Is Competion BBQ the new "NASCAR" ?


 

Steve Pearson

New member
Hey. Longtime member/lurker, first time poster. Thanks for reading.

So the lovely bride and I just returned from donating another $250 to the organizers of a local KCBS contest. In the process of tipping a few beers with another ham and egg team parked next to us, one of the guys made the comment that Competition BBQ is the "New" NASCAR. Later on while tending the WSM's (we call 'em "The Boys") I got to pondering his comment and came to something of a conclusion that his statement had some validity to it. For those amongst us who are not NASCAR fans, permit me dissect the analogy.

As recently as the late 90's NASCAR was something of a regional sport. It drew a devout core of fans who enjoyed getting together, doing a little tailgating and spending the afternoon watching the "Boys Have At It" for a purse of a few thousand dollars. THEN NASCAR decided to get it's marketing act together. Before you could say "Jeff Gordon" purses jumped to the millions and longtime fans found suddenly found themselves pushed out of their campgrounds and seats, replaced by a new breed of fan...Fans who drove 400K motor homes towing trailers with matching Harley's who didn't know what NASCAR was 3 years prior (and if they did, they called it "NeckCar")...

Segue to Competition BBQ. When the lovely bride and I entered our first contest 6 or 7 years ago, it was a simple affair. 30 or so teams,with maybe a pop up camper here and there but mostly people just sleeping on cots or just simply staying up all night. Most of the teams were cooking in -some- kind of non-mechanical wood burning apparatus and anyone who did embrace all this technological wizardry was viewed with something of a suspicious eye. Then the KCBS got IT'S marketing act together and before you could say "Set it and Forget it"...Well lets just put it this way, most of the contests we've cooked lately resemble the campgrounds at a (new) NASCAR race...Gone are the ratty pop up campers, having been replaced by big buck motor homes towing toy hauler trailers that contain "Set it and Forget it" smokers worthy of the Space Shuttle...Gone was the friendly "won't ya be my neighbor" feeling of earlier contests...Replaced by people lurking behind tarps, awnings and camper doors performing Lord only knows WHAT kind of (legal ?) meat magic...

Just curious if anyone cares to add to or rebut this analogy ? Personally I'm wishing for the "Good ol' Days" of NASCAR -AND- BBQ.
 
Steve, I partially agree. However in my experience the friendliness of the teams to one another is still there. Lots of motor homes tho and fancy cookers. But also lots of WSMs and BGE although with ATC. There is a movement afoot here in Kalif to get the comp scene back to an affordable level so many more teams that can't afford the $250 plus will be able to participate. It will take time and the big bucks promoters like Vegas are there but My
team sure can't afford those big boy events.

Mark
 
I got started in competing right before the first season of "Pitmasters" aired and I agree that teams back then were definately shoe-string affairs. Even I used to sleep in the bed of my truck on an air mattress and a sleeping bag. For the majority of teams the only semblance of structure was the EZ-Up. Having any type of trailer was considered 'snooty'. It was really grass roots back then.

Back then, everybody knew everybody and walking from your site over to a competitors site was completely normal. You might have even been considered stand-offish if you didn't spend some time visiting on Friday afternoons. Offering a beer was standard practice.

Shortly after that first show aired, I would pull up to a competition it would look like an RV campground. Trailers and motorhomes were stacked in like cord wood. In a lot of instances, you actually would have a hard time trying to get between the sites to the back areas. I saw many instances where the public only saw the fronts of the trailers and had NO idea that people were working at the back. No wonder Cometition BBQ isn't a spectator sport.

Except for the teams that I knew for a while, most teams didn't really want to mess around with meeting new people or BS'ing around the fire. It was all about sponsorships and how could they get the sponsor's banner up higher than their neighbor.

However, I've noticed that just very recently it's starting to go back the other way. Whether it's the economy or the latest iteration of the pitmaster show being a bomb, teams are starting to revert back to being a much more friendly atmosphere.

Just the last comp I did up in Ocala was very much back to the grass roots type competition. We stayed up too late Friday night sitting around shooting the bull with people from a lot of different teams. It felt good.

Hopefully the 'Nascar' flavor will fade away and we can get back to having a great time and cooking some killer Q.


Russ
 
Our first comp was last fall in Atlanta, and it seemed more like what yall state as the past. The first 2 comps we did this year were more like what you state as the current atmosphere. I will admit, it was a little intimidating for our first 2 pro events to be out there with huge motor homes and toy haulers and smokers that get fired, plugged in, and left for hours on end. This year we've slept inside cars and on lawn chairs.

We all have full time jobs and families, so there would never be a way for us to go the fancy route. At the same time, there were some smaller teams at the events. I would love for it to back to what yall describe.
 
I just don't understand why people are so freaked out by a team with a camper!?! Are you more intimidated by a motorhome than say, a pop-up? Just because some people prefer to sleep in comfort or have a way to get out of the weather when needed that makes them the bad guys or the "Intimidators"? Because a team has a nice rig that automatically makes them unfriendly? I'm just as friendly as the next guy, but there are times I do enjoy my privacy. Also, maybe some of us just prefer not to have to pack/unpack for every event. Having a camper affords me the luxury of only having to top off my spices and reloading my meat cooler and I'm ready to go. Having a camper makes my competition life much easier. If that offends you I apologize. I compare this situation to my own personal experience with my friends and their large modern homes. Sure they're nice and I'm a little jealous that my home isn't as nice or as large. But does that mean I can't raise a happy and productive family because I don't have the $250,000 home? Absolutely not! Get over the, "Well,he has a motorhome" stigma and work on making yourself successful with what you have. Complaning will get you nowhere because it's not going to change anytime soon. JMO
 
Originally posted by Rick Kramer:
I just don't understand why people are so freaked out by a team with a camper!?! Are you more intimidated by a motorhome than say, a pop-up? Just because some people prefer to sleep in comfort or have a way to get out of the weather when needed that makes them the bad guys or the "Intimidators"? Because a team has a nice rig that automatically makes them unfriendly? I'm just as friendly as the next guy, but there are times I do enjoy my privacy. Also, maybe some of us just prefer not to have to pack/unpack for every event. Having a camper affords me the luxury of only having to top off my spices and reloading my meat cooler and I'm ready to go. Having a camper makes my competition life much easier. If that offends you I apologize. I compare this situation to my own personal experience with my friends and their large modern homes. Sure they're nice and I'm a little jealous that my home isn't as nice or as large. But does that mean I can't raise a happy and productive family because I don't have the $250,000 home? Absolutely not! Get over the, "Well,he has a motorhome" stigma and work on making yourself successful with what you have. Complaning will get you nowhere because it's not going to change anytime soon. JMO

Rick, I couldn't have said it better myself. I only do a couple of comps a year, but I do take my motor home. I have the motor home for other activities as well, but I figure I may as well use it. It provides me with a nice place to sleep and get out of the weather. I have a refrigerator and work space if needed.
 
I've done a few comps with a buddy of mine. Whether the guys were in a camper or sleeping in a tent I never experienced anyone who wasn't friendly or willing to help out. My buddy had a mobile home and I enjoyed the comfort of it. I think you're losing focus on the big picture. It's not that you have luxury cookers or a big mobile home but who puts the best product in front of the judges.I would have enjoyed the experience and the camaraderie even if I slept in a tent or a car.
 
Originally posted by Rick Kramer:
I just don't understand why people are so freaked out by a team with a camper!?!

Rick,

I think you misunderstand the spirit of my post. I'm certainly not "freaked out" (or intimidated for that matter) by folks who bring campers, big smoking ovens, etc to competitions. I was merely using NASCAR as an analogy to comment on the changes in overall atmosphere and demographics that I have observed at BBQ contests in recent times. While I personally prefer a more simple approach to competition, I'm certainly not attempting to assign some kind of evil badge to those who decide to kick things up a few notches.
 
I haven't really found that out our way. When I compete on the Prairies there is usually a whole lot more of the fancy equipment and that kind of things. Having said that I've never met nicer or more helpful people. Our first comp was in Regina Saskatchewan, we pulled up the night before to set up saw everyone with these massive rigs and we left until the morning (stupid in hind site but we felt way over our heads). When we got there in the morning a few other teams who were already there helped us set up. People were more than ready to help with advice.

The PNWBA comps we do up here everyone is incredibly friendly. SOme have nicer set ups than others but it doesn't seem to matter to anyone! I am yet to meet anyone out there who isn't overly helpful! The top team in the PNWBA last year was Left Hand Smoke (Both Brian and JD are members on the forum here). They compete on WSMS with a couple of tents. They also always go out of there way to say high and help out, even bringing wood for me to one comp in the States when I had a wee bit of trouble getting it over the border! There is also a team that holds a 10 am jd toast for all teams to get ready for turn ins.

Some of the new teams are a little less friendly at first, they may think they'll just come in and win or something, but they usually catch on pretty quick and just learn to have a good time!

Anyways I hope the fancy set ups don't deter anyone from coming out! It's still the same people in the campers!

Clark
 
Just to show my point.....from our first comp:

Our set up before the rain
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Our set up when it started to rain
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Our cookers for the comp
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My Buddy John working hard
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And finally what we were up against!
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bbq5.jpg


bbq6.jpg


bbq4.jpg


Clark
 
While I personally prefer a more simple approach to competition, I'm certainly not attempting to assign some kind of evil badge to those who decide to kick things up a few notches.
Well, it kind of sounded like it here ...
Gone was the friendly "won't ya be my neighbor" feeling of earlier contests...Replaced by people lurking behind tarps, awnings and camper doors performing Lord only knows WHAT kind of (legal ?) meat magic...
I'm just sayin ...

Steve, I see you're a new member. Please, please, please don't let my challenge to your comments deter you from coming here for some excellent and friendly advice. This place is great! You can learn/share a ton of ideas here with some of the nicest folks on the planet! Some topics just rub me the wrong way, try not to take it as personally as I did
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Upon further review I see you've been lurking around here for awhile. So you already know that this place is a great resource for info. I sure didn't want to run off a new member.
 
Upon further review I see you've been lurking around here for awhile. So you already know that this place is a great resource for info. I sure didn't want to run off a new member.

No problemo Rick. I've enjoyed reading the forum for quite some time and have picked up a lot of tips.

To be really honest, the analogy I was drawing with my original post isn't one of my (personal) "hot buttons" (I'm MUCH more laid back than that post may have indicated). I just thought the comment my neighbor made about BBQ being the new NASCAR was an interesting perspective and worthy of discussion.
 
We are out there to have a good time, and put out the best food we can, so it’s not really that anyone bothers us with what they have. I don’t think anyone wanting to stay in comfort “freaks” anyone out. And I wasn’t referring to the guys with a camper, but at the same time I don’t think having a $50,000 rig and a $10,000 smoker makes someone a bad guy or unfriendly.

I simply stated that in pulling up to our first pro event, it really made us wonder what our chances were when we are drained and tired the next morning with a couple chairs to rest in and a truck to sleep in. We knew it’s really up to us to put out the best food and to not worry about them.

But for someone just getting into competitions it could put them off to see what’s around. It wasn’t for us, but it could be the next team. Honestly, I would rather have more people competing because right now as events are getting cancelled around the US due to lack of commitments. I think we all want this to continue to grow.
 
We've been competing since late 2006 and are still using the same 2-10x10 canopy set up that we started with. While I used to sleep on an air mattress on the ground, we've upgraded that to a nice cot (which makes a world of sleeping difference). We started with 4 WSMs and we're still using 4 WSMs, although we've sometimes used more or thrown in the 22 as needed.

I clearly recall seeing plenty of fancy motorhomes, RVs, BBQ trailers and just about anything else you can think of at our first comp and I don't think that has changed. In fact, I remember one particular knucklehead who managed to back his RV into another one and tore up the rear end pretty good.

Bottom line is that after nearly 80 events since 2006, I don't think we're seeing any more or any less large or small rigs and set ups. People use what they want and/or what they can afford.

What has changed, in my observation, is that the amount of prize money that has become available in recent years has led to more people being willing to cheat and lie in order to win. That is something I'm not very happy about and hope to see the major sanctioning bodies address as the sport moves forward.
 
I naively want to believe it doesn't happen (cheating) I know if I get a call it was fairly. I let fate hopefully take care of the rest. Just out of curiousity Vince, what sort of things do you believe are happening? If you'd rather not say, due to the "open can of worms" syndrome. I fully understand
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There's pros and cons to KCBS's popularity. When we started in 2007, there was one sanctioned contest within an hours drive. This year there's 6, plus a few other events.
 
I started competing in 2005 and done 32 contests to this point, the biggest difference I have seen is you have to cook somewhere almost every weekend to get in the top ten consisently. The teams that do cook alot are always in the top ten or so. Teams like me that only do a few contests a year just cant keep up. I have had several top tens over the years but nothing consistent. I just dont cook enough contests. Mosts "sports" are the same way, if you are not there, you are not going to win. I dragged raced for years prior to BBQ and its the same way, the guys that race every weekend always finish at the top. Just from the old saying "practice makes perfect".

I had a motorhome before I started BBQ that I used racing and camping with the family so it just made it easy to convert it for BBQ contests. Now I have a big toy hauler fifth wheel that we use for everything from camping to my son's travel baseball team to BBQ contests. But in no way do I try to scare anyone or brag about what I use for competitions. And trust me I have gotten beat many times by teams with the 10x10 pop-ups and sleeping in a lawn chair. Paul h. one of our fellow members here stayed with me and helped a few times. My camper has and will always be open to anyone, I am by myself most of the time and shared my camper many times with other teams needing the comfort from just sitting in the a/c a few minutes to getting some better sleep, so if you ever see me feel free to make yourself at home and there will be a cold beer in the cooler. Now thats not to say there are teams out there that will not be as courteous because I know a few teams that do keep their meats and "secrets" hidden inside, we all have certain things we keep secret to ourselves.

I cook on 2 22" WSM'S and a kettle, just me, a fire, and meat, no temp controls, no electricity.

Anyone just starting out, dont be scared or nervous about what you see with other teams, most of them are still the best people you will ever meet and will help new teams, back to the original topic the BBQ contest scene has changed over the years but thats not always a bad thing. Just jump in and have fun.
 

 

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