE MEAT RIBS) St. Peter, MN | — | — | 44 (157.1088) | — | — |
| Apr 24, 2026 | Smoke & Fire (BACKYARD ONLY) Stanley, WI | 24 / 24 (301.6456) | 24 (149.1200) | 23 (152.5256) | — | — |
| May 9, 2025 | Minnesota in May 🏅 St. Peter, MN | 40 / 58 (301.0056) | 42 (148.5028) | 38 (152.5028) | — | — |
| May 9, 2025 | Minnesota in May (ONE MEAT RIBS) St. Peter, MN | — | — | 35 (163.3828) | — | — |