The one to beat
2×
one call ahead of them
HARCO LOCO BBQ has finished one call ahead of Smoke Damage 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
Smoke Damage
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1488
peak 1488 · rated over 4 contests ⓘ
Contests
4
in the data
First seen
2013-07-12
latest 2019-08-09
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
of 4 contests
Avg finish
top 69%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
406.24
last 3 Master vs avg 406.24 (+0.00)
Walk rate
25%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±146.37
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 159.16 · weakest Brisket (143.42)
Road miles
979
mi across 4 mapped stops · furthest 979 mi
Schedule strength
23%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1532)
Purse competed for
$13K
listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 1 state-championship entries
Master avg
406.24 / 720
3 Master contests · 0 GCs
Storylines (5 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.
A tough matchup
3–0
behind in the head-to-head
DRILLING & GRILLING ahead in 100% of their meetings
DRILLING & GRILLING has come out ahead in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
A strong matchup
3–0
ahead in the head-to-head
Ahead in 100% of their meetings
They've finished ahead of FLYING PORKERS in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
The comeback
4.1 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 4.1 years, then back at Maryland State BBQ Bash (2017-08-11).
- last seen 2013-07-12
- back 2017-08-11
An August team
Top 59%
average finish in August
Something about August: average finish in the top 59% across 3 contests, versus top 69% the rest of the year.
- 3 August contests
- top 69% the rest of the year
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.
Smoke Damage has 4 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 137 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.
#3758 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1488
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#3748 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 80%
- Peak
- 1488
No shared contest yet.
They turned up 12 years after Smoke Damage did, first appearing in 2025.
⚔ Head-to-head#3789 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1502
No shared contest yet.
Level with Smoke Damage on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#3776 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1509
No shared contest yet.
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 9 contests to 4.
⚔ Head-to-head#3764 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1503
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#3772 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1501
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 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 169.1772 | 149.1428 | 159.16 | top 56% |
| Pork Ribs | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 154.8228 | 144.5144 | 149.67 | top 68% |
| Pork | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 156.0000 | 156.0000 | 156.00 | top 96% |
| Brisket | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 143.4172 | 143.4172 | 143.42 | top 100% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| MD | 3 | 0 | top 59% |
| MN | 1 | 0 | top 100% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 3 | 0 | top 80% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 36% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland State BBQ Bash | 3 | 15 | 0 | top 59% | 2019-08-09 |
The story so far (17 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
6.1 yrs
2013-07-12 → 2019-08-09
Busiest season
2019
1 contest
Contests a season
1
across 4 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
MD
3 of 4 contests · 2 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
2
1 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
2 entries · 0 wins · 1 calls
Strongest meat
Chicken
averages 159.16 · weakest Brisket (143.42)
Walk rate
25%
a top-10 call in 1 of 4 contests
Overall top-10 rate
0%
0 of 4 contests
Master average
406.24
out of 720 · 3 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
178
115–148 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
979
4 mapped stops · furthest 979 mi
Schedule strength
1532
average field rating faced — tougher than 23% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$12,500
listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 1 state-championship entries
Longest layoff
4.1 yrs
2013-07-12 → 2017-08-11
Power rating
1488
peak 1488 · #null of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2013
- First tracked contest The Madelia Blazin' Barbeque Blast
- First call The Madelia Blazin' Barbeque Blast
- Career-best overall score613.1088 The Madelia Blazin' Barbeque Blast
- Career-best single call (Chicken)169.1772 The Madelia Blazin' Barbeque Blast
- 2017
- Peak power rating (1492) Maryland State BBQ Bash
- 2019
- Most recent contest Maryland State BBQ Bash
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +6.8 | Maryland State BBQ Bash | 2017-08-11 |
| +4.5 | Maryland State BBQ Bash | 2019-08-09 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -15.2 | The Madelia Blazin' Barbeque Blast | 2013-07-12 |
| -8.6 | Maryland State BBQ Bash | 2018-08-10 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 50% | — | — |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 89% | 41.2% | 41.2% |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 36% | 42.9% | 42.9% |
| 2013 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 100% | 85.2% | 85.2% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-08-09 | Maryland State BBQ Bash 🏅 Belair, MD | 15 / 30 (303.9656) | 22 (149.1428) | 11 (154.8228) | — | — |
| 2018-08-10 | Maryland State BBQ Bash Bel Air, MD | 34 / 38 (296.5144) | — | — | — | — |
| 2017-08-11 | Maryland State BBQ Bash Bel Air, MD | 17 / 47 (309.1084) | — | — | — | — |
| 2013-07-12 | The Madelia Blazin' Barbeque Blast Madelia, MN | 23 / 23 (613.1088) | 9 (169.1772) | 23 (144.5144) | 22 (156.0000) | 23 (143.4172) |