76 barbecue teams qualify for The Jack

The 2019 Jack Daniel’s Grand Champion Clark Crew BBQ from Oklahoma will return to the holler in 2021 to defend their title. This year’s event is scheduled for October 8-9. (Photo Credit: Jack Daniel’s Distillery)

LOCAL EVENT NEWS — Jack Daniel World Championship Invitational Barbecue officials gathered in Lynchburg last week to finalized the teams for this year event scheduled for October 8-9 in historic downtown Lynchburg. In June, distillery officials announced that they’d move forward with the 2021 event but this year with domestic teams only due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.

76 teams vie for The Jack and a $25,000 prize

Judges from around the country and thousands of barbecue enthusiasts will join competitive barbecue’s “best of the best” as they compete for the coveted title of Grand Champion and $25,000 in prize money. The Jack is widely considered the world’s most prestigious barbecue competition in many barbecue circles.

Teams from across the United States will compete in seven categories : Pork Ribs, Pork Shoulder/Butts, Beef Brisket, Chicken, Dessert, Cook’s Choice and Jack Daniel’s Sauce.  To qualify, domestic teams must have won a state championship with a minimum of 25 competing teams, or a competition with more than 50 teams battling in the categories of Pork Ribs, Pork Butts, Chicken and Beef Brisket.

The final competitors were selected during a blind drawing of all eligible teams last week. Additionally, automatic invitations are given to the 2019 Jack Daniel’s Grand Champion, Clark Crew BBQ, as well as this season’s grand champions from Memphis in May, The American Royal World Series of Barbecue Open, and Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest. 

This years teams list includes (listed by their home state):

ALABAMA: Poppa Pig and Smoke Me Silly

ALASKA: 40 Below BBQ

ARKANSAS: Cowboy Q, Piggin’ Whiskey, and Razorracks

ARIZONA: YSB BBQ

CALIFORNIA: Big Poppa Smokers, Cynical BBQ, Rooftop BBQ

COLORADO: Grillin’ Bevers

CONNETICUIT: Fire at the End of the Day

FLORIDA: Hot Wachula’s, Pig-Chicka-Cow-Cow

GEORGIA: Jack’s Old South, Smokin’ Sweatmeat

IOWA: Lucky’s Q

IDAHO: Crooked Pigs

ILLINOIS: one2bbq, The Bb Bus, Triple H BBQ

INDIANA: Grey Street BBQ

KANSAS: High I Que, Mad Mutt’s BBQ, Slap’s BBQ

KENTUCKY: Blue Chip BBQ

LOUISIANA: Central City BBQ, Sweet Bayou BBQ

MASSACHUSETTES: Insane Swine BBQ, Smokin’ Hoggz BBQ

MARYLAND: Smokecraft

MICHIGAN: Kevlar

MINNESOTA: Nectar of the Hogs

MISSOURI: Gettin’ Basted, Shake n’ Bake BBQ, Two Krackers Kookin’, Uncle Bub’s BBQ LLC

MISSISSIPPI: Piglitically Incorrect BBQ

MONTANA: Montana Outlaw BBQ

NORTH CAROLINA: Midnight Burn, Redneck Scientific

NORTH DAKOTA: Owens BBQ. Spitfire

NEBRASKA: Timbone Barbecue

NEW JERSEY: Glazed nd Infused New Jersey BBQ

NEW YORK: Big Raz BBQ, Pig’s Pajamas BBQ, Top Gun Barbecue

OHIO: Ale Yea BBQ

OKLAHOMA: Clark Crew BBQ, T-N-T Que Crew

PENNSYLVANIA: Nice Racks

RHODE ISLAND: Rhode Hog BBQ

SOUTH CAROLINA: Palmetto Pitmasters

SOUTH DAKOTA: B-S BBQ Outlaws

TENNESSEE: Q-Bones BBQ, Rocky Top Barbeque, Rooters-N-Tooters, Under the Radar

TEXAS: Boomerang BBQ, Fayette County Go-Texan, Mid Coast Cookers, Rio Valley Meat, Texas Oil Dust

UTAH: Jager Q, Salt City Barbecue, Utah BBQ Company

VIRGINIA: Aporkalypse Now, Cool Smoke, 3N1 Q, Old Virginia Smoke

WEST VIRGINIA: Bootie BBQ, Wackadoo BBQ, Warpig Smokehouse

WICONSIN: T-Mac Smokin

WYOMING: You Que’d Me All Night Long

On October 9, other activities will include original games such as the Country Dog Contest and Bung and Bag Toss competitions. Games begin Saturday at 11 a.m. and continue throughout the day. Barbecue judging starts at 11:30 a.m., and the awards presentation will take place at 5 p.m.

Admission to the 32nd Annual Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Barbecue is a voluntary donation to the Moore County School system. •

{The Lynchburg Times is the only independently owned and operated newspaper in Lynchburg. We cover Metro Moore County government, Jack Daniel’s Distillery, Nearest Green Distillery, Tims Ford State Park, Motlow State Community College, Moore County High School, Moore County Middle School, Lynchburg Elementary, Raider Sports, plus regional and state news.}