Tailgate Guys BBQ Show, Episode 134: Travis Clark, Beth Breeding
Release Date: 10/05/2021
Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, Episode 322: Hugh Munro, Steven Raichlen
Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast
Hugh Munro of Ambition Que might be the oldest man in competition BBQ. But the 73-year-old former drag racer doesn’t mind the title one bit - particularly after likely becoming the oldest KCBS Grand Champion at last weekend’s Bud’s, Brews & BBQ in Columbia, Missouri. On Episode 322 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, we visit with Hugh about his late-start to competition BBQ and how it feeds his hunger to high-level competition after being involved in national-touring drag racing for many years. The Minnesota native now based in Springfield, Missouri, discusses how he got started in...
info_outline
Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, Episode 321: Gabe Trevino
Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast
On Episode 321 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, we talk it over with one of the nation’s hottest competition pit masters. Gabe Trevino and Smokin’ Volts BBQ of Fontana, California is coming off a Grand Championship over Labor Day Weekend at the star-studded Meat & Tater BBQ Fest in Boise, Idaho. Gabe scored a 707.9 total, edging out Gettin’ Basted and one of his mentors, Brad Leighninger, for top honors. It was Smokin’ Volts’ second straight GC and fifth in seven events since June 1. Gabe reviews his BBQ background and what it feels like to be on a roll - especially in the...
info_outline
Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, Episode 320: Jacob Watt, Joshua Brock
Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast
We’re also thrilled when one of our past “Under the Radar” guests go on and accomplish big things in the competition world. Jacob Watt of the Kansas City-area team Smoke This Drink That told us back in February that winning a KCBS Masters Division Grand Championship was a goal in 2025. It was mission accomplished Aug. 16 when he and wife Paige celebrate their first GC with a whopping 710.85 total at the BBQ and Fly-In on the River in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. On Episode 320 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, Jacob returns to tell us how he’s become one of the nation’s hottest teams...
info_outline
Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, Episode 319: Sterling Smith
Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast
From his home base in Arizona, Sterling Smith has been all over the world cooking, teaching and promoting his BBQ and Loot ’n Booty product line. On Episode 319 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, Sterling reviews the journey that included competition cooking since 2009 and recaps 2025 visits to Hawaii, New Zealand and Croatia among other stops and a busy fall schedule ahead with tickets punched to the Jack Daniel World BBQ Invitational and American Royal World Series of BBQ. We also talk it over with Charlie Wallace about the latest happenings at The Grill Guys of Missouri. Co-host...
info_outline
Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, Episode 318: Jordan Kirkpatrick
Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast
Jordan Kirkpatrick and Janky Leg BBQ recently passed the seven-year anniversary of their first KCBS competition, a 27th-place out of 30 teams in Effingham, Illinois. Jordan recalled being “lost, confused and disappointed" with the results. On Episode 318 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, Jordan reflected on the humbling start and the road to becoming a world champion a years later. Janky Leg is still going strong and nearing the fall, when the team is always at its best. He also hits upon some interesting theories, including that you’re not cooking against the other competitors, but...
info_outline
Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, Episode 317: Darren Warth
Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast
The OG #GOATOFBBQ can still get it done. On Episode 317 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, we visit with BBQ Hall of Famer Darren Warth about his latest KCBS Grand Championship, this one bigger than most. It came last weekend at the Grand American Barbecue World Championship in Port Jervis, New York. The $15,000 prize was one of the bigger non-majors he’s won and the second GC in the last month for he and wife Sherry’s Iowa Smokey D’s team. Darren told us about feeling reinvigorated about competition BBQ these days and it sounds like the three-time American Royal World Series of BBQ Grand...
info_outline
Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, Episode 316: Brad Leighninger
Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast
When selected as one of 12 contestants for the Food Network program BBQ Brawl, Brad Leighninger of Nixa, Mo., said he just wanted to have fun and represent the competition BBQ world as best he could. Chalk it up as mission accomplished on both parts, plus a whole lot more. The pitmaster behind three-time (working on four-time) KCBS Team of the Year Gettin’ Basted made it all the way to the finale where he lost a tie-breaker with Georgia’s Kyle Bryner for Master of ‘Cue. On Episode 316 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, Brad reflects on BBQ Brawl’s 10-episode journey from what it...
info_outline
Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, Episode 315: Ercole Chila tribute
Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast
The competition BBQ world was rocked late last week by the tragic news that Ercole Chila from Uncle Pigs Barbecue Pit from Paulsboro, N.J., had been killed in an automobile accident. Two of Ercole’s shining accomplishments on the competition trail was Uncle Pig’s 2022 KCBS Team of the Year award and the 2023 Jack Daniels World BBQ Invitational championship. But beyond the smoke and tasty proteins was a man who was a friend to so many across the land. On Episode 315 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast we visit with two of Ercole’s close BBQ friends, Mike Licciardello and Dave Travis. They...
info_outline
Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, Epsiode 314: Ashton Smith with O.G. Bandits
Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast
For Ashton Smith and Josh Farley, the idea of a BBQ restaurant and food truck seemed unlikely a couple of years ago. But after winning the Made for KC competition in 2023, earning naming rights to the BBQ restaurant in Kansas City International Airport for what turned out to be 18 months, the O.G. Bandits are more than a championship KCBS competition team - they’re now an award-winning restaurant with a retail line of rubs and sauces and perhaps bigger things are coming soon. On Episode 314 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, Ashton tells us about a world-wide restaurant hospitality award the...
info_outline
Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, Episode 313: Brant Champoux, Chuck Simpson
Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast
Episode 313 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast takes us back “Under the Rader” to learn the story of an up-and-coming competition team. This time it’s Brant Champoux from Second Hand Smoke out of Oskaloosa, Iowa. Brant discusses his journey from the backyard division to taking on all four meats in 2025, with a terrific showing in his first KCBS competition of the season. There’s a terrific competition coming up in west-central Missouri. It’s the 7th annual Smokin’ on the Osage in Osceola with all the amenities a great contest needs. Chuck Simpson, who organizes the KCBS Masters and...
info_outlineIt’s Episode 134 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Show Podcast and we visit with reigning Jack Daniels World Invitational BBQ champion Travis Clark. It's a wide-ranging conversation about The Jack, his Clark Crew BBQ restaurant, the state of competition BBQ, judging, meat quality and more. Travis is never afraid to speak his mind, which as a show host or listener is rewarding.
We also talk turkey with Beth Breeding, vice-president for communications and marketing for the National Turkey Federation. The addition of a Turkey Smoke championship chase has been a positive move for KCBS and Beth said the organizations are fired up to do it again, in bigger fashion, in 2022. Make sure to check out TurkeySmoke.org for some great recipe ideas, plus more competition info.
Meanwhile, co-hosts Lyndal and Steve talk about their cooking week, which included a leap into the deep waters of Steak Cookoff Association competition. They also talk MLB playoffs, which is truly one of the great times on the sports calendar.
We want to thank a new sponsor this week, our friend Randy VanSlyke of High I Que BBQ. Randy owns and operates Home Technology Solutions in Gardner, Kansas. Pro Technology Solutions offers Gardner and the Kansas City area services such as audio/visual installation - so if you need someone to install those big-screen TVs and sound systems or provide various other home automation expertise, give Randy a call at (913) 927-1185
Thanks to our other sponsor/marketing partners who make our show possible: Blues Hog BBQ Sauce, Royal Oak Charcoal, The Butcher Shoppe, Iowa BBQ Store, Affordable Income Tax & Payroll, Arkassippi Smoke Live and The Arkassippi Combo, Vietti Marketing, In the Garden of Eden, Gray Wolf Smokers and The BBQ League. Special thanks to Marty “Sign Man” Prather and Domino’s Pizza, an “Official American Royal World Series of BBQ” sponsor of our team.
Have a great BBQ Week!
#SmokeEmIfYouGotEm