The comeback
5.7 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 5.7 years, then back at BBQ SmokeDown at Chicagoland (2019-06-28).
- last seen 2013-10-18
- back 2019-06-28
Smoke Wind and Fire
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1492
peak 1492 · rated over 3 contests ⓘ
Contests
3
in the data
First seen
2013-07-05
latest 2019-06-28
Best ToY finish
#1940
Master 2013
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
of 3 contests
Avg finish
top 65%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
627.94
last 3 Master vs avg 627.94 (+0.00)
Walk rate
33%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±10.52
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 162.85 · weakest Pork (153.70)
Road miles
87
mi across 3 mapped stops
Schedule strength
34%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1545)
Purse competed for
$6K
listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 1 state-championship entries
Master avg
627.94 / 720
3 Master contests · 0 GCs
Storylines (1 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.
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.
Smoke Wind and Fire has 3 rated contests — short of the five it takes to earn a power ranking — so this rating has barely moved off the 1500 every team starts on and 129 rated teams sit within a point of it. Read the list as the nearest company at a number nobody here has moved far from, not as a verdict on who this team belongs with.
#3538 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1492
No shared contest yet.
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 5 contests to 3.
⚔ Head-to-head#3506 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1493
No shared contest yet.
They turned up 10 years after Smoke Wind and Fire did, first appearing in 2023.
⚔ Head-to-head#3522 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1507
No shared contest yet.
Level with Smoke Wind and Fire on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#3537 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1507
No shared contest yet.
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 5 contests to 3.
⚔ Head-to-head#3527 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1492
No shared contest yet.
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 5 contests to 3.
⚔ Head-to-head#3542 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1510
No shared contest yet.
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 5 contests to 3.
⚔ Head-to-headBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 163.4288 | 153.1200 | 157.12 | top 66% |
| Pork Ribs | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 167.4286 | 160.0000 | 162.85 | top 41% |
| Pork | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 160.5600 | 141.7142 | 153.70 | top 67% |
| Brisket | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 166.8228 | 143.4284 | 154.26 | top 69% |
“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 contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 1 | 0 | top 71% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 62% |
The story so far (17 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
6 yrs
2013-07-05 → 2019-06-28
Busiest season
2013
2 contests
Contests a season
1.5
across 2 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
IL
3 of 3 contests
Contests visited
3
0 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
3 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
averages 162.85 · weakest Pork (153.70)
Walk rate
33%
a top-10 call in 1 of 3 contests
Overall top-10 rate
0%
0 of 3 contests
Master average
627.94
out of 720 · 3 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
115
49–78 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
87
3 mapped stops
Schedule strength
1545
average field rating faced — tougher than 34% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$6,300
listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 1 state-championship entries
Longest layoff
5.7 yrs
2013-10-18 → 2019-06-28
Power rating
1492
peak 1492 · #null of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2013
- First tracked contest Firin' Up the Fox BBQ Contest
- First call Firin' Up the Fox BBQ Contest
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)167.4286 Firin' Up the Fox BBQ Contest
- Peak power rating (1497) 8th Annual Lambs Farm Barn Burner Bar-B-Q (TEAMS FULL)
- 2019
- Career-best overall score641.6000 BBQ SmokeDown at Chicagoland
- Most recent contest BBQ SmokeDown at Chicagoland
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +2.7 | 8th Annual Lambs Farm Barn Burner Bar-B-Q (TEAMS FULL) | 2013-10-18 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -5.7 | Firin' Up the Fox BBQ Contest | 2013-07-05 |
| -4.5 | BBQ SmokeDown at Chicagoland | 2019-06-28 |
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)
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 79% | 89.1% | 89.1% |
| 2013 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 58% | 87% | 86.3% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-06-28 | BBQ SmokeDown at Chicagoland 🏅 Joliet, IL | 33 / 42 (641.6000) | 36 (154.8112) | 32 (161.1316) | 34 (158.8344) | 25 (166.8228) |
| 2013-10-18 | 8th Annual Lambs Farm Barn Burner Bar-B-Q (TEAMS FULL) Libertyville, IL | 24 / 54 (626.2056) | 39 (153.1200) | 18 (160.0000) | 13 (160.5600) | 31 (152.5256) |
| 2013-07-05 | Firin' Up the Fox BBQ Contest St. Charles, IL | 24 / 34 (616.0000) | 14 (163.4288) | 5 (167.4286) | 33 (141.7142) | 31 (143.4284) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 ↗ | Master | #1940 (80 pts) | #2073 (75 pts) | #1863 (110 pts) | #1726 (135 pts) | #2034 (75 pts) |