BAM BAM'S BBQ WINCHESTER VA

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

Power ranking

#4699

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1468

peak 1468 · rated over 14 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2014-06-27

latest 2018-09-28

Best ToY finish

#1392

Master 2017

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

2 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 14 contests

Avg finish

top 71%

overall standings

Best overall

666.2288 / 720

Master · Almost Heaven BBQ Bash

Perfect 180s

Current form

645.73 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 623.61 (+22.11)

Walk rate

43%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

176.0228

Brisket · Almost Heaven BBQ Bash

Consistency

±45.87

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork

avg 160.75 · weakest Pork Ribs (155.72)

Road miles

1,531

mi across 14 mapped stops · furthest 147 mi

Schedule strength

61%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1577)

Master avg

623.61 / 720

14 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (8 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

666.2288 career-best overall

92.5% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 666.2288 at Almost Heaven BBQ Bash — 92.5% of a perfect 720.

Master
2017-06-16

A tough matchup

12–0 behind in the head-to-head

OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE ahead in 100% of their meetings

OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE has come out ahead in 12 of their 12 shared contests.

The weak link

−5.0 points behind their best meat

Pork Ribs is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 5.03 points below their pork, and turns into a call 7% of the time against 7%.

Pork Ribs avg 155.72
Pork avg 160.75
1 calls in 14 entries

A strong matchup

3–1 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 75% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of BIG BAD DAD'S BBQ in 3 of their 4 shared contests.

Pork nemesis

9 of 12 shared pork entries lost

OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE ahead 75% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE has out-cooked them in 9 of 12 shared pork entries.

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

WAR PIGS has landed one call behind them 2 times.

A June team

Top 62% average finish in June

Something about June: average finish in the top 62% across 3 contests, versus top 71% the rest of the year.

3 June contests
top 71% the rest of the year

A standing appointment

4 years running at one contest

They've cooked *Shenandoah Valley BBQ Fest every year from 2014 to 2017 — the contest they never miss.

4 visits in all
best finish 26th

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.

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

BACKDRAFT BAR B Q SD

#4716 of the rated field

1468 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 15
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 7%
Peak: 1506

No shared contest yet.

They've been 1506 at their best, 38 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 15 contests
last seen 2022-06-03

⚔ Head-to-head

Crooked Que BBQ

#4715 of the rated field

1468 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 14
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1468

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 14 contests to 14, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 13 contests
last seen 2026-08-21

⚔ Head-to-head

BILL'S BLUE LINE BBQ

#4685 of the rated field

1469 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 13
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1503

No shared contest yet.

13 contests and no Grand Championship yet.

rated over 13 contests
last seen 2021-05-28

⚔ Head-to-head

Too Sauced to Pork

#4710 of the rated field

1468 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 17
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 24%
Peak: 1503

No shared contest yet.

Level with BAM BAM'S BBQ WINCHESTER VA on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 16 contests
last seen 2025-10-17

⚔ Head-to-head

PHAT BASTERDZ BBQ

#4698 of the rated field

1468 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 12
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1468

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 12 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 12 contests
last seen 2026-07-11

⚔ Head-to-head

Men On Fire

#4695 of the rated field

1469 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 12
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1501

No shared contest yet.

They've been 1501 at their best, 32 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 12 contests
last seen 2021-05-07

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE	12	0	12	0%	⚔ compare
LIFE IS GOOD BUT BBQ IS BETTER	11	2	9	18%	⚔ compare
3 EYZ BBQ	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
APORKALYPSE NOW	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
CHECKERED FLAG 500 BBQ	9	0	9	0%	⚔ compare
PAVONE BROTHERS BBQ	9	0	9	0%	⚔ compare
ROCKIN ROBYNS BBQ	9	0	9	0%	⚔ compare
JD'S SMOKIN MISFITS	8	1	7	13%	⚔ compare
WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ	8	0	8	0%	⚔ compare
BIG DOG BBQ VA	7	3	4	43%	⚔ compare
HOOS SMOKIN	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
SAUCE THIS BBQ	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
SULTANS OF SWINE	6	2	4	33%	⚔ compare
DRILLING & GRILLING	6	1	5	17%	⚔ compare
4:20 Q	6	1	5	17%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	14	1	0	166.2284	142.2400	158.01	top 68%
Pork Ribs	14	1	0	172.5828	133.6116	155.72	top 67%
Pork	14	1	0	169.7028	150.7656	160.75	top 60%
Brisket	13	3	2	176.0228	135.3832	160.60	top 49%

“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
VA	9	top 75%
MD	3	top 67%
WV	2	top 56%

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	5	0	top 76%
Large (40+)	9	0	top 67%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
*Shenandoah Valley BBQ Fest	4	26	0	top 83%	2017-10-13
*The Great Brunswick BBQ Throwdown	2	18	0	top 68%	2018-03-02

The story so far (14 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 4.3 yrs 2014-06-27 → 2018-09-28

Busiest season 2018 3 contests

Contests a season 2.8 across 5 seasons in the data

Cooks most in VA 9 of 14 contests · 3 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 10 2 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 14 entries · 0 wins · 1 calls

Strongest meat Pork averages 160.75 · weakest Pork Ribs (155.72)

Walk rate 43% a top-10 call in 6 of 14 contests

Overall top-10 rate 0% 0 of 14 contests

Master average 623.61 out of 720 · 14 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 314 181–399 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 1,531 14 mapped stops · furthest 147 mi

Schedule strength 1577 average field rating faced — tougher than 61% of rated contests

Power rating 1468 peak 1468 · #4699 of 6,413 rated

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

2014
Jun 27 First tracked contest Hogging Up BBQ Festival
Jun 27 Peak power rating (1494) Hogging Up BBQ Festival
Oct 17 First call Shenandoah Valley BBQ Fest
2015
Aug 7 First overall past 90% of a perfect score653.5656 Black Dog Music and Que Festival
2016
Jun 17 Career-best single call (Brisket)176.0228 Almost Heaven BBQ Bash
2017
Jun 16 10th tracked contest Almost Heaven BBQ Bash
Jun 16 Career-best overall score666.2288 Almost Heaven BBQ Bash
2018
Sep 28 Most recent contest Smithfield BBQ Classic

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+8.7	Almost Heaven BBQ Bash	2017-06-16
+2.8	Pickin N Pullin BBQ competition	2018-04-27
+1.9	*The Great Brunswick BBQ Throwdown	2018-03-02

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-12.5	Shenandoah Valley BBQ Fest	2015-10-16
-6.7	3rd Annual Pickin' N Pullin	2016-04-29
-6.6	*Shenandoah Valley BBQ Fest	2017-10-13
-6.1	Hogging Up BBQ Festival	2014-06-27
-5.9	Shenandoah Valley BBQ Fest	2014-10-17

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	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2018	3	0%	top 63%	90.8%	90%
2017	3	100%	top 68%	92.5%	88.6%
2016	3	33%	top 74%	90.4%	87.2%
2015	3	33%	top 75%	90.8%	81.1%
2014	2	50%	top 74%	86.9%	86.1%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2018-09-28	Smithfield BBQ Classic Richmond, VA	29 / 41 (647.3028)	25 (162.8116)	23 (163.9428)	29 (158.8456)	22 (161.7028)
2018-04-27	Pickin N Pullin BBQ competition Lenexa, VA	25 / 45 (653.5884)	20 (165.7028)	12 (168.5600)	44 (150.7656)	14 (168.5600)
2018-03-02	*The Great Brunswick BBQ Throwdown Brunswick, MD	18 / 29 (642.2404)	17 (162.8344)	20 (159.9888)	20 (161.7028)	24 (157.7144)
2017-10-13	*Shenandoah Valley BBQ Fest Woodstock, VA	26 / 30 (619.2804)	28 (142.2400)	28 (145.1088)	18 (162.8116)	2 (169.1200)
2017-06-16	Almost Heaven BBQ Bash Weston, WV	24 / 57 (666.2288)	33 (164.5372)	9 (172.5828)	18 (169.7028)	36 (159.4060)
2017-03-03	The Great Brunswick BBQ Throwdown Brunswick, MD	37 / 50 (627.3484)	47 (148.5140)	40 (146.8000)	25 (162.8800)	6 (169.1544)
2016-10-14	Shenandoah Valley BBQ Fest Woodstock, VA	27 / 38 (621.0172)	32 (153.0972)	20 (159.9656)	31 (154.2516)	27 (153.7028)
2016-06-17	Almost Heaven BBQ Bash Buckhannon, WV	29 / 42 (650.8004)	33 (163.9656)	38 (147.4060)	23 (163.4060)	2 (176.0228)
2016-04-29	3rd Annual Pickin' N Pullin Lanexa, VA	39 / 48 (610.8348)	40 (152.0228)	38 (154.2744)	12 (169.1544)	46 (135.3832)
2015-10-16	Shenandoah Valley BBQ Fest Woodstock, VA	36 / 37 (469.1084)	30 (155.4512)	20 (161.1544)	30 (152.5028)	—
2015-08-07	Black Dog Music and Que Festival Floyd, VA	17 / 27 (653.5656)	9 (166.2284)	17 (163.9656)	15 (168.5372)	23 (154.8344)
2015-05-01	Naptown barBAYq Contest and Music Festival Annapolis, MD	42 / 64 (629.5656)	36 (160.5256)	47 (151.9428)	41 (157.1200)	34 (159.9772)
2014-10-17	Shenandoah Valley BBQ Fest Woodstock, VA	30 / 40 (625.5544)	16 (162.8572)	40 (133.6116)	8 (167.4172)	19 (161.6684)
2014-06-27	Hogging Up BBQ Festival Winchester, VA	34 / 46 (614.1712)	42 (151.3600)	39 (150.8456)	38 (151.4056)	14 (160.5600)

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
2018 ↗	Master	#1818 (89 pts)	#1852 (94 pts)	#1923 (79 pts)	#1935 (79 pts)	#2488 (59 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#1392 (180 pts)	#1552 (175 pts)	#1233 (260 pts)	#1267 (245 pts)	#795 (490 pts)
2014 ↗	Master	#1748 (136 pts)	#1527 (181 pts)	#1805 (136 pts)	#1324 (231 pts)	#1344 (221 pts)