JUNIORS UP IN SMOKE

At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)

Power ranking

#2427

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1522

peak 1531 · rated over 10 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2013-03-22

latest 2017-08-25

Best ToY finish

#1377

Master 2013

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

4 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 11 contests

Avg finish

top 49%

overall standings

Best overall

668.4576 / 720

Master · Horse Town Brew n Que Festival

Perfect 180s

Current form

648.11 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 641.05 (+7.07)

Walk rate

55%

contests with a top-10 call

Top-10 streak

best run (overall)

Best single call

176.5714

Pork Ribs · Best of the Basin Barbeque Championship

Consistency

±16.30

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork

avg 163.77 · weakest Brisket (156.63)

Road miles

3,982

mi across 11 mapped stops · furthest 1002 mi

Schedule strength

15%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1521)

Master avg

641.05 / 720

11 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (6 found in this team's record)

Each card leads with the number that made it a story — read straight out of their results, no editorialising.

High-water mark

668.4576 career-best overall

92.8% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 668.4576 at Horse Town Brew n Que Festival — 92.8% of a perfect 720.

Master
2016-06-03

A tough matchup

6–1 behind in the head-to-head

BUTCHER BBQ ahead in 86% of their meetings

BUTCHER BBQ has come out ahead in 6 of their 7 shared contests.

The weak link

−7.1 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 7.14 points below their pork, and turns into a call 9% of the time against 36%.

Brisket avg 156.63
Pork avg 163.77
1 calls in 11 entries

A strong matchup

3–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of Rooster's Rebel BBQ in 3 of their 3 shared contests.

The long haul

3,982 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 3,982 miles across 11 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 1,002 miles to Horse Town Brew n Que Festival.

11 mapped stops
furthest 1,002 mi

The metronome

±2.26% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±2.26% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 89.0% of a perfect score
11 contests

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The nearest teams in the power rankings, with a different reason on each card — six teams on one rating are rarely on it for the same reason. Rating decides who makes the list; where teams tie on it, the ones this team has actually cooked against come first, then teams at a similar point in their own career. KCBS doesn’t publish where a team is from, so nothing here is inferred from geography.

95 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.

TEXAS PEPPER JELLY

#2437 of the rated field

1522 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 9%
Peak: 1544

1–2 in 3 shared contests (33% to JUNIORS UP IN SMOKE)

These two have cooked 3 of the same contests — TEXAS PEPPER JELLY ahead 2–1 — so there's a record behind this pairing and not just a matching number.

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2019-03-22

⚔ Head-to-head

THE PIG EASY!

#2412 of the rated field

1523 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 10%
Peak: 1523

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 10 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 10 contests
last seen 2021-08-13

⚔ Head-to-head

GUYS IN A TRUCK BBQ

#2418 of the rated field

1522 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 36%
Peak: 1526

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 11 contests to 11, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 11 contests
last seen 2025-06-13

⚔ Head-to-head

LIVESPARKS

#2420 of the rated field

1522 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 9%
Peak: 1522

No shared contest yet.

Level with JUNIORS UP IN SMOKE on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 11 contests
last seen 2018-07-27

⚔ Head-to-head

SLADES BBQ

#2423 of the rated field

1522 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 18%
Peak: 1522

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 11 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 11 contests
last seen 2017-09-22

⚔ Head-to-head

BBQ TEAM SMOKE IT ALL

#2429 of the rated field

1522 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 30%
Peak: 1522

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 9 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2025-08-22

⚔ Head-to-head

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
BUTCHER BBQ	7	1	6	14%	⚔ compare
BUCKSHOT BBQ - TX	6	1	5	17%	⚔ compare
Big Daddy G's BBQ	5	3	2	60%	⚔ compare
ROCK BOTTOM BBQ	5	2	3	40%	⚔ compare
Smokin Hot J's	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
CIRCLE R COOKERS	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
CAN'T SMOKE THIS	5	0	5	0%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	11	2	0	1	176.0000	145.1426	160.39	top 53%
Pork Ribs	11	1	1	1	176.5714	151.9544	160.24	top 58%
Pork	11	4	0	1	173.1200	151.3484	163.77	top 43%
Brisket	11	1	1	1	173.7028	140.4684	156.63	top 55%

“Calls” = top-10 category finishes (getting called to the stage). Scores here are the final weighted totals KCBS publishes; per-criterion appearance/taste/tenderness marks aren’t in the public results feed.

By state / province

Where	Contests	Avg finish
TX	8	top 39%
MO	2	top 92%
CA	1	top 45%

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	1	0	top 68%
Large (40+)	10	0	top 47%

Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
*Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championship	2	24	top 54%	2017-08-25
Bynum Schools Best of the Basin BBQ Championship	2	12	top 26%	2015-04-17
City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival	2	10	top 33%	2014-08-30

The story so far (16 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 4.4 yrs 2013-03-22 → 2017-08-25

Busiest season 2014 5 contests

Contests a season 2.2 across 5 seasons in the data

Cooks most in TX 8 of 11 contests · 3 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 8 3 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 11 entries · 0 wins · 2 calls

Strongest meat Pork averages 163.77 · weakest Brisket (156.63)

Walk rate 55% a top-10 call in 6 of 11 contests

Overall top-10 rate 18% 2 of 11 contests

Best top-10 run 2 straight contests

Master average 641.05 out of 720 · 11 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 927 419–812 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 3,982 11 mapped stops · furthest 1,002 mi

Schedule strength 1521 average field rating faced — tougher than 15% of rated contests

Longest layoff 1.1 yrs 2015-04-17 → 2016-06-03

Power rating 1522 peak 1531 · #2427 of 6,413 rated

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

2013
Mar 22 First tracked contest Best of the Basin Barbeque Championship
Mar 22 First call Best of the Basin Barbeque Championship
Mar 22 First category win (Pork Ribs) Best of the Basin Barbeque Championship
Mar 22 First overall top-10 Best of the Basin Barbeque Championship
Mar 22 Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)176.5714 Best of the Basin Barbeque Championship
Aug 31 First overall past 90% of a perfect score655.3144 City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival
2016
Jun 3 Career-best overall score668.4576 Horse Town Brew n Que Festival
Aug 26 10th tracked contest Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championship
Aug 26 Peak power rating (1531) Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championship
2017
Aug 25 Most recent contest *Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championship

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+12.5	City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival	2013-08-31
+12.2	Best of the Basin Barbeque Championship	2013-03-22
+7.8	Bynum Schools Best of the Basin BBQ Championship	2014-04-25
+7.1	Bynum Schools Best of the Basin BBQ Championship	2015-04-17
+5.5	Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championship	2016-08-26

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-10.9	35th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue Open	2014-10-02
-8.3	*Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championship	2017-08-25
-5.1	NBBQA BBQ Bash Cook Off	2014-03-07
-1.9	City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival	2014-08-30

Category scores over time

Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)

Where they finish (overall)

Best vs average (by meat)

How entries end (by meat)

Team of the Year rank by season

Season by season

Season	Contests	Top-10s	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2017	1	0	0	0%	top 75%	87.6%	87.6%
2016	2	0	0	50%	top 39%	92.8%	92.5%
2015	1	0	1	100%	top 27%	90.5%	90.5%
2014	5	0	0	40%	top 66%	88.5%	87.2%
2013	2	2	1	100%	top 12%	91%	90.2%

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2017-08-25	*Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championship Lubbock, TX	33 / 44 (630.6860)	20 (166.8572)	36 (154.8000)	27 (158.2400)	37 (150.7888)
2016-08-26	Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championship Lubbock, TX	24 / 72 (663.9316)	2 (176.0000)	45 (160.5260)	56 (157.1428)	15 (170.2628)
2016-06-03	Horse Town Brew n Que Festival Norco, CA	26 / 58 (668.4576)	38 (166.8344)	20 (169.6916)	28 (166.8344)	28 (165.0972)
2015-04-17	Bynum Schools Best of the Basin BBQ Championship Midland, TX	12 / 44 (651.8972)	34 (150.8116)	26 (154.8228)	3 (172.5600)	1 (173.7028)
2014-10-02	35th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue Open Kansas City, MO	479 / 552 (615.3144)	453 (155.3828)	456 (154.2516)	429 (156.5256)	471 (149.1544)
2014-10-02	35th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue Invitational unrated Kansas City, MO	160 / 165 (625.5884)	161 (155.3828)	134 (160.5944)	114 (164.5484)	161 (145.0628)
2014-08-30	City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival Bedford, TX	42 / 76 (637.0860)	23 (166.2400)	54 (154.8572)	8 (170.9144)	69 (145.0744)
2014-04-25	Bynum Schools Best of the Basin BBQ Championship Midland, TX	15 / 62 (634.7884)	9 (164.5828)	19 (162.8800)	7 (166.8572)	45 (140.4684)
2014-03-07	NBBQA BBQ Bash Cook Off San Marcos, TX	15 / 22 (625.0168)	16 (150.2744)	12 (161.7256)	18 (151.3484)	11 (161.6684)
2013-08-31	City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival Bedford, TX	10 / 89 (655.3144)	16 (166.8344)	70 (151.9544)	4 (173.1200)	19 (163.4056)
2013-03-22	Best of the Basin Barbeque Championship Midland, TX	8 / 59 (643.4284)	44 (145.1426)	1 (176.5714)	15 (163.4286)	17 (158.2858)

Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)

Team of the Year standings (rank per category by season — year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

Year	Series	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2014 ↗	Master	#1486 (172 pts)	#1546 (177 pts)	#1495 (187 pts)	#1256 (252 pts)	#1456 (192 pts)
2013 ↗	Master	#1377 (170 pts)	#2073 (75 pts)	#1029 (300 pts)	#1793 (125 pts)	#1803 (115 pts)