The comeback
5.2 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 5.2 years, then back at Dowagiac BBQ Competition and Summer Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) (2023-07-15).
- last seen 2018-05-05
- back 2023-07-15
JD's BBQ
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1478
peak 1501 · rated over 4 contests ⓘ
Contests
4
in the data
First seen
2013-08-23
latest 2023-07-15
Best ToY finish
#1970
Master 2013
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
of 4 contests
Avg finish
top 73%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
639.66
last 3 Master vs avg 639.66 (+0.00)
Walk rate
50%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±13.73
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 164.37 · weakest Pork Ribs (154.52)
Road miles
1,413
mi across 4 mapped stops · furthest 838 mi
Schedule strength
23%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1532)
Purse competed for
$2K
listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings
Master avg
639.66 / 720
3 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
309.07 / 360
1 Backyard contest · 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 (1 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.
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.
JD's BBQ has 4 rated contests — short of the five it takes to earn a power ranking — so this rating has barely moved off the 1500 every team starts on and 145 rated teams sit within a point of it. Read the list as the nearest company at a number nobody here has moved far from, not as a verdict on who this team belongs with.
#4205 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1511
No shared contest yet.
They've been 1511 at their best, 33 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Head-to-head#4209 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1507
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 4, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#4210 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1502
No shared contest yet.
They turned up 6 years after JD's BBQ did, first appearing in 2019.
⚔ Head-to-head#4222 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1478
No shared contest yet.
Level with JD's BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#4221 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1478
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 5 years before JD's BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#4199 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1479
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 6 years before JD's 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 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 162.2744 | 158.2516 | 160.25 | top 67% |
| Pork Ribs | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 164.5140 | 146.8000 | 154.52 | top 76% |
| Pork | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 171.4056 | 151.9888 | 164.37 | top 49% |
| Brisket | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 168.5372 | 143.3716 | 158.62 | top 56% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| MN | 2 | 0 | top 70% |
| MI | 1 | 0 | top 75% |
| GA | 1 | 0 | top 78% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 1 | 0 | top 75% |
| Medium (20–39) | 1 | 0 | top 78% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 70% |
The story so far (17 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
9.9 yrs
2013-08-23 → 2023-07-15
Busiest season
2023
1 contest
Contests a season
1
across 4 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
MN
2 of 4 contests · 3 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
4
0 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
4 entries · 0 wins · 1 calls
Strongest meat
Pork
averages 164.37 · weakest Pork Ribs (154.52)
Walk rate
50%
a top-10 call in 2 of 4 contests
Overall top-10 rate
0%
0 of 4 contests
Master average
639.66
out of 720 · 3 contests · 0 GCs
Backyard average
309.07
out of 360 · 1 contest · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
118
41–102 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
1,413
4 mapped stops · furthest 838 mi
Schedule strength
1532
average field rating faced — tougher than 23% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$2,200
listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings
Longest layoff
5.2 yrs
2018-05-05 → 2023-07-15
Power rating
1478
peak 1501 · #null of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2013
- First tracked contest 6th Annual Big Island BBQ
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score653.5772 6th Annual Big Island BBQ
- Career-best overall score653.5772 6th Annual Big Island BBQ
- Career-best single call (Pork)171.4056 6th Annual Big Island BBQ
- Peak power rating (1501) 6th Annual Big Island BBQ
- 2018
- First call Atlanta BBQ Festival
- 2023
- Most recent contest Dowagiac BBQ Competition and Summer Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +0.5 | 6th Annual Big Island BBQ | 2013-08-23 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -9.9 | Big Island BBQ | 2014-08-22 |
| -6.8 | Dowagiac BBQ Competition and Summer Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2023-07-15 |
| -5.4 | Atlanta BBQ Festival | 2018-05-05 |
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)
Team of the Year rank by season
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 75% | 85.9% | 85.9% |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 78% | 89.5% | 89.5% |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 87% | 86.2% | 86.2% |
| 2013 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 52% | 90.8% | 90.8% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-07-15 | Dowagiac BBQ Competition and Summer Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Dowagiac, MI | 12 / 16 (309.0744) | 8 (158.2516) | 12 (150.8228) | — | — |
| 2018-05-05 | Atlanta BBQ Festival Atlanta, GA | 21 / 27 (644.4344) | 21 (159.3828) | 24 (146.8000) | 9 (169.7144) | 10 (168.5372) |
| 2014-08-22 | Big Island BBQ Albert Lea, MN | 47 / 54 (620.9716) | 41 (161.0972) | 33 (164.5140) | 48 (151.9888) | 51 (143.3716) |
| 2013-08-23 | 6th Annual Big Island BBQ Albert Lea, MN | 26 / 50 (653.5772) | 33 (162.2744) | 39 (155.9544) | 13 (171.4056) | 18 (163.9428) |
Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)
Team of the Year standings (rank per category by season — year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 ↗ | Master | #2084 (75 pts) | #2167 (75 pts) | #2161 (75 pts) | #2172 (75 pts) | #2148 (75 pts) |
| 2013 ↗ | Master | #1970 (75 pts) | #2073 (75 pts) | #2043 (75 pts) | #1726 (135 pts) | #1833 (110 pts) |