The comeback
5 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 5 years, then back at Smoke in the Grove (Jul 30, 2021).
- last seen Aug 13, 2016
- back Jul 30, 2021
Bucks BBQ
Bucks BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 5 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2015 and 2021. Their best overall finish is 14th of 28 at the Oslofjord BBQ Challenge (2016). Also listed in KCBS results as “Buck`s BBQ”.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1479
Unranked — needs 5 rated contests, has 4
Contests
5
in the data
First seen
Sep 11, 2015
latest Jul 30, 2021 · 5.9 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
2 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
0% of 5 contests
Avg finish
top 73%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
40%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±29.04
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 162.40 · weakest Pork (146.68)
Road miles
8,532
across 5 mapped stops · furthest 4,043 mi
Schedule strength
29%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1539)
Purse competed for
$10K
listed at 1 contest — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 1 state-championship entry
Master avg
618.99 / 720
4 Master contests · 0 GCs
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Bucks BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
Bucks BBQ has 4 rated contests, short of the five a power ranking needs, so its rating is still close to the 1500 every team starts on and 141 rated teams sit within a point of it.
#4,201 of the rated field
- Contests
- 26
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 8%
- Peak
- 1521
0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to Bucks BBQ)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Bucks BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#4,227 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1511
They've been 1511 at their best, 33 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Compare careers#4,191 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1503
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#4,189 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1479
Level with Bucks BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#4,211 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1479
Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 3 years before Bucks BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#4,218 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1479
Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 4 years before Bucks BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careersBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 170.8684 | 148.5828 | 162.40 | top 56% |
| Pork Ribs | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 172.6288 | 141.2116 | 158.08 | top 57% |
| Pork | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 157.6684 | 139.9772 | 146.68 | top 93% |
| Brisket | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 169.1428 | 140.0228 | 154.57 | top 61% |
“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) | 2 | 0 | top 64% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 81% |
More numbers
Busiest season
2016
2 contests
Contests a season
1.7
across 3 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
IL
2 of 5 contests · 4 states in all
Contests visited
4
a different one every time
Opponents faced
206
finished ahead 44 times, behind 173
Longest layoff
5 yrs
Aug 13, 2016 → Jul 30, 2021
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20211 milestone
- Most recent contest Smoke in the Grove
20161 milestone
- Career-best overall score646.2856 Oslofjord BBQ Challenge
20154 milestones
- 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)
- Peak power rating (1497) Windy City BBQ Classic
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +1.9 | Oslofjord BBQ Challenge | Aug 13, 2016 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -13.3 | Smoke in the Grove | Jul 30, 2021 |
| -6.5 | Heritage Days BBQ Showdown | Jun 24, 2016 |
| -3.3 | Windy City BBQ Classic | Sep 11, 2015 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 98% | 79.4% | 79.4% |
| 2016 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 64% | 89.8% | 87.9% |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 30, 2021 | Smoke in the Grove 🏅 Spring Grove, PA | 53 / 54 (571.4856) | 52 (148.5828) | 52 (141.2116) | 53 (141.6684) | 54 (140.0228) |
| Aug 13, 2016 | Oslofjord BBQ Challenge OSLO, Norway, NO | 14 / 28 (646.2856) | 2 (170.8684) | 8 (166.2972) | 27 (139.9772) | 4 (169.1428) |
| Jun 24, 2016 | Heritage Days BBQ Showdown Belvidere, IL | 26 / 33 (619.9196) | 22 (162.8572) | 27 (150.2744) | 32 (147.3940) | 17 (159.3940) |
| Sep 11, 2015 | Windy City BBQ Classic Chicago, IL | 39 / 61 (638.2512) | 13 (170.8572) | 32 (160) | 50 (157.6684) | 47 (149.7256) |
| Apr 17, 2015 | Fire at the Foothills BBQ & Chili Cook-Off (BACKYARD CONTEST) Chelsea, AL | — | 10 (158.8340) | 3 (172.6288) | — | — |