The comeback
5.1 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 5.1 years, then back at Smoke in the Grove (2021-07-30).
- last seen 2016-06-24
- back 2021-07-30
Bucks BBQ
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1477
peak 1477 · rated over 3 contests ⓘ
Contests
4
in the data
First seen
2015-09-11
latest 2021-07-30
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
of 4 contests
Avg finish
top 80%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
609.89
last 3 Master vs avg 609.89 (+0.00)
Walk rate
25%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±28.17
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 160.28 · weakest Pork (148.91)
Road miles
1,310
mi across 4 mapped stops · furthest 616 mi
Schedule strength
34%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1545)
Purse competed for
$10K
listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 1 state-championship entries
Master avg
609.89 / 720
3 Master contests · 0 GCs
Storylines (1 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.
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.
Bucks 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.
#4251 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1477
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 4, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#4257 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1477
No shared contest yet.
Level with Bucks BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#4274 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1503
No shared contest yet.
Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2015.
⚔ Head-to-head#4245 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1477
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 4, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#4281 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1477
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 4, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#4289 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1477
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 4, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-headBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 170.8572 | 148.5828 | 160.28 | top 69% |
| Pork Ribs | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 172.6288 | 141.2116 | 156.03 | top 64% |
| Pork | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 157.6684 | 141.6684 | 148.91 | top 92% |
| Brisket | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 159.3940 | 140.0228 | 149.71 | 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 state / province
| Where | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| IL | 2 | 0 | top 71% |
| PA | 1 | 0 | top 98% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 1 | 0 | top 79% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 81% |
The story so far (17 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
5.9 yrs
2015-09-11 → 2021-07-30
Busiest season
2015
2 contests
Contests a season
1.3
across 3 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
IL
2 of 4 contests · 3 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
3
0 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
4 entries · 0 wins · 1 calls
Strongest meat
Chicken
averages 160.28 · weakest Pork (148.91)
Walk rate
25%
a top-10 call in 1 of 4 contests
Overall top-10 rate
0%
0 of 4 contests
Master average
609.89
out of 720 · 3 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
179
30–160 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
1,310
4 mapped stops · furthest 616 mi
Schedule strength
1545
average field rating faced — tougher than 34% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$10,300
listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 1 state-championship entries
Longest layoff
5.1 yrs
2016-06-24 → 2021-07-30
Power rating
1477
peak 1477 · #null of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2015
- First tracked contest Fire at the Foothills BBQ & Chili Cook-Off (BACKYARD CONTEST)
- First call Fire at the Foothills BBQ & Chili Cook-Off (BACKYARD CONTEST)
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)172.6288 Fire at the Foothills BBQ & Chili Cook-Off (BACKYARD CONTEST)
- Career-best overall score638.2512 Windy City BBQ Classic
- Peak power rating (1497) Windy City BBQ Classic
- 2021
- Most recent contest Smoke in the Grove
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -13.2 | Smoke in the Grove | 2021-07-30 |
| -6.5 | Heritage Days BBQ Showdown | 2016-06-24 |
| -3.2 | Windy City BBQ Classic | 2015-09-11 |
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 | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 98% | 79.4% | 79.4% |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 79% | 86.1% | 86.1% |
| 2015 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 64% | 88.6% | 88.6% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-07-30 | Smoke in the Grove 🏅 Spring Grove, PA | 53 / 54 (571.4856) | 52 (148.5828) | 52 (141.2116) | 53 (141.6684) | 54 (140.0228) |
| 2016-06-24 | Heritage Days BBQ Showdown Belvidere, IL | 26 / 33 (619.9196) | 22 (162.8572) | 27 (150.2744) | 32 (147.3940) | 17 (159.3940) |
| 2015-09-11 | Windy City BBQ Classic Chicago, IL | 39 / 61 (638.2512) | 13 (170.8572) | 32 (160.0000) | 50 (157.6684) | 47 (149.7256) |
| 2015-04-17 | Fire at the Foothills BBQ & Chili Cook-Off (BACKYARD CONTEST) Chelsea, AL | — | 10 (158.8340) | 3 (172.6288) | — | — |