In this edition
Every sanctioned contest scored in August 2017 — 1 Aug to 31 Aug.
Covering KCBS-sanctioned contests
August 2017 in BBQ
The recap: every contest scored, every story, every board
Inside
The Stories
By invitation only
CLARK CREW BBQ won 38th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (INVITATIONAL), best of 129 invited teams; HOGLINE took reserve. An invite-only field, so it leaves the power rating alone and goes straight into the record book.
- top score 708.5600
- not in the power rating
Score of the month
top 1% of every Master overall ever scored
DIRT ROAD BBQ put up 709.1200 at Smokin Trackside BBQ Bash — the highest overall of the month.
Hottest hand
CLARK CREW BBQ took 3 Grand Championships in August 2017.
They will not let it go
PARROTHEAD SMOKERS won Hill City Wine Brew & BBQ again — 4 straight editions of this contest.
- 2014–2017
- field of 26
First one ever
DG FIREHOUSE BBQ won their first Grand Championship at Grills N Grills, in their 40th contest in the data.
- 25 Aug
Upset of the month
The ratings gave them a 5% chance
Backroads BBQ won SMSU Smokefest over top-rated IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ as the ratings underdog.
Perfect 180s
Six judges, every card a 9: 47 perfect 180s were handed out in August 2017.
- Chicken ×17
- Pork ×14
- Brisket ×9
- Pork Ribs ×7
Closest call
DIRT ROAD BBQ edged SLAPS BBQ by 0.5484 at Smokin Trackside BBQ Bash.
- Master Series
Back on top
PAVONE BROTHERS BBQ won Smithfield BBQ Classic — their first Grand Championship since October 2014, after 31 contests without one.
- last won October 2014
- 31 contests in between
Contest record
SLAPS BBQ put up 703.3712 at East Central State BBQ Cook-Off, Paola Roots Festival — the best overall in 5 editions of the contest on record, past the old mark of 690.8228.
- old record 690.8228
- 4 earlier editions
Biggest riser
Cynical BBQ gained 41 rating points across 3 contests — the biggest climb of the month.
- 3 contests
- now #63 overall
State champion
B-S BBQ OUTLAWS won Pepsi WY State Championship BBQ & Bluegrass Festival, a state championship, against a field of 28.
- Wyoming
Best debut
Cool Grog N Smokin Hogs finished 1st at Sam's Club National BBQ Tour — the first contest they appear in anywhere in the data.
- 368 new teams in Aug 2017
- field of 29
Biggest blowout
SMELLAQUE won Those Were The Days BBQ Showdown by 19.4972 points over YOU NEED A BBQ — the widest winning margin of the month.
- field of 18
Biggest field
38th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (INVITATIONAL) drew 129 teams, and CLARK CREW BBQ won it.
- Kansas City, KS
Milestone
Organizer Portal cooked their 150th contest on record at Great American BBQ Festival, with 25 Grand Championships along the way.
- 25 GCs along the way
Road warriors
GETTIN' BASTED cooked 7 contests in August 2017 — nobody hauled the rig further.
- best finish 1st
- 1 GC
Won without a meat
CLARK CREW BBQ won 38th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (INVITATIONAL) without winning a single meat — their best category finish was 2nd.
- field of 129
New on the calendar
38th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (INVITATIONAL) ran for the first time on record, drawing 129 teams, and CLARK CREW BBQ won it. Somebody put in the work to make a new contest happen.
- 12 first editions in Aug 2017
- Kansas City, KS
Always the reserve
Extra Mile BBQ finished second overall 2 times in August 2017 without a Grand Championship — one place short every time.
- 2 contests
Busiest weekend
16 sanctioned contests were cooked on 25 Aug alone.
- 25 Aug
The Boards
Highest overall scores (Master · /720)
Best of each meat (both series · /180)
| Category | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken ×17 💯 | 3N1 Q Maryland State BBQ Bash |
180 |
| Pork Ribs ×7 💯 | CHATTAHOOCHEE QUE Dillard Bluegrass & Barbeque Festival |
180 |
| Pork ×14 💯 | PITMASTERIQ BBQ Laurie Hillbilly BBQ |
180 |
| Brisket ×9 💯 | Extra Mile BBQ Our Lady of Victory Holy Smokes BBQ Competition |
180 |
Straight nines (perfect 180s)
…and 23 more in August 2017.
On the move (power rating)
| Team | Rating | Aug 2017 |
|---|---|---|
| Cynical BBQ No. 63 in the power rankings |
1,835 | +41 |
| BOOMERANG BBQ No. 9 in the power rankings |
1,922 | +40 |
| SIN CIRCLE BBQ No. 494 in the power rankings |
1,678 | +38 |
| PITTMAN BARBEQUE No. 1,938 in the power rankings |
1,541 | +36 |
| Littles BBQ Co No. 635 in the power rankings |
1,653 | +35 |
| SWEET SMOKE Q FLORIDA No. 289 in the power rankings |
1,727 | +32 |
| THE TWISTED TAIL No. 756 in the power rankings |
1,633 | +29 |
| 50 Shades of Pork No. 5,959 in the power rankings |
1,437 | +26 |
| FYC BARBEQUE No. 950 in the power rankings |
1,611 | +25 |
| Cool Grog N Smokin Hogs | 1,525 | +25 |
| PICKIN' PORKERS No. 1,297 in the power rankings |
1,580 | -18 |
| The Specialists No. 135 in the power rankings |
1,785 | -19 |
| PRIME TIME SMOKERS | 1,481 | -19 |
| LETTUCE SMOKE No. 4,092 in the power rankings |
1,481 | -20 |
| CONTAGIOUS Q No. 133 in the power rankings |
1,785 | -34 |
Who showed up
| Team | Contests | GCs | Best |
|---|---|---|---|
| GETTIN' BASTED | 7 | 1 | 1 |
| DIRT ROAD BBQ | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| PORKY BUTTS BBQ | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| SLAPS BBQ | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| THE SMOKING HILLS | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| HUNKA HUNKA BURNIN' RUB | 6 | — | 2 |
| SHIGGIN & GRINNIN | 6 | — | 3 |
| CLARK CREW BBQ | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| SHORTSVILLE SMOKERS | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| BIG "E" BBQ | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| REDNECK SCIENTIFIC | 5 | — | 3 |
| SMOKE THIS BBQ MO | 5 | — | 4 |
| PELLET ENVY | 5 | — | 5 |
| LUCKY'S Q | 5 | — | 8 |
Where they cooked
| State/Prov. | Contests | Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Missouri | 4 | 164 |
| California | 4 | 115 |
| Nebraska | 4 | 94 |
| Wisconsin | 4 | 92 |
| Kansas | 3 | 205 |
| North Carolina | 3 | 102 |
| Virginia | 3 | 89 |
| Tennessee | 2 | 118 |
| Minnesota | 2 | 106 |
| Georgia | 2 | 96 |
| Pennsylvania | 2 | 93 |
| Texas | 2 | 87 |
| New York | 2 | 85 |
| Indiana | 2 | 60 |
| Connecticut | 2 | 38 |
| Maryland | 1 | 96 |
| Ontario | 1 | 46 |
| Colorado | 1 | 44 |
| Nevada | 1 | 37 |
| Illinois | 1 | 36 |
By invitation (invite-only fields)
| Contest | Teams | Grand Champion |
|---|---|---|
| American Royal Invitational Aug 31, 2017 · Kansas City, KS |
129 | CLARK CREW BBQ |
New to the circuit
First editions (new on the calendar)
| Contest | Teams | Won by |
|---|---|---|
| 38th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (INVITATIONAL) Kansas City, KS |
129 | CLARK CREW BBQ |
| 10th Annual Big Island BBQ Albert Lea, MN |
56 | THE SMOKING HILLS |
| Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues Festival Madison, IN |
55 | GREY STREET BBQ |
| Omaha Steaks Nebraska BBQ Championship Day -1 Omaha, NE |
54 | LITTLE PIG TOWN BBQ |
| Omaha Steaks Nebraska BBQ Championship Day -2 Omaha, NE |
50 | PORKY BUTTS BBQ |
| Maryland State BBQ Bash Bel Air, MD |
47 | UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT |
| San Luis Valley Beat the Heat BBQ Alamosa, CO |
44 | CLARK CREW BBQ |
| Capital BBQ Festival Ottawa, ON |
42 | SHORTSVILLE SMOKERS |
| 6th Annual Death Door Barbeque (DAY 1) Washington Island, WI |
40 | SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ |
| Great American BBQ Festival Franklin, TN |
40 | SMOKE ME SILLY |
| McHenry Rotary Blues Brews & BBQ McHenry, IL |
36 | TIM'S FULL BELLI DELI |
| Our Lady of Victory Holy Smokes BBQ Competition Cincinnati, OH |
32 | Big Dogg BBQ |
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Every contest scored (65 in August 2017)
The Archive
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2026 (338 contests) · the 2026 season in review
2025 (386 contests) · the 2025 season in review
2024 (343 contests) · the 2024 season in review
2023 (376 contests) · the 2023 season in review
2022 (376 contests) · the 2022 season in review
2021 (310 contests) · the 2021 season in review
2020 (134 contests) · the 2020 season in review
2019 (430 contests) · the 2019 season in review
2018 (480 contests) · the 2018 season in review
2017 (517 contests) · the 2017 season in review
2016 (505 contests) · the 2016 season in review
2015 (494 contests) · the 2015 season in review
2014 (469 contests) · the 2014 season in review
2013 (436 contests) · the 2013 season in review
2012 (1 contest) · the 2012 season in review
Every figure here is computed from the public results at kcbs.us, refreshed nightly. The Smoke Ring is not a publication of the Kansas City Barbeque Society.