SMOKIN BUTT BBQ

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

Power ranking

#3305

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1498

peak 1506 · rated over 6 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2013-06-22

latest 2016-05-20

Best ToY finish

#1028

Master 2014

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

1 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 6 contests

Avg finish

top 60%

overall standings

Best overall

670.7884 / 720

Master · Sam's Club National BBQ Tour

Perfect 180s

Current form

642.95

last 5 Master vs avg 642.65 (+0.30)

Walk rate

67%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

173.7144

Pork Ribs · Sam's Club National BBQ Tour

Consistency

±20.91

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 167.02 · weakest Brisket (154.92)

Road miles

1,233

mi across 6 mapped stops · furthest 384 mi

Schedule strength

38%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1550)

Master avg

642.65 / 720

6 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (4 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

670.7884 career-best overall

93.2% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 670.7884 at Sam's Club National BBQ Tour — 93.2% of a perfect 720.

Master
2014-07-25

A tough matchup

4–0 behind in the head-to-head

LUCKY'S Q ahead in 100% of their meetings

LUCKY'S Q has come out ahead in 4 of their 4 shared contests.

The weak link

−12.1 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 12.10 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 17% of the time against 50%.

Brisket avg 154.92
Chicken avg 167.02
1 calls in 6 entries

The comeback

1.8 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 1.8 years, then back at 5th Annual Valley Veteran's BBQ Competition (2016-05-20).

last seen 2014-07-25
back 2016-05-20

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.

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

Tim Tom's BBQ

#3306 of the rated field

1498 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 6
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 17%
Peak: 1500

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 6 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 6 contests
last seen 2026-08-22

⚔ Head-to-head

Los Pinos BBQ Team

#3314 of the rated field

1497 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 6
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 50%
Peak: 1497

No shared contest yet.

They turned up 8 years after SMOKIN BUTT BBQ did, first appearing in 2021.

rated over 6 contests
last seen 2026-07-24

⚔ Head-to-head

Three Blondes and a Bald

#3298 of the rated field

1498 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 6
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1498

No shared contest yet.

Level with SMOKIN BUTT BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 6 contests
last seen 2018-09-21

⚔ Head-to-head

NATURAL BORN GRILLER'S ALBERTA

#3292 of the rated field

1498 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 6
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 17%
Peak: 1506

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 6 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 6 contests
last seen 2018-08-24

⚔ Head-to-head

On The Sauce BBQ

#3315 of the rated field

1497 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 6
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 17%
Peak: 1497

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 6 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 6 contests
last seen 2014-07-25

⚔ Head-to-head

SMOKIN TATERS

#3318 of the rated field

1497 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 6
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1497

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 6 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 6 contests
last seen 2014-06-20

⚔ Head-to-head

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	6	3	0	172.5828	160.5484	167.02	top 42%
Pork Ribs	6	2	1	173.7144	151.3716	161.22	top 56%
Pork	6	1	0	169.1200	147.3484	159.48	top 68%
Brisket	6	1	0	168.5600	137.0516	154.92	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 state / province

Where	Contests	Avg finish
IA	4	top 47%
NE	1	top 81%
OK	1	top 88%

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	5	0	top 55%
Large (40+)	1	0	top 81%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
Sam's Club National BBQ Tour	2	9	0	top 37%	2014-07-25

The story so far (15 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 2.9 yrs 2013-06-22 → 2016-05-20

Busiest season 2014 3 contests

Contests a season 2 across 3 seasons in the data

Cooks most in IA 4 of 6 contests · 3 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 5 1 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 6 entries · 0 wins · 3 calls

Strongest meat Chicken averages 167.02 · weakest Brisket (154.92)

Walk rate 67% a top-10 call in 4 of 6 contests

Overall top-10 rate 17% 1 of 6 contests

Master average 642.65 out of 720 · 6 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 148 72–110 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 1,233 6 mapped stops · furthest 384 mi

Schedule strength 1550 average field rating faced — tougher than 38% of rated contests

Longest layoff 1.8 yrs 2014-07-25 → 2016-05-20

Power rating 1498 peak 1506 · #3305 of 6,413 rated

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

2013
Jun 22 First tracked contest Mr. BBQ Barbeque Challenge
Jun 22 First call Mr. BBQ Barbeque Challenge
Jul 19 First overall past 90% of a perfect score659.3828 Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
2014
Jul 25 First overall top-10 Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
Jul 25 Career-best overall score670.7884 Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
Jul 25 Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)173.7144 Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
Jul 25 Peak power rating (1506) Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
2016
May 20 Most recent contest 5th Annual Valley Veteran's BBQ Competition

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+10.7	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour	2014-07-25
+4.1	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour	2013-07-19
+1.8	Mr. BBQ Barbeque Challenge	2014-06-21

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-9.5	Grand Lake BBQ Festival	2014-05-16
-8.6	5th Annual Valley Veteran's BBQ Competition	2016-05-20
-1	Mr. BBQ Barbeque Challenge	2013-06-22

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	Top-10s	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2016	1	0	0%	top 81%	85.6%	85.6%
2014	3	1	67%	top 58%	93.2%	89.8%
2013	2	0	100%	top 51%	91.6%	90.3%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2016-05-20	5th Annual Valley Veteran's BBQ Competition Valley, NE	34 / 42 (616.3888)	28 (160.5484)	34 (151.3716)	17 (167.4172)	41 (137.0516)
2014-07-25	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Des Moines, IA	9 / 29 (670.7884)	4 (172.5828)	3 (173.7144)	27 (155.9312)	9 (168.5600)
2014-06-21	Mr. BBQ Barbeque Challenge Davenport, IA	14 / 25 (652.9944)	16 (162.8000)	7 (169.6916)	18 (158.7884)	13 (161.7144)
2014-05-16	Grand Lake BBQ Festival Langley, OK	29 / 33 (615.2112)	21 (165.6800)	30 (151.9772)	31 (147.3484)	29 (150.2056)
2013-07-19	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Des Moines, IA	12 / 28 (659.3828)	4 (170.8228)	19 (159.4400)	9 (169.1200)	18 (160.0000)
2013-06-22	Mr. BBQ Barbeque Challenge Davenport, IA	19 / 32 (641.1424)	9 (169.7142)	19 (161.1428)	25 (158.2858)	26 (151.9996)

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	#1028 (302 pts)	#941 (377 pts)	#828 (442 pts)	#1475 (197 pts)	#1051 (307 pts)