With just one day left until voting comes to a close for the Alabama Barbecue Battle, Lannie’s fans are making a final push to take home the crown.

The competition, which features 50 barbecue joints across the state, is part of the Alabama Tourism Department’s Year of Alabama Barbecue.

Trea Newsome, a fan of Lannie’s, started a Facebook page called “Vote Lannie’s BBQ Group” to help the Selma staple get votes, and he said the competition has been back and forth with Big Bob Gibson’s.

Newsome started the group because he wanted to help out and make sure Lannie’s won the competition.

“Somebody had mentioned [the competition], and I remembered last year that Lannie’s lost,” Newsome said. “I’ve been pretty good about getting the word out on social media, so I kind of just picked it up really.”

The competition started out slow with Lannie’s and Big Bob Gibson’s only getting a few thousand votes, but fans have cranked up the heat with the end in sight.

Friday afternoon Lannie’s was leading the legends category with more than 123,000 votes from loyal fans from Selma and across the country.

“From what I’ve seen there’s people all over the United States that are either from Selma or knows somebody in Selma, and I think all those people coming in together helps,” Newsome said. “It’s not just me. It is the whole community. I created the group, but I’m just one man.”

Lannie’s has been neck and neck over the last few weeks with Big Bob Gibson’s Barbecue, who has more than 107,000 votes.

The next highest competitor in the legends category, which is Dreamland Barbecue, has a little more than 4,000 votes.

“It’s been a struggle,” Newsome said.

“We get a little bit of a lead, and I try to tell them not to celebrate. Let’s keep on. As soon as they get a little bit of a lead everybody wants to celebrate and relax … but I’ve been trying to get everybody to quit doing that so we keep the lead until the last moment of Aug. 31.”

Even though Lannie’s is in the lead, Newsome said he is encouraging people to keep voting no matter what.

“All it takes is Big Bob Gibson’s area to all vote at the same time, and we’d be behind,” Newsome said. “Keep voting until 11:59 p.m. Aug. 31 because if we let up, we’re going to lose.”

While Selma is known for its Civil War and civil rights history, Newsome said it would be great for the Queen City to be known for its barbecue as well.

The contest ends at midnight on Aug. 31, and the winner will be announced Sept. 1. To vote, visit www.alabamabbqbattle.com.

Alabama Public Television will also air a documentary on Alabama’s Barbecue Legends, which premieres on Sunday, Sept. 6, at 6 p.m. on APT.

Filmmaker Norton Dill traveled the state to create a compelling story about Alabama barbecue traditions that reach back for generations.

Both Lannie’s and Hancock’s are featured in the APT film.