Smoking Rays Backyard BBQ CA
Rating
1508
peak 1509 · rated over 3 contests
Contests
3
in the data
First seen
2019-05-31
latest 2026-01-30
Best ToY finish
#1957
Master 2019
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podiums
Overall top-10s
1
of 3 contests
Avg finish
top 40%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
33%
contests with a top-10 call
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 170.83 · weakest Pork (165.10)
Road miles
6
mi across 3 mapped stops
Schedule strength
36%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1531)
Purse competed for
$28K
listed at 3 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 3 state-championship entries
Master avg
671.29 / 720
2 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
334.78 / 360
1 Backyard contest · 0 GCs
Master and Backyard overall scores sit on different scales (Master is out of 720, Backyard out of 360), so they're kept separate — averaging them together would be misleading.
Storylines
⚔️ A tough matchup
Meat Candy Q has come out ahead in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
🔁 The comeback
Off the trail for 3.7 years, then back at The Golden State Battle VIII (2026-01-30).
Teams like this (closest power rating, CA first)
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 171.9656 | 169.6800 | 170.83 | top 32% |
| Pork Ribs | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 170.2628 | 165.0972 | 167.58 | top 35% |
| Pork | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 169.6684 | 160.5372 | 165.10 | top 65% |
| Brisket | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 170.2628 | 161.6688 | 165.97 | top 46% |
“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 contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 1 | 0 | top 8% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 56% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Horse Town Brew N Que Festival | 2 | 3 | 0 | top 32% | 2022-06-03 |
The story so far
- Busiest season: 2026 (1 contest)
- Cooks mostly in CA (3 of 3 contests)
- Most-entered category: Chicken (3 entries)
- Average Master overall score: 671.29 / 720
- Average Backyard overall score: 334.78 / 360
Milestones
- 🚩 2019-05-31 — First tracked contest · Horse Town Brew N Que Festival (JUDGES FULL)
- 📣 2022-06-03 — First call · Horse Town Brew N Que Festival
- 📈 2022-06-03 — Peak power rating (1509) · Horse Town Brew N Que Festival
- ⭐ 2026-01-30 — Career-best overall score (682.1596) · The Golden State Battle VIII
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +13.6 | Horse Town Brew N Que Festival | 2022-06-03 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -4.5 | Horse Town Brew N Que Festival (JUDGES FULL) | 2019-05-31 |
| -0.9 | The Golden State Battle VIII | 2026-01-30 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 56% | 94.7% | 94.7% |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 8% | 93% | 93% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 55% | 91.7% | 91.7% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-01-30 | The Golden State Battle VIII 🏅 Riverside, CA | 23 / 41 (682.1596) | 22 (171.9656) | 23 (170.2628) | 27 (169.6684) | 19 (170.2628) |
| 2022-06-03 | Horse Town Brew N Que Festival 🏅 Norco, CA | 3 / 37 (334.7772) | 3 (169.6800) | 4 (165.0972) | — | — |
| 2019-05-31 | Horse Town Brew N Que Festival (JUDGES FULL) 🏅 Norco, CA | 27 / 49 (660.4232) | 17 (170.8344) | 18 (167.3828) | 31 (160.5372) | 22 (161.6688) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 ↗ | Master | #1957 (60 pts) | #1799 (100 pts) | #1822 (95 pts) | #2032 (60 pts) | #1908 (75 pts) |