High-water mark
669.6344
career-best overall
93.0% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 669.6344 at Bear-B-Q — 93.0% of a perfect 720.
- Master
- May 1, 2026
Second Hand Smokers
Second Hand Smokers is a competition barbecue team with 13 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2013 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 16th of 28 at the Sam's Club National BBQ Tour (2013). They are ranked #6109 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings. Also listed in KCBS results as “Secondhand Smokers”.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1428
peak 1428 · rated over 12 contests
Contests
13
in the data
First seen
Mar 1, 2013
latest May 1, 2026 · 13.2 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podium
Overall top-10s
0
0% of 13 contests
Avg finish
top 81%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
631.65 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 626.50 (+5.15)
Walk rate
23%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±23.88
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 158.64 · weakest Brisket (152.84)
Road miles
6,659
across 13 mapped stops · furthest 900 mi
Schedule strength
45%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1559)
Purse competed for
$40K
listed at 3 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 3 state-championship entries
Master avg
626.50 / 720
12 Master contests · 0 GCs
Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Second Hand Smokers, each with one reason worth a look.
46 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#6,114 of the rated field
- Contests
- 12
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1428
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 12 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#6,108 of the rated field
- Contests
- 13
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1428
Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 9 years before Second Hand Smokers's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#6,110 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1428
Careers of much the same size, 11 contests to 13, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#6,107 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1428
Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2013.
⚔ Compare careers#6,113 of the rated field
- Contests
- 14
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1428
14 contests and no Grand Championship yet.
⚔ Compare careers#6,105 of the rated field
- Contests
- 12
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1428
Level with Second Hand Smokers on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careersBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 169.1428 | 144.5944 | 157.60 | top 76% |
| Pork Ribs | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 166.8572 | 146.8228 | 157.42 | top 73% |
| Pork | 12 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 179.4400 | 139.9084 | 158.64 | top 70% |
| Brisket | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 170.8572 | 139.9998 | 152.84 | top 76% |
“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 field size and state
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 8 | 0 | top 79% |
| Large (40+) | 4 | 0 | top 84% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laurie Hillbilly BBQ | 3 | 33 | 0 | top 96% | Aug 3, 2018 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2013
3 contests
Contests a season
1.4
across 9 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
MO
3 of 13 contests · 9 states in all
Contests visited
10
1 of them more than once
Opponents faced
448
finished ahead 89 times, behind 416
Longest layoff
4.1 yrs
Apr 8, 2022 → May 1, 2026
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20263 milestones
20181 milestone
- 10th tracked contest Laurie Hillbilly BBQ
20141 milestone
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score650.9716 Okfuskee Firefighters Wildfire Cookoff
20133 milestones
- First tracked contest Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
- First call Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
- Peak power rating (1498) Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +1.5 | Okfuskee Firefighters Wildfire Cookoff | Jun 6, 2014 |
| +0.9 | Bear-B-Q | May 1, 2026 |
| +0.7 | Downtown Jonesboro BBQ Festival | Sep 30, 2016 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -13.6 | Crossborder Blues, Brews & Que | Jun 14, 2013 |
| -12.2 | Laurie Hillbilly BBQ | Jul 31, 2015 |
| -10.6 | Laurie Hillbilly BBQ | Aug 4, 2017 |
| -9.4 | Mocklahoma Ribs & Roll BBQ Championship | Jun 10, 2016 |
| -8.4 | Laurie Hillbilly BBQ | Aug 3, 2018 |
Scores over time (% of a perfect score — tap a meat to add it)
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 65% | 93% | 93% |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 89% | 88% | 88% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 79% | 88.8% | 88.8% |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 94% | 83.9% | 83.9% |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 93% | 85% | 84.7% |
| 2016 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 75% | 89.7% | 85.7% |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 97% | 86.7% | 86.7% |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 55% | 90.4% | 90.4% |
| 2013 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33% | top 75% | 89.8% | 86.3% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1, 2026 | Bear-B-Q 🏅 New Bern, NC | 17 / 26 (669.6344) | 25 (161.6916) | 20 (162.8228) | 2 (179.4400) | 17 (165.6800) |
| Apr 8, 2022 | Smoke in the Spring 🏅 Osage City, KS | 84 / 94 (633.5428) | 83 (158.2628) | 82 (157.6456) | 79 (160.5256) | 78 (157.1088) |
| Aug 23, 2019 | Great Americana BBQ Festival 🏅 Franklin, TN | 31 / 39 (639.2800) | 32 (161.6916) | 37 (151.9428) | 24 (165.0856) | 23 (160.5600) |
| Aug 3, 2018 | Laurie Hillbilly BBQ Laurie, MO | 33 / 35 (603.9316) | 33 (156.5600) | 33 (146.8228) | 33 (157.6800) | 32 (142.8688) |
| Aug 4, 2017 | Laurie Hillbilly BBQ Laurie, MO | 39 / 40 (611.8856) | 40 (145.6568) | 23 (165.7028) | 40 (148.5372) | 37 (151.9888) |
| Jun 24, 2017 | Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle Washington, DC | 29 / 33 (607.8396) | 28 (155.3828) | 13 (166.8572) | 32 (139.9084) | 28 (145.6912) |
| Sep 30, 2016 | Downtown Jonesboro BBQ Festival Jonesboro, AR | 25 / 44 (645.6000) | 19 (163.3828) | 38 (152.5600) | 28 (158.8000) | 11 (170.8572) |
| Jun 10, 2016 | Mocklahoma Ribs & Roll BBQ Championship Okmulgee, OK | 38 / 41 (588.5716) | 39 (144.5944) | 36 (148.5944) | 37 (152) | 38 (143.3828) |
| Jul 31, 2015 | Laurie Hillbilly BBQ Laurie, MO | 37 / 38 (623.9196) | 38 (151.4056) | 37 (155.4284) | 22 (165.7028) | 37 (151.3828) |
| Jun 6, 2014 | Okfuskee Firefighters Wildfire Cookoff Okemah, OK | 18 / 33 (650.9716) | 16 (166.3316) | 14 (164.6172) | 27 (156.5828) | 10 (163.4400) |
| Sep 20, 2013 | Oinktoberfest Clarence, NY | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jun 14, 2013 | Crossborder Blues, Brews & Que Wilson, NY | 29 / 31 (596.5712) | 17 (157.1430) | 21 (150.2858) | 23 (149.1426) | 28 (139.9998) |
| Mar 1, 2013 | Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Baton Rouge, LA | 16 / 28 (646.2852) | 7 (169.1428) | 12 (165.7142) | 9 (170.2856) | 28 (141.1426) |