High-water mark
678.2288
career-best overall
94.2% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 678.2288 at Blue Compass RV BBQ Bash — 94.2% of a perfect 720.
- Master
- May 1, 2026
SMOKE AIN'T NO JOKE
SMOKE AIN'T NO JOKE is a competition barbecue team with 8 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2017 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 9th of 15 at the Red Rock BBQ (2020). They are ranked #4225 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1479
peak 1479 · rated over 8 contests
Contests
8
in the data
First seen
Apr 7, 2017
latest May 1, 2026 · 9.1 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podium
Overall top-10s
2
25% of 8 contests
Avg finish
top 71%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
667.21 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 664.77 (+2.44)
Walk rate
50%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±8.39
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 168.91 · weakest Brisket (161.70)
Road miles
833
across 8 mapped stops · furthest 244 mi
Schedule strength
64%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1580)
Purse competed for
$27K
listed at 4 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 5 state-championship entries
Master avg
664.77 / 720
8 Master contests · 0 GCs
Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Master | #988 (89 pts) | #967 (119 pts) | #717 (244 pts) | #1030 (89 pts) | #1054 (79 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #1464 (59 pts) | #1219 (69 pts) | #1268 (74 pts) | #1218 (64 pts) | #1191 (64 pts) |
| 2020 ↗ | Master | #490 (207 pts) | #479 (237 pts) | #517 (217 pts) | #509 (212 pts) | #511 (217 pts) |
| 2018 ↗ | Master | #1753 (104 pts) | #1806 (104 pts) | #1786 (109 pts) | #1811 (104 pts) | #1762 (109 pts) |
| 2017 ↗ | Master | #1167 (254 pts) | #1067 (334 pts) | #1225 (264 pts) | #931 (404 pts) | #1241 (249 pts) |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to SMOKE AIN'T NO JOKE, each with one reason worth a look.
133 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#4,221 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1479
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#4,206 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1479
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 7 years before SMOKE AIN'T NO JOKE's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#4,242 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 14%
- Peak
- 1510
Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 8, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#4,236 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 14%
- Peak
- 1502
They turned up 6 years after SMOKE AIN'T NO JOKE did, first appearing in 2023.
⚔ Compare careers#4,223 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1503
Level with SMOKE AIN'T NO JOKE on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#4,214 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1479
Their last contest in the data was back in 2016, 10 years before SMOKE AIN'T NO JOKE's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CROOKED PIGS | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| UTAH BBQ COMPANY | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 173.1316 | 165.1544 | 168.91 | top 58% |
| Pork Ribs | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 176.5828 | 158.8116 | 166.19 | top 58% |
| Pork | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 173.1200 | 163.9428 | 167.97 | top 61% |
| Brisket | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 169.7260 | 149.6800 | 161.70 | 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 field size and state
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 4 | 0 | top 68% |
| Medium (20–39) | 4 | 0 | top 74% |
More numbers
Busiest season
2017
3 contests
Contests a season
1.6
across 5 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
UT
7 of 8 contests · 2 states in all
Contests visited
8
a different one every time
Opponents faced
121
finished ahead 55 times, behind 132
Longest layoff
4 yrs
Jun 19, 2020 → Jun 21, 2024
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20263 milestones
- Career-best overall score678.2288 Blue Compass RV BBQ Bash
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)176.5828 Blue Compass RV BBQ Bash
- Most recent contest Blue Compass RV BBQ Bash
20175 milestones
- First tracked contest Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
- First call Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score649.0288 Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
- Peak power rating (1495) Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
- First overall top-10 Q'n With Kia-Kia-Kia
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +3.9 | Red Rock BBQ | Jan 3, 2020 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -6.4 | Blue Compass RV BBQ Bash | May 1, 2026 |
| -6.3 | Pitmaster's NorUt State BBQ Championship | Jun 21, 2024 |
| -5.1 | Sam's Club National BBQ Tour | Apr 7, 2017 |
| -3.3 | Wild West BBQ Shoot Out | Aug 25, 2017 |
| -2.8 | Traeger NorUt State Championship | Jun 29, 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 84% | 94.2% | 94.2% |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 83% | 92.1% | 92.1% |
| 2020 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50% | top 61% | 93.5% | 92.8% |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 68% | 91.4% | 91.4% |
| 2017 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 67% | top 70% | 92.9% | 91.8% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1, 2026 | Blue Compass RV BBQ Bash 🏅 Marriott-Slaterville, UT | 16 / 19 (678.2288) | 10 (173.1316) | 2 (176.5828) | 16 (166.8572) | 18 (161.6572) |
| Jun 21, 2024 | Pitmaster's NorUt State BBQ Championship 🏅 Ogden, UT | 24 / 29 (663.2796) | 22 (167.3828) | 21 (167.9656) | 23 (166.2284) | 23 (161.7028) |
| Jun 19, 2020 | Traeger NorUt State BBQ Championship 🏅 Riverdale, UT | 20 / 32 (663.3712) | 22 (167.4056) | 16 (167.9656) | 17 (169.7028) | 22 (158.2972) |
| Jan 3, 2020 | Red Rock BBQ 🏅 Hurrican, UT | 9 / 15 (673.0172) | 5 (171.9656) | 10 (163.9428) | 10 (167.3828) | 7 (169.7260) |
| Jun 29, 2018 | Traeger NorUt State Championship 🏅 Ogden, UT | 13 / 19 (658.1716) | 13 (165.1544) | 12 (164.5488) | 13 (163.9428) | 12 (164.5256) |
| Aug 25, 2017 | Wild West BBQ Shoot Out West Wendover, NV | 27 / 37 (669.0628) | 31 (168.5256) | 28 (164.5716) | 12 (171.9772) | 26 (163.9884) |
| Jun 16, 2017 | Q'n With Kia-Kia-Kia Ogden, UT | 9 / 15 (664.0004) | 5 (170.2744) | 8 (165.1544) | 13 (164.5716) | 8 (164) |
| Apr 7, 2017 | Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Salt Lake City, UT | 22 / 29 (649.0288) | 14 (167.4172) | 22 (158.8116) | 5 (173.1200) | 27 (149.6800) |