A tough matchup
3–0
behind in the head-to-head
FIRE DANCER BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings
FIRE DANCER BBQ has come out ahead in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
Buzzards BBQ
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1480
peak 1480 · rated over 3 contests ⓘ
Contests
3
in the data
First seen
2019-04-05
latest 2022-07-01
Best ToY finish
#1653
Master 2022
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
of 3 contests
Avg finish
top 84%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
631.39
last 3 Master vs avg 631.39 (+0.00)
Walk rate
0%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±15.78
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 163.39 · weakest Brisket (149.25)
Road miles
253
mi across 3 mapped stops · furthest 148 mi
Schedule strength
76%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1598)
Purse competed for
$30K
listed at 3 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 3 state-championship entries
Master avg
631.39 / 720
3 Master contests · 0 GCs
Storylines (2 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 comeback
3.1 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 3.1 years, then back at Lowell's Smokin' In the Ozarks-Arkansas State Challenge (2022-07-01).
- last seen 2019-06-07
- back 2022-07-01
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.
Buzzards BBQ has 3 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 136 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.
#4098 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1480
No shared contest yet.
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 7 contests to 3.
⚔ Head-to-head#4116 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1509
No shared contest yet.
Level with Buzzards BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#4089 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1481
No shared contest yet.
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 5 contests to 3.
⚔ Head-to-head#4113 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1480
No shared contest yet.
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 5 contests to 3.
⚔ Head-to-head#4077 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1481
No shared contest yet.
They were already cooking in 2013, 6 years before Buzzards BBQ's first contest.
⚔ Head-to-head#4119 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1501
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 5 years before Buzzards BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-headBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 173.1200 | 151.3828 | 159.95 | top 68% |
| Pork Ribs | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 167.3828 | 159.9772 | 163.39 | top 59% |
| Pork | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 167.9540 | 150.8000 | 158.80 | top 79% |
| Brisket | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 158.8000 | 140.4572 | 149.25 | top 85% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AR | 2 | 0 | top 85% |
| TN | 1 | 0 | top 80% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 2 | 0 | top 90% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 71% |
The story so far (17 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
3.2 yrs
2019-04-05 → 2022-07-01
Busiest season
2019
2 contests
Contests a season
1.5
across 2 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
AR
2 of 3 contests · 2 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
3
0 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
3 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
averages 163.39 · weakest Brisket (149.25)
Walk rate
0%
a top-10 call in 0 of 3 contests
Overall top-10 rate
0%
0 of 3 contests
Master average
631.39
out of 720 · 3 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
87
20–83 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
253
3 mapped stops · furthest 148 mi
Schedule strength
1598
average field rating faced — tougher than 76% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$30,000
listed at 3 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 3 state-championship entries
Longest layoff
3.1 yrs
2019-06-07 → 2022-07-01
Power rating
1480
peak 1480 · #null of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2019
- First tracked contest 9th Annual Bull Moose
- Peak power rating (1494) 9th Annual Bull Moose
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score648.9140 Delta Smoke BBQ Contest
- Career-best overall score648.9140 Delta Smoke BBQ Contest
- Career-best single call (Chicken)173.1200 Delta Smoke BBQ Contest
- 2022
- Most recent contest Lowell's Smokin' In the Ozarks-Arkansas State Challenge
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -9.3 | Lowell's Smokin' In the Ozarks-Arkansas State Challenge | 2022-07-01 |
| -6.4 | 9th Annual Bull Moose | 2019-04-05 |
| -3.9 | Delta Smoke BBQ Contest | 2019-06-07 |
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 | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 100% | 84.8% | 84.8% |
| 2019 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 75% | 90.1% | 89.1% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-07-01 | Lowell's Smokin' In the Ozarks-Arkansas State Challenge 🏅 Lowell, AR | 30 / 30 (610.6512) | 30 (151.3828) | 25 (159.9772) | 29 (150.8000) | 29 (148.4912) |
| 2019-06-07 | Delta Smoke BBQ Contest 🏅 Wynne, AR | 36 / 51 (648.9140) | 14 (173.1200) | 23 (167.3828) | 24 (167.9540) | 48 (140.4572) |
| 2019-04-05 | 9th Annual Bull Moose 🏅 Millington, TN | 20 / 25 (634.5940) | 19 (155.3484) | 12 (162.8000) | 23 (157.6456) | 16 (158.8000) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 ↗ | Master | #1653 (55 pts) | #1657 (55 pts) | #1698 (55 pts) | #1654 (55 pts) | #1654 (55 pts) |
| 2019 ↗ | Master | #1955 (60 pts) | #1702 (115 pts) | #1967 (70 pts) | #2000 (65 pts) | #2010 (60 pts) |