Howlin BBQ

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

Power ranking

#5593

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1448

peak 1448 · rated over 10 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2014-06-13

latest 2016-06-03

Best ToY finish

#955

Master 2015

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

1 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 10 contests

Avg finish

top 77%

overall standings

Best overall

665.7144 / 720

Master · Horse Town Brew n Que Festival

Perfect 180s

Current form

639.46 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 638.11 (+1.35)

Walk rate

30%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

178.8572

Pork Ribs · Horse Town Brew n Que Festival

Consistency

±19.88

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 162.46 · weakest Brisket (155.98)

Road miles

1,476

mi across 10 mapped stops · furthest 377 mi

Schedule strength

39%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1552)

Master avg

638.11 / 720

10 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (5 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

665.7144 career-best overall

92.5% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 665.7144 at Horse Town Brew n Que Festival — 92.5% of a perfect 720.

Master
2015-05-29

A tough matchup

8–1 behind in the head-to-head

COOL GRILLING ahead in 89% of their meetings

COOL GRILLING has come out ahead in 8 of their 9 shared contests.

The weak link

−6.5 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 6.48 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 10% of the time against 10%.

Brisket avg 155.98
Chicken avg 162.46
1 calls in 10 entries

A strong matchup

3–1 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 75% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of C&C BBQ in 3 of their 4 shared contests.

Chicken nemesis

7 of 9 shared chicken entries lost

COOL GRILLING ahead 78% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, COOL GRILLING has out-cooked them in 7 of 9 shared chicken entries.

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.

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

PIT 9 BBQ

#5606 of the rated field

1447 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1447

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 2017-05-12

⚔ Head-to-head

LTS BBQ

#5600 of the rated field

1448 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1448

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 11 contests to 10, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 11 contests
last seen 2021-07-16

⚔ Head-to-head

BS Grilling

#5614 of the rated field

1447 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1447

No shared contest yet.

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

rated over 11 contests
last seen 2019-06-29

⚔ Head-to-head

OFF THE GRILL BBQ

#5587 of the rated field

1448 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1448

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 2022-07-07

⚔ Head-to-head

Aussie Davo

#5598 of the rated field

1448 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 75%
Peak: 1448

No shared contest yet.

They turned up 10 years after Howlin BBQ did, first appearing in 2024.

rated over 8 contests
last seen 2026-08-01
on a 4-contest top-10 run

⚔ Head-to-head

THE SWHINERY

#5586 of the rated field

1448 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1448

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 8 contests
last seen 2018-01-26

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
COOL GRILLING	9	1	8	11%	⚔ compare
THE PIT CREW BBQ OF AZ	9	1	8	11%	⚔ compare
ZZYZX BAR.B.Q	8	0	8	0%	⚔ compare
SIMPLY MARVELOUS BBQ	7	1	6	14%	⚔ compare
Porterhouse BBQ	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
Burnin and Lootin	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
LADY OF Q	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
RIDGE ROUTE BOYS BBQ	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
LEFT COAST Q	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
FUNTIME BBQ	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
GORILLA ISLANDS	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
MAR-B-QUE'S BBQ	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
DG FIREHOUSE BBQ	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
NOTHING COMPARES 2 Q	5	3	2	60%	⚔ compare
BLAZED N' GLAZED	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	10	1	0	174.9028	151.9544	162.46	top 66%
Pork Ribs	10	1	1	178.8572	146.8572	159.98	top 66%
Pork	10	0	0	169.6800	150.8572	159.69	top 71%
Brisket	10	1	0	166.8800	130.1828	155.98	top 71%

“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)	4	0	top 82%
Large (40+)	6	0	top 74%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
Horse Town Brew n Que Festival	2	41	0	top 66%	2016-06-03

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

On the trail 2 yrs 2014-06-13 → 2016-06-03

Busiest season 2015 6 contests

Contests a season 3.3 across 3 seasons in the data

Cooks most in CA 10 of 10 contests

Contests visited 9 1 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 10 entries · 0 wins · 1 calls

Strongest meat Chicken averages 162.46 · weakest Brisket (155.98)

Walk rate 30% a top-10 call in 3 of 10 contests

Overall top-10 rate 0% 0 of 10 contests

Master average 638.11 out of 720 · 10 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 228 115–350 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 1,476 10 mapped stops · furthest 377 mi

Schedule strength 1552 average field rating faced — tougher than 39% of rated contests

Power rating 1448 peak 1448 · #5593 of 6,413 rated

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

2014
Jun 13 First tracked contest California Honey Harvest Festival & BBQ Championship
Jun 13 Peak power rating (1490) California Honey Harvest Festival & BBQ Championship
2015
Apr 10 First call The Ultimate BBQ Showdown East vs West VI
Apr 10 First overall past 90% of a perfect score655.9312 The Ultimate BBQ Showdown East vs West VI
May 29 Career-best overall score665.7144 Horse Town Brew n Que Festival
May 29 Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)178.8572 Horse Town Brew n Que Festival
2016
Jun 3 10th tracked contest Horse Town Brew n Que Festival
Jun 3 Most recent contest Horse Town Brew n Que Festival

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+1.4	Horse Town Brew n Que Festival	2015-05-29

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-11.2	6th Annual Vista Q Classic	2014-07-25
-9.6	California Honey Harvest Festival & BBQ Championship	2014-06-13
-7.7	California Honey Harvest Festival and BBQ Championship	2015-06-12
-6.6	5th Annual Santa Anita Winners' Circle BBQ Championship	2016-04-01
-4.9	Grills N' Grilles- Nevada County United Way	2015-08-07

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)
2016	2	0%	top 80%	89%	89%
2015	6	50%	top 72%	92.5%	90%
2014	2	0%	top 91%	86.8%	84.3%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2016-06-03	Horse Town Brew n Que Festival Norco, CA	45 / 58 (641.0400)	49 (161.0856)	41 (159.4056)	46 (157.6916)	33 (162.8572)
2016-04-01	5th Annual Santa Anita Winners' Circle BBQ Championship Arciadia, CA	59 / 72 (639.8516)	62 (158.8456)	62 (155.9544)	23 (169.6800)	59 (155.3716)
2015-11-13	Indio California State BBQ Championship- JUDGES FULL Indio, CA	27 / 34 (635.9312)	13 (170.8800)	30 (155.3828)	30 (151.4056)	25 (158.2628)
2015-08-07	Grills N' Grilles- Nevada County United Way Penn Valley, CA	18 / 24 (630.7996)	18 (154.8684)	14 (155.4172)	17 (157.6456)	4 (162.8684)
2015-07-24	7th Annual Vista BBQ Classic Vista, CA	36 / 54 (649.6688)	34 (166.8456)	43 (155.3944)	31 (166.8572)	35 (160.5716)
2015-06-12	California Honey Harvest Festival and BBQ Championship Fillmore, CA	22 / 26 (647.9544)	11 (169.1544)	23 (157.6800)	20 (163.9656)	21 (157.1544)
2015-05-29	Horse Town Brew n Que Festival Norco, CA	41 / 75 (665.7144)	71 (151.9544)	3 (178.8572)	31 (168.0228)	44 (166.8800)
2015-04-10	The Ultimate BBQ Showdown East vs West VI Wildomar, CA	30 / 42 (655.9312)	7 (174.9028)	18 (169.1200)	40 (154.7884)	35 (157.1200)
2014-07-25	6th Annual Vista Q Classic Vista, CA	55 / 60 (625.0972)	57 (154.8572)	27 (165.7144)	51 (155.9884)	55 (148.5372)
2014-06-13	California Honey Harvest Festival & BBQ Championship Fillmore, CA	27 / 30 (589.0744)	20 (161.1772)	28 (146.8572)	26 (150.8572)	30 (130.1828)

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
2016 ↗	Master	#1775 (120 pts)	#1883 (120 pts)	#1884 (120 pts)	#1818 (130 pts)	#1839 (120 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#955 (329 pts)	#816 (444 pts)	#735 (519 pts)	#1001 (344 pts)	#813 (449 pts)