High-water mark
666.7428
career-best overall
92.6% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 666.7428 at Taste of Grand Rapids 2014 — 92.6% of a perfect 720.
- Master
- 2014-07-25
Northern Smoke BBQ
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1493
peak 1505 · rated over 4 contests ⓘ
Contests
4
in the data
First seen
2013-07-19
latest 2017-07-21
Best ToY finish
#1589
Master 2014
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
1
of 4 contests
Avg finish
top 60%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
641.07
last 4 Master vs avg 641.07 (-0.00)
Walk rate
75%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±17.38
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 167.86 · weakest Pork (155.38)
Road miles
432
mi across 4 mapped stops · furthest 377 mi
Schedule strength
21%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1529)
Master avg
641.07 / 720
4 Master contests · 0 GCs
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.
A tough matchup
3–0
behind in the head-to-head
THE REAL SMOKIN ACES ahead in 100% of their meetings
THE REAL SMOKIN ACES has come out ahead in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
A strong matchup
3–0
ahead in the head-to-head
Ahead in 100% of their meetings
They've finished ahead of SMOKIN ON THE FLAT in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
The comeback
3 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 3 years, then back at *Up in Smoke BBQ Bash (2017-07-21).
- last seen 2014-07-25
- back 2017-07-21
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.
Northern Smoke BBQ has 4 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 125 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.
#3491 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1503
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 4, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#3496 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1504
No shared contest yet.
Level with Northern Smoke BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#3480 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1505
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 4, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#3467 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1494
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 4, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#3494 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1513
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 4, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#3466 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 60%
- Peak
- 1502
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 4, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-headBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 174.2972 | 159.4172 | 167.86 | top 31% |
| Pork Ribs | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 161.6800 | 146.8684 | 157.41 | top 64% |
| Pork | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 167.9656 | 149.6684 | 155.38 | top 76% |
| Brisket | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 167.9772 | 153.7256 | 160.41 | top 52% |
“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 | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| MI | 3 | 0 | top 48% |
| IA | 1 | 0 | top 96% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 2 | 0 | top 63% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 57% |
The story so far (15 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
4 yrs
2013-07-19 → 2017-07-21
Busiest season
2013
2 contests
Contests a season
1.3
across 3 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
MI
3 of 4 contests · 2 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
4
0 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
4 entries · 0 wins · 3 calls
Strongest meat
Chicken
averages 167.86 · weakest Pork (155.38)
Walk rate
75%
a top-10 call in 3 of 4 contests
Overall top-10 rate
25%
1 of 4 contests
Master average
641.07
out of 720 · 4 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
128
73–97 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
432
4 mapped stops · furthest 377 mi
Schedule strength
1529
average field rating faced — tougher than 21% of rated contests
Longest layoff
3 yrs
2014-07-25 → 2017-07-21
Power rating
1493
peak 1505 · #null of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2013
- First tracked contest Taste of Grand Rapids
- First call Taste of Grand Rapids
- Career-best single call (Chicken)174.2972 Taste of Grand Rapids
- 2014
- First overall top-10 Taste of Grand Rapids 2014
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score666.7428 Taste of Grand Rapids 2014
- Career-best overall score666.7428 Taste of Grand Rapids 2014
- Peak power rating (1505) Taste of Grand Rapids 2014
- 2017
- Most recent contest *Up in Smoke BBQ Bash
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +11.8 | Taste of Grand Rapids 2014 | 2014-07-25 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -12 | *Up in Smoke BBQ Bash | 2017-07-21 |
| -3.4 | Dam Good BBQ Championship | 2013-08-09 |
| -3 | Taste of Grand Rapids | 2013-07-19 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 96% | 86.1% | 86.1% |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 18% | 92.6% | 92.6% |
| 2013 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 63% | 89.7% | 88.7% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-07-21 | *Up in Smoke BBQ Bash Mason City, IA | 47 / 49 (619.9428) | 37 (159.4172) | 47 (146.8684) | 47 (153.6684) | 34 (159.9888) |
| 2014-07-25 | Taste of Grand Rapids 2014 Grand Rapids, MI | 10 / 55 (666.7428) | 8 (169.1200) | 21 (161.6800) | 12 (167.9656) | 8 (167.9772) |
| 2013-08-09 | Dam Good BBQ Championship Newaygo, MI | 20 / 31 (631.9884) | 7 (168.6172) | 18 (159.4172) | 27 (150.2284) | 23 (153.7256) |
| 2013-07-19 | Taste of Grand Rapids Comstock Park, MI | 24 / 39 (645.5884) | 4 (174.2972) | 25 (161.6800) | 39 (149.6684) | 20 (159.9428) |
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 | #1589 (150 pts) | #1579 (170 pts) | #2048 (95 pts) | #1785 (140 pts) | #1573 (170 pts) |