Saltworks BBQ

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

Power ranking

#4224

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1478

peak 1500 · rated over 13 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2013-04-06

latest 2019-09-20

Best ToY finish

#1036

Master 2019

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

2 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 13 contests

Avg finish

top 65%

overall standings

Best overall

658.7656 / 720

Master · Wine Country Big Q Competition and Festival

Perfect 180s

Current form

640.53

last 5 Master vs avg 640.69 (-0.15)

Walk rate

38%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

176.0344

Brisket · Lodi Beerfest & BBQ Championship

Consistency

±18.65

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork Ribs

avg 163.60 · weakest Brisket (156.55)

Road miles

915

mi across 13 mapped stops · furthest 115 mi

Schedule strength

44%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1557)

Purse competed for

$51K

listed at 4 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

GCs in 5 state-championship entries

Master avg

640.69 / 720

13 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (7 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.

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

SLO DOG Q has finished one call ahead of Saltworks BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

A tough matchup

11–0 behind in the head-to-head

Smokey and the Pirate ahead in 100% of their meetings

Smokey and the Pirate has come out ahead in 11 of their 11 shared contests.

The weak link

−7.1 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 7.05 points below their pork ribs, and turns into a call 15% of the time against 15%.

Brisket avg 156.55
Pork Ribs avg 163.60
2 calls in 13 entries

The comeback

4.1 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 4.1 years, then back at Elk Grove Western Festival and BBQ Championship (2017-05-05).

last seen 2013-04-06
back 2017-05-05

Pork Ribs nemesis

9 of 11 shared pork ribs entries lost

Smokey and the Pirate ahead 82% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, Smokey and the Pirate has out-cooked them in 9 of 11 shared pork ribs entries.

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

FLAME THROWER BBQ CO. has landed one call behind them 2 times.

A May team

Top 54% average finish in May

Something about May: average finish in the top 54% across 4 contests, versus top 65% the rest of the year.

4 May contests
top 65% the rest of the year

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.

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

62nd St BBQ

#4211 of the rated field

1478 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1478

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 11 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 11 contests
last seen 2024-08-09

⚔ Head-to-head

Three Stooges bbq

#4213 of the rated field

1478 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 18%
Peak: 1502

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 11 contests to 13, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 11 contests
last seen 2023-08-25

⚔ Head-to-head

Stock Car BBQ

#4207 of the rated field

1478 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1510

No shared contest yet.

Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2013.

rated over 11 contests
last seen 2023-06-23

⚔ Head-to-head

Saucy Bones Q Crew

#4227 of the rated field

1478 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 9%
Peak: 1478

No shared contest yet.

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

rated over 11 contests
last seen 2017-02-24

⚔ Head-to-head

SMOKIN' SOWBELLIES

#4218 of the rated field

1478 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 16
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 19%
Peak: 1506

No shared contest yet.

16 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 19% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 16 contests
last seen 2019-05-25

⚔ Head-to-head

Key corner cookers

#4208 of the rated field

1478 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 10%
Peak: 1514

No shared contest yet.

They've been 1514 at their best, 36 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 10 contests
last seen 2024-06-07

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
SMOKIN' AXE BBQ	12	7	5	58%	⚔ compare
PIRATES OF THE PIG	12	1	11	8%	⚔ compare
The Smoking J's	11	2	9	18%	⚔ compare
Old Town Franklin BBQ	11	1	10	9%	⚔ compare
Smokey and the Pirate	11	0	11	0%	⚔ compare
Cynical BBQ	10	1	9	10%	⚔ compare
BAR-B-CUDA BBQ	9	2	7	22%	⚔ compare
RBQ	9	1	8	11%	⚔ compare
SON OF SMOKE	9	0	9	0%	⚔ compare
GIT-R-SMOKED	8	3	5	38%	⚔ compare
BONE RUBBIN BBQ	8	2	6	25%	⚔ compare
NUTIN2IT BUT2QIT	8	1	7	13%	⚔ compare
FLAME THROWER BBQ CO.	7	6	1	86%	⚔ compare
KICKEN ASH AND MAKEN FLAMES	7	4	3	57%	⚔ compare
BULL MARKET BBQ	7	1	6	14%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	13	2	1	172.0000	148.5600	161.79	top 59%
Pork Ribs	13	2	0	170.2856	147.9998	163.60	top 49%
Pork	13	1	0	171.4284	150.2856	158.75	top 67%
Brisket	13	2	1	176.0344	135.4282	156.55	top 63%

“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)	9	0	top 62%
Large (40+)	4	0	top 70%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Elk Grove Western Festival and BBQ Championship	3	9	top 47%	2019-05-03
Lassen Annual BBQ Cook-Off	2	17	top 65%	2019-08-16
Lodi Beerfest & BBQ Championship	2	29	top 71%	2019-04-26

The story so far (17 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 6.5 yrs 2013-04-06 → 2019-09-20

Busiest season 2019 5 contests

Contests a season 3.3 across 4 seasons in the data

Cooks most in CA 12 of 13 contests

Contests visited 9 3 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 13 entries · 0 wins · 2 calls

Strongest meat Pork Ribs averages 163.60 · weakest Brisket (156.55)

Walk rate 38% a top-10 call in 5 of 13 contests

Overall top-10 rate 8% 1 of 13 contests

Master average 640.69 out of 720 · 13 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 173 157–278 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 915 13 mapped stops · furthest 115 mi

Schedule strength 1557 average field rating faced — tougher than 44% of rated contests

Purse competed for $50,550 listed at 4 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships 0 from 5 state-championship entries

Longest layoff 4.1 yrs 2013-04-06 → 2017-05-05

Power rating 1478 peak 1500 · #4224 of 6,413 rated

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

2013
Apr 6 First tracked contest Kings of the Que BBQ Championship
2017
May 5 First call Elk Grove Western Festival and BBQ Championship
May 5 First overall top-10 Elk Grove Western Festival and BBQ Championship
May 5 First overall past 90% of a perfect score657.6000 Elk Grove Western Festival and BBQ Championship
May 5 Peak power rating (1500) Elk Grove Western Festival and BBQ Championship
2018
Jul 6 Career-best overall score658.7656 Wine Country Big Q Competition and Festival
2019
Apr 26 Career-best single call (Brisket)176.0344 Lodi Beerfest & BBQ Championship
May 3 10th tracked contest Elk Grove Western Festival and BBQ Championship
Sep 20 Most recent contest 5th Annual Hot Q's & Cold Brews BBQ Championship

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+11	Elk Grove Western Festival and BBQ Championship	2017-05-05
+2	Elk Grove Western Festival and BBQ Championship	2018-05-04
+1.8	4th Annual Hot Q's & Cold Brews BBQ Championship	2018-09-14
+0.8	Wine Country Big Q Competition and Festival	2018-07-06
+0.1	Elk Grove Western Festival and BBQ Championship	2019-05-03

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-10.9	Kings of the Que BBQ Championship	2013-04-06
-7.6	5th Annual Hot Q's & Cold Brews BBQ Championship	2019-09-20
-7.4	Lodi Beerfest & BBQ Championship	2018-04-20
-4	Throwdown in the Vineyards	2019-05-31
-3.8	Grills N Grills	2017-08-25

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)
2019	5	0	40%	top 70%	91.1%	89%
2018	5	0	20%	top 62%	91.5%	89.9%
2017	2	1	100%	top 49%	91.3%	90.5%
2013	1	0	0%	top 85%	81.5%	81.5%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2019-09-20	5th Annual Hot Q's & Cold Brews BBQ Championship 🏅	37 / 44 (637.6796)	35 (159.9884)	20 (168.0228)	39 (154.8800)	36 (154.7884)
2019-08-16	Lassen Annual BBQ Cook-Off 🏅 Susanville, CA	17 / 25 (634.8228)	21 (148.5600)	14 (161.1428)	20 (157.1200)	6 (168.0000)
2019-05-31	Throwdown in the Vineyards 🏅 Murphy, CA	15 / 20 (625.0172)	15 (157.1088)	11 (162.2512)	16 (153.6800)	15 (151.9772)
2019-05-03	Elk Grove Western Festival and BBQ Championship 🏅 Elk Grove, CA	17 / 27 (655.9656)	11 (169.1200)	12 (168.0456)	20 (159.9428)	19 (158.8572)
2019-04-26	Lodi Beerfest & BBQ Championship 🏅 Lodi, CA	29 / 48 (649.1772)	36 (158.2856)	23 (164.5716)	39 (150.2856)	2 (176.0344)
2018-09-14	4th Annual Hot Q's & Cold Brews BBQ Championship Oroville, CA	24 / 43 (656.4684)	9 (172.0000)	18 (165.6800)	33 (157.1200)	22 (161.6684)
2018-08-17	*Lassen Annual BBQ Cook-Off Susanville, CA	17 / 27 (643.3488)	11 (168.5372)	13 (164.5828)	23 (157.1200)	22 (153.1088)
2018-07-06	Wine Country Big Q Competition and Festival Petaluma, CA	22 / 38 (658.7656)	16 (169.6684)	17 (166.2744)	12 (171.4284)	28 (151.3944)
2018-05-04	Elk Grove Western Festival and BBQ Championship Elk Grove, CA	18 / 35 (646.1372)	12 (169.6684)	16 (162.2744)	18 (162.8000)	23 (151.3944)
2018-04-20	Lodi Beerfest & BBQ Championship Lodi, CA	39 / 48 (630.8116)	44 (152.5716)	30 (159.9656)	40 (156.5372)	27 (161.7372)
2017-08-25	Grills N Grills penn Valley, CA	19 / 27 (646.2628)	24 (157.1544)	9 (170.2856)	13 (162.8800)	20 (155.9428)
2017-05-05	Elk Grove Western Festival and BBQ Championship Elk Grove, CA	9 / 33 (657.6000)	3 (171.4172)	10 (165.7028)	7 (165.6684)	23 (154.8116)
2013-04-06	Kings of the Que BBQ Championship Woodland, CA	28 / 33 (586.8564)	27 (149.1428)	27 (147.9998)	22 (154.2856)	30 (135.4282)

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
2019 ↗	Master	#1036 (247 pts)	#1004 (277 pts)	#975 (302 pts)	#1161 (227 pts)	#751 (437 pts)