Smoke & Soul Fest
2023-10-06 – 2023-10-07 · Casper, WY · 📍 Casper, WY 82602 · State championship
Reps: DEL ANDERSON, MICHAEL WINTER
Grand Champion: Needs More Cowbell BBQ (693.6572) · 28 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 Brinkerhoff BBQ
Entries
28
4 judged meats
Top score
693.6572
Winning margin
0.5600
GC over RC
Field average
663.37
median 668.23
Tightest race
Chicken
3.4400 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
677.6116
10th place overall
Field spread
96.7540
winner to last place
Double threats
6
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 76%
beats 24% of 1951 Master Series wins in the data
Traveled in
75%
of the 28 teams with a home region came from outside WY
Came back for more
45%
13 of 29 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.43 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1545
avg power rating going in · stronger than 50% of contests
Storylines
👑 A dynasty in the making
YOU QUE'D ME ALL NIGHT LONG has won this contest 3 times across its 6 tracked editions.
🪒 A razor-thin finish
The Grand Championship was decided by 0.5600 points — closer than 91% of every championship in the data.
🧳 Out-of-towners took the title
Needs More Cowbell BBQ took the Grand Championship home to CO.
📸 Photo finishes
Chicken places 2–3: BRACKEN RACKS BBQ and POPPA PIG AND PORKCHOP tied on 174.8572 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 7–8: The Fatted Calf and Bull-B-Que tied on 170.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 5–6: LaTa-Que and WYO SMOKE SHOW tied on 174.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
🃏 An upset on the books
Needs More Cowbell BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, Colorado Bulldawg BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 25-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
Score curves (score by finishing position — steep cliffs mean a spread field, flat lines a knife fight)
Category showdown (top / average / median score per meat)
Score distribution
Biggest rating movers (power-rating points won and lost at this contest)
Did form hold? (pre-contest rating vs overall finish — ratings called it if the dots climb to the right)
Where the field came from (home regions on file)
This contest over the years full contest page →
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-09-22 | Casper, WY 82601 | 18 | 687.4404 | YOU QUE'D ME ALL NIGHT LONG | JO-BAWB'S BBQ | |
| 2018-09-14 | 3rd Elm St | 28 | 677.6684 | YOU QUE'D ME ALL NIGHT LONG | RICHIE Z's | |
| 2019-09-13 | Casper, WY | Downtown | 28 | 698.8344 | You Que'd Me All Night Long | The Eagle BBQ Colorado |
| 2022-10-07 | Casper, WY | Casper, WY 82602 | 29 | 690.1712 | Bushmaster BBQ | Brinkerhoff BBQ |
| 2023-10-06 ← this one | Casper, WY | Casper, WY 82602 | 28 | 693.6572 | Needs More Cowbell BBQ | Brinkerhoff BBQ |
| 2024-07-12 | Casper, WY | 355 W Yellowstone Hwy | 26 | 697.6572 | Heifers Butts, & Clucks BBQ | Tuffy's BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 175.4172 | 171.9772 | 168.5488 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.2972 | 174.2628 | 170.2628 |
| Pork | 179.4400 | 174.2628 | 170.8572 |
| Brisket | 180.0000 | 175.4400 | 169.7144 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
28 entries · top 693.6572 · median 668.2288
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Needs More Cowbell BBQ | |
| 2 | Brinkerhoff BBQ | |
| 3 | RICHIE Z's | |
| 4 | SMOKIN HOT BUTTS BBQ | |
| 5 | POPPA PIG AND PORKCHOP | |
| 6 | WYO SMOKE SHOW | |
| 7 | LaTa-Que | |
| 8 | ROCKET BOYS PYRO BBQ | |
| 9 | Colorado Bulldawg BBQ | |
| 10 | BRACKEN RACKS BBQ | |
| 11 | Woolverton BBQ | |
| 12 | SmellaQue | |
| 13 | SMOKIN' BOXERS BBQ | |
| 14 | ROOSTER'S COMPETITION BBQ TEAM | |
| 15 | The Fatted Calf | |
| 16 | Q LIVE CREW | |
| 17 | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS | |
| 18 | AMERICAN HEROES BBQ | |
| 19 | MONTANA OUTLAW BBQ | |
| 20 | Bull-B-Que | |
| 21 | BULL SLAP BBQ | |
| 22 | Guys and Grills | |
| 23 | Triple Nines BBQ | |
| 24 | Rouxlin Smoke | |
| 25 | Tuffy's BBQ | |
| 26 | GreaseMonkey BBQ | |
| 27 | Smoking Bibs | |
| 28 | Wyoming Backyard BBQ |
Chicken
28 entries · top 175.4172 · median 166.8342
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Needs More Cowbell BBQ | |
| 2 | BRACKEN RACKS BBQ | |
| 3 | POPPA PIG AND PORKCHOP | |
| 4 | Brinkerhoff BBQ | |
| 5 | WYO SMOKE SHOW | |
| 6 | ROCKET BOYS PYRO BBQ | |
| 7 | The Fatted Calf | |
| 8 | Bull-B-Que | |
| 9 | LaTa-Que | |
| 10 | Woolverton BBQ | |
| 11 | SMOKIN HOT BUTTS BBQ | |
| 12 | Q LIVE CREW | |
| 13 | Rouxlin Smoke | |
| 14 | SmellaQue | |
| 15 | SMOKIN' BOXERS BBQ | |
| 16 | RICHIE Z's | |
| 17 | Tuffy's BBQ | |
| 18 | Colorado Bulldawg BBQ | |
| 19 | Smoking Bibs | |
| 20 | MONTANA OUTLAW BBQ | |
| 21 | ROOSTER'S COMPETITION BBQ TEAM | |
| 22 | Guys and Grills | |
| 23 | AMERICAN HEROES BBQ | |
| 24 | GreaseMonkey BBQ | |
| 25 | Triple Nines BBQ | |
| 26 | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS | |
| 27 | Wyoming Backyard BBQ | |
| 28 | BULL SLAP BBQ |
Pork Ribs
28 entries · top 178.2972 · median 166.2628
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brinkerhoff BBQ | |
| 2 | Colorado Bulldawg BBQ | |
| 3 | Woolverton BBQ | |
| 4 | BRACKEN RACKS BBQ | |
| 5 | LaTa-Que | |
| 6 | WYO SMOKE SHOW | |
| 7 | Needs More Cowbell BBQ | |
| 8 | SMOKIN HOT BUTTS BBQ | |
| 9 | BULL SLAP BBQ | |
| 10 | POPPA PIG AND PORKCHOP | |
| 11 | SMOKIN' BOXERS BBQ | |
| 12 | ROOSTER'S COMPETITION BBQ TEAM | |
| 13 | RICHIE Z's | |
| 14 | SmellaQue | |
| 15 | The Fatted Calf | |
| 16 | Bull-B-Que | |
| 17 | Tuffy's BBQ | |
| 18 | AMERICAN HEROES BBQ | |
| 19 | ROCKET BOYS PYRO BBQ | |
| 20 | Q LIVE CREW | |
| 21 | GreaseMonkey BBQ | |
| 22 | MONTANA OUTLAW BBQ | |
| 23 | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS | |
| 24 | Rouxlin Smoke | |
| 25 | Triple Nines BBQ | |
| 26 | Guys and Grills | |
| 27 | Smoking Bibs | |
| 28 | Wyoming Backyard BBQ |
Pork
28 entries · top 179.4400 · median 167.9944
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS | |
| 2 | AMERICAN HEROES BBQ | |
| 3 | RICHIE Z's | |
| 4 | Colorado Bulldawg BBQ | |
| 5 | ROCKET BOYS PYRO BBQ | |
| 6 | POPPA PIG AND PORKCHOP | |
| 7 | ROOSTER'S COMPETITION BBQ TEAM | |
| 8 | WYO SMOKE SHOW | |
| 9 | MONTANA OUTLAW BBQ | |
| 10 | Brinkerhoff BBQ | |
| 11 | SMOKIN HOT BUTTS BBQ | |
| 12 | Woolverton BBQ | |
| 13 | Needs More Cowbell BBQ | |
| 14 | Bull-B-Que | |
| 15 | Guys and Grills | |
| 16 | BULL SLAP BBQ | |
| 17 | LaTa-Que | |
| 18 | Q LIVE CREW | |
| 19 | BRACKEN RACKS BBQ | |
| 20 | Triple Nines BBQ | |
| 21 | The Fatted Calf | |
| 22 | Rouxlin Smoke | |
| 23 | SMOKIN' BOXERS BBQ | |
| 24 | Wyoming Backyard BBQ | |
| 25 | SmellaQue | |
| 26 | Tuffy's BBQ | |
| 27 | GreaseMonkey BBQ | |
| 28 | Smoking Bibs |
Brisket
28 entries · top 180.0000 · median 167.9944 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SmellaQue | |
| 2 | RICHIE Z's | |
| 3 | SMOKIN' BOXERS BBQ | |
| 4 | ROCKET BOYS PYRO BBQ | |
| 5 | Needs More Cowbell BBQ | |
| 6 | LaTa-Que | |
| 7 | SMOKIN HOT BUTTS BBQ | |
| 8 | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS | |
| 9 | Brinkerhoff BBQ | |
| 10 | The Fatted Calf | |
| 11 | MONTANA OUTLAW BBQ | |
| 12 | WYO SMOKE SHOW | |
| 13 | Q LIVE CREW | |
| 14 | ROOSTER'S COMPETITION BBQ TEAM | |
| 15 | POPPA PIG AND PORKCHOP | |
| 16 | Colorado Bulldawg BBQ | |
| 17 | AMERICAN HEROES BBQ | |
| 18 | Guys and Grills | |
| 19 | BRACKEN RACKS BBQ | |
| 20 | Woolverton BBQ | |
| 21 | Triple Nines BBQ | |
| 22 | BULL SLAP BBQ | |
| 23 | Bull-B-Que | |
| 24 | GreaseMonkey BBQ | |
| 25 | Rouxlin Smoke | |
| 26 | Tuffy's BBQ | |
| 27 | Smoking Bibs | |
| 28 | Wyoming Backyard BBQ |