FRONT DOOR GANG

At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)

KCBS records held

1 🥇

highest pork score

Power ranking

#790

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1628

peak 1641 · rated over 29 contests ⓘ

Best runs

straight top-10s

Contests

in the data

First seen

2013-04-12

latest 2016-08-05

Best ToY finish

#128

Master 2013

Grand champs

2 reserve

Category wins

15 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 30 contests

Avg finish

top 33%

overall standings

Best overall

696.0000 / 720

Master · Flinthills Beef Fest BBQ

Perfect 180s

1 🔥

Current form

663.29 ▼

last 5 Master vs avg 665.43 (-2.14)

Walk rate

70%

contests with a top-10 call

Top-10 streak

best run (overall)

Best single call

180.0000 🔥

Pork · Big Blue BBQ Championship

Consistency

±14.92

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork

avg 168.63 · weakest Brisket (164.43)

Road miles

2,583

mi across 30 mapped stops · furthest 250 mi

Schedule strength

28%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1538)

State championships

0 🏅

GCs in 1 state-championship entries

Master avg

665.43 / 720

30 Master contests · 1 GC

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (15 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 heartbreaker

0.5710 points from the title

Came within 0.5710 points of the Grand Championship at Brew, Blues & Bar-B-Q Cook-Off (2013-05-03).

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 pork.

Pork ×1

Against the odds

32-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings

The ratings favoured the top seed the other 68 times in 100

Their Grand Championship at Flinthills Beef Fest BBQ (2013-08-23) came as the ratings underdog — roughly a 32-in-100 shot against the field's top-rated team, HOG TIDE BAR-B-QUE.

Happy hunting ground

Top 17% average finish here

Rossville Tall Corn BBQ Contest is their spot: an average finish in the top 17% across 2 visits.

2 visits
best finish 5th
average top 17%

They almost always walk

70% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 21 of 30 contests

A top-10 category call in 70% of their 30 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

696.0000 career-best overall

96.7% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 696.0000 at Flinthills Beef Fest BBQ — 96.7% of a perfect 720.

Master
2013-08-23

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

BLACK EYE BBQ has finished one call ahead of FRONT DOOR GANG 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

A tough matchup

11–1 behind in the head-to-head

PELLET ENVY ahead in 92% of their meetings

PELLET ENVY has come out ahead in 11 of their 12 shared contests.

The weak link

−4.2 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 4.20 points below their pork, and turns into a call 33% of the time against 53%.

Brisket avg 164.43
Pork avg 168.63
10 calls in 30 entries

The drought

21 contests since the last title

Their last Grand Championship came at Flinthills Beef Fest BBQ on 2013-08-23 — 21 contests and 13 years ago.

last GC 2013-08-23
13 years ago

A strong matchup

12–1 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 92% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of INDIGO PIG in 12 of their 13 shared contests.

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

NICKLE BOYS BBQ has landed one call behind them 2 times.

A June team

Top 10% average finish in June

Something about June: average finish in the top 10% across 3 contests, versus top 33% the rest of the year.

3 June contests
top 33% the rest of the year

The metronome

±2.07% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±2.07% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 92.4% of a perfect score
30 contests

A standing appointment

4 years running at one contest

They've cooked Smoke in the Spring every year from 2013 to 2016 — the contest they never miss.

4 visits in all
best finish 20th

Record book — 1 held (1 in the KCBS record book)

Where this team stands in the all-time KCBS record book. A gold line is a record they hold outright; the rest are boards they are on. Rebuilt nightly, so beating one shows up here the next morning.

🥇 🍖 Highest pork score 180.0000 one meat, out of 180 · won the category with it · 31 May 2013 · shared with at least 9 others

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.

33 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.

KCQ

#791 of the rated field

1628 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 35
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 26%
Peak: 1638

1–2 in 3 shared contests (33% to FRONT DOOR GANG)

These two have cooked 3 of the same contests — KCQ ahead 2–1 — so there's a record behind this pairing and not just a matching number.

rated over 34 contests
last seen 2019-09-27

⚔ Head-to-head

WORTH SMOKIN' BBQ

#792 of the rated field

1628 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 16
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 50%
Peak: 1628

1–2 in 3 shared contests (33% to FRONT DOOR GANG)

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 15 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 15 contests
last seen 2015-10-03

⚔ Head-to-head

FAT ANDY'S BBQ

#793 of the rated field

1628 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 30
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 33%
Peak: 1633

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 30 contests to 30, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 30 contests
last seen 2017-09-08

⚔ Head-to-head

HOT CHIHUAHUA BARBECUE

#794 of the rated field

1628 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 27
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 33%
Peak: 1628

No shared contest yet.

Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 27 contests, alongside a 33% overall top-10 rate.

rated over 26 contests
last seen 2024-08-16

⚔ Head-to-head

SMOKEN DUDES BBQ

#788 of the rated field

1628 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 33
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 24%
Peak: 1644

No shared contest yet.

Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2013.

rated over 33 contests
last seen 2018-09-28

⚔ Head-to-head

T Daddys BBQ

#795 of the rated field

1628 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 46
GCs: 2
Top-10s: 57%
Peak: 1661

No shared contest yet.

3 straight overall top-10s says this rating is a moving target.

rated over 40 contests
last seen 2026-08-28

⚔ Head-to-head

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
LIL' FIDDLER'S	14	10	4	71%	⚔ compare
BLUE BUCKET BBQ	14	9	5	64%	⚔ compare
R BUTTS R SMOKIN	14	5	9	36%	⚔ compare
INDIGO PIG	13	12	1	92%	⚔ compare
THE SMOKING HILLS	13	5	8	38%	⚔ compare
K.C. CAN CREW	12	4	8	33%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN BAD HABIT	12	4	8	33%	⚔ compare
PELLET ENVY	12	1	11	8%	⚔ compare
SMOKE ON WHEELS	11	5	6	45%	⚔ compare
Theslabs.com	11	4	7	36%	⚔ compare
SMOKERS WILD	11	1	10	9%	⚔ compare
RIBS N BIBS	10	9	1	90%	⚔ compare
NAUGHTY NURSES BBQ	10	5	5	50%	⚔ compare
BLACK EYE BBQ	10	5	5	50%	⚔ compare
GETTIN' SAUCED	10	4	6	40%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	30	10	1	3	177.1544	137.7144	165.10	top 45%
Pork Ribs	30	12	1	5	176.5944	153.0972	167.27	top 33%
Pork	30	16	2	5	180.0000 🔥	153.6572	168.63	top 32%
Brisket	30	10	0	2	174.8456	151.4056	164.43	top 39%

“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	25	1	top 30%
MO	4	0	top 39%
OK	1	0	top 67%

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	13	1	top 24%
Large (40+)	17	0	top 40%

Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Smoke in the Spring	4	20	top 37%	2016-04-08
Big Blue BBQ Championship	3	2	top 19%	2015-06-05
Sugar Mound BBQ Festival	2	29	top 43%	2015-05-23
Sertoma 48 BBQ	2	10	top 41%	2015-05-08
Rossville Tall Corn BBQ Contest	2	5	top 17%	2014-08-01

The story so far (19 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 3.3 yrs 2013-04-12 → 2016-08-05

Busiest season 2014 11 contests

Contests a season 7.5 across 4 seasons in the data

Cooks most in KS 25 of 30 contests · 3 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 22 5 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 30 entries · 1 win · 10 calls

Strongest meat Pork averages 168.63 · weakest Brisket (164.43)

Walk rate 70% a top-10 call in 21 of 30 contests

Overall top-10 rate 47% 14 of 30 contests

Wins it all 3% 1 Grand Championship · 2 reserve

First title 2013-08-23 Flinthills Beef Fest BBQ

Best top-10 run 5 straight contests

Master average 665.43 out of 720 · 30 contests · 1 GC

Perfect 180s 1 every judge at the table handing back a nine

Opponents faced 1,017 1,401–574 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 2,583 30 mapped stops · furthest 250 mi

Schedule strength 1538 average field rating faced — tougher than 28% of rated contests

State championships 0 from 1 state-championship entries

Power rating 1628 peak 1641 · #790 of 6,413 rated

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

2013
Apr 12 First tracked contest Smoke In The Spring
Apr 12 First call Smoke In The Spring
Apr 12 First overall past 90% of a perfect score662.2854 Smoke In The Spring
May 3 First overall top-10 Brew, Blues & Bar-B-Q Cook-Off
May 3 First overall podium Brew, Blues & Bar-B-Q Cook-Off
May 3 First Reserve Championship Brew, Blues & Bar-B-Q Cook-Off
May 10 First category win (Pork) Rods, Ribs & Rock N Roll 2013
May 31 First perfect 180 (Pork) Big Blue BBQ Championship
Aug 23 First Grand Championship Flinthills Beef Fest BBQ
Aug 23 Career-best overall score696.0000 Flinthills Beef Fest BBQ
Sep 13 10th tracked contest Leavenworth's Hog Wild West BBQ Contest
2014
Oct 2 Peak power rating (1641) 35th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue Open
2015
May 8 25th tracked contest Sertoma 48 BBQ
2016
Aug 5 Most recent contest Rossville Tall Corn Festival BBQ Contest

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+14.8	Brew, Blues & Bar-B-Q Cook-Off	2013-05-03
+14.4	Flinthills Beef Fest BBQ	2013-08-23
+13	Rods, Ribs & Rock N Roll 2013	2013-05-10
+12.2	Big Blue BBQ Championship	2014-06-06
+12	Smoke on the Water	2013-10-11

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-9.6	Leavenworth's Hog Wild West BBQ Contest	2013-09-13
-9	Firelake BBQ Cook Off	2015-03-27
-8.5	Sertoma 48 BBQ	2015-05-08
-6.4	11th Annual WildBlue BBQ	2015-07-17
-4.5	Smoke in the Spring	2016-04-08

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)
2016	2	0	1	0	50%	top 42%	94.5%	92.1%
2015	6	0	1	0	33%	top 48%	93.4%	91.4%
2014	11	0	6	1	73%	top 28%	95.8%	93%
2013	11	1	6	3	91%	top 27%	96.7%	92.4%

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2016-08-05	Rossville Tall Corn Festival BBQ Contest Rossville, KS	8 / 29 (680.0688)	4 (176.0344)	13 (168.0344)	21 (165.6800)	4 (170.3200)
2016-04-08	Smoke in the Spring Osage City, KS	61 / 109 (645.6344)	68 (161.0972)	88 (153.0972)	51 (165.7144)	33 (165.7256)
2015-07-17	11th Annual WildBlue BBQ Burlington, KS	30 / 48 (655.3600)	42 (155.9428)	19 (166.8456)	32 (163.4172)	15 (169.1544)
2015-06-05	Big Blue BBQ Championship Marysville, KS	4 / 30 (672.5372)	13 (165.7028)	10 (170.2744)	9 (166.8228)	6 (169.7372)
2015-05-23	Sugar Mound BBQ Festival Mound City, KS	33 / 62 (662.8572)	51 (161.1200)	35 (164.0000)	14 (171.4172)	26 (166.3200)
2015-05-08	Sertoma 48 BBQ Lawrence, KS	29 / 45 (642.6392)	34 (160.5256)	24 (161.6800)	21 (164.5140)	30 (155.9196)
2015-04-10	Smoke in the Spring Osage City, KS	29 / 97 (662.7544)	32 (167.4400)	15 (170.8228)	84 (153.6572)	10 (170.8344)
2015-03-27	Firelake BBQ Cook Off Shawnee, OK	35 / 52 (653.1320)	41 (159.4288)	27 (166.8344)	28 (165.7144)	33 (161.1544)
2014-10-02	35th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue Open Kansas City, MO	24 / 552 (689.6684)	121 (170.8344)	33 (174.8456)	88 (171.9656)	62 (172.0228)
2014-10-02	35th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue Invitational unrated Kansas City, MO	133 / 165 (652.5488)	96 (166.8688)	158 (154.2400)	62 (169.1428)	124 (162.2972)
2014-09-05	Bates County Barbecue State Championship & Festival 🏅 Butler, MO	13 / 43 (662.7656)	23 (162.8456)	8 (171.4400)	14 (166.2400)	18 (162.2400)
2014-08-22	Flint Hills Beef Fest BBQ Emporia, KS	5 / 25 (674.2056)	7 (171.4056)	1 (172.0344)	8 (168.5256)	12 (162.2400)
2014-08-01	Rossville Tall Corn BBQ Contest Rossville, KS	5 / 37 (672.5488)	22 (162.2744)	6 (167.9772)	8 (170.2972)	2 (172.0000)
2014-07-25	Smokin' Hot Cars & BBQ at the Allen County Fair Iola, KS	7 / 21 (675.9888)	11 (164.0228)	3 (176.5944)	4 (173.1316)	10 (162.2400)
2014-07-11	Cowley County BBQ Contest Winfield, KS	8 / 20 (678.2512)	8 (169.1200)	9 (168.0228)	11 (166.2628)	5 (174.8456)
2014-06-06	Big Blue BBQ Championship Marysville, KS	2 / 25 (674.2972)	6 (164.0344)	6 (168.0000)	5 (171.9656)	3 (170.2972)
2014-05-24	Sugar Mound BBQ Festival Mound City, KS	29 / 87 (663.3716)	9 (173.7144)	28 (165.7028)	72 (154.2172)	15 (169.7372)
2014-05-09	Sertoma 48 BBQ Lawrence, KS	10 / 54 (666.2288)	13 (168.5256)	16 (166.8688)	22 (164.5372)	17 (166.2972)
2014-04-11	Smoke In The Spring Osage City, KS	20 / 73 (658.8228)	20 (167.4400)	21 (167.4056)	9 (171.4172)	51 (152.5600)
2013-10-11	Smoke on the Water Topeka, KS	3 / 43 (674.8232)	13 (164.5716)	2 (175.4516)	2 (176.5600)	19 (158.2400)
2013-09-13	Leavenworth's Hog Wild West BBQ Contest Leavenworth, KS	25 / 34 (617.0856)	34 (137.7144)	13 (162.8228)	10 (165.1428)	26 (151.4056)
2013-08-23	Flinthills Beef Fest BBQ Emporia, KS	1 / 26 (696.0000)	1 (177.1544)	2 (173.7372)	5 (173.1084)	5 (172.0000)
2013-08-02	Rossville Tall Corn BBQ Contest Rossville, KS	5 / 25 (662.8688)	3 (173.7372)	5 (163.9772)	6 (165.1316)	9 (160.0228)
2013-07-19	9th Annual WildBlue BBQ Burlington, KS	22 / 40 (655.9884)	7 (172.0572)	28 (158.8228)	10 (169.1428)	30 (155.9656)
2013-07-05	Crossroads BBQ Cook-off Cameron, MO	17 / 40 (659.4284)	26 (162.8572)	17 (165.7142)	17 (165.7142)	17 (165.1428)
2013-06-07	Keepers of the Fire BBQ Contest Mayetta, KS	7 / 69 (672.0000)	42 (158.2858)	12 (171.4286)	4 (173.1428)	11 (169.1428)
2013-05-31	Big Blue BBQ Championship Marysville, KS	11 / 30 (661.7144)	24 (156.5714)	15 (164.5714)	1 (180.0000)	11 (160.5716)
2013-05-10	Rods, Ribs & Rock N Roll 2013 Manhattan, KS	3 / 25 (674.2856)	10 (165.7142)	8 (167.4284)	1 (176.5714)	9 (164.5716)
2013-05-03	Brew, Blues & Bar-B-Q Cook-Off Lansing, KS	2 / 33 (682.8570)	3 (172.5716)	2 (172.0000)	2 (173.7142)	17 (164.5712)
2013-04-12	Smoke In The Spring Osage City, KS	24 / 71 (662.2854)	32 (163.4286)	18 (167.4286)	3 (176.0000)	55 (155.4282)

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
2016 ↗	Master	#1336 (209 pts)	#1236 (264 pts)	#1609 (174 pts)	#1808 (134 pts)	#1209 (264 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#703 (505 pts)	#865 (415 pts)	#737 (515 pts)	#729 (515 pts)	#630 (595 pts)
2014 ↗	Master	#223 (1436 pts)	#272 (1201 pts)	#192 (1496 pts)	#229 (1311 pts)	#234 (1386 pts)
2013 ↗	Master	#128 (1746 pts)	#156 (1431 pts)	#111 (1675 pts)	#39 (2170 pts)	#252 (1156 pts)