A tough matchup
4–0
behind in the head-to-head
BIG CHAIN BBQ GANG ahead in 100% of their meetings
BIG CHAIN BBQ GANG has come out ahead in 4 of their 4 shared contests.
Butts & Racks BBQ
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1495
peak 1500 · rated over 4 contests ⓘ
Contests
5
in the data
First seen
2013-07-26
latest 2017-08-25
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
of 5 contests
Avg finish
top 62%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
644.75
last 4 Master vs avg 644.75 (+0.00)
Walk rate
20%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±14.22
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 165.42 · weakest Brisket (154.84)
Road miles
1,850
mi across 5 mapped stops · furthest 907 mi
Schedule strength
45%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1558)
Master avg
644.75 / 720
4 Master contests · 0 GCs
Storylines (3 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 strong matchup
3–0
ahead in the head-to-head
Ahead in 100% of their meetings
They've finished ahead of 3 THIRDS BBQ in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
The comeback
2 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 2 years, then back at *Up in Smoke BBQ Bash (2017-07-21).
- last seen 2015-07-24
- back 2017-07-21
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.
Butts & Racks BBQ 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 124 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.
#3396 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1495
0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to Butts & Racks BBQ)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Butts & Racks BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#3397 of the rated field
- Contests
- 27
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1523
1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to Butts & Racks BBQ)
27 contests to 5: their number has had years to settle where Butts & Racks BBQ's is still finding its level.
⚔ Head-to-head#3400 of the rated field
- Contests
- 33
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1511
1–2 in 3 shared contests (33% to Butts & Racks BBQ)
33 contests and no Grand Championship yet.
⚔ Head-to-head#3388 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1496
No shared contest yet.
They turned up 6 years after Butts & Racks BBQ did, first appearing in 2019.
⚔ Head-to-head#3406 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 40%
- Peak
- 1495
No shared contest yet.
Level with Butts & Racks BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#3404 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 40%
- Peak
- 1516
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 5, 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 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 162.8228 | 157.1200 | 160.82 | top 73% |
| Pork Ribs | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 171.9656 | 159.9888 | 165.42 | top 44% |
| Pork | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 170.2628 | 154.2056 | 163.67 | top 53% |
| Brisket | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 163.4172 | 149.0972 | 154.84 | 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.
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *Up in Smoke BBQ Bash | 3 | 23 | 0 | top 63% | 2017-07-21 |
The story so far (15 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
4.1 yrs
2013-07-26 → 2017-08-25
Busiest season
2017
2 contests
Contests a season
1.3
across 4 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
IA
3 of 5 contests · 3 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
2
1 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
4 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
averages 165.42 · weakest Brisket (154.84)
Walk rate
20%
a top-10 call in 1 of 5 contests
Overall top-10 rate
0%
0 of 5 contests
Master average
644.75
out of 720 · 4 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
146
86–135 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
1,850
5 mapped stops · furthest 907 mi
Schedule strength
1558
average field rating faced — tougher than 45% of rated contests
Longest layoff
2 yrs
2015-07-24 → 2017-07-21
Power rating
1495
peak 1500 · #null of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2013
- First tracked contest Up in Smoke BBQ Bash
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score650.8000 Up in Smoke BBQ Bash
- Peak power rating (1500) Up in Smoke BBQ Bash
- 2017
- First call *Up in Smoke BBQ Bash
- Career-best overall score656.4224 *Up in Smoke BBQ Bash
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)171.9656 *Up in Smoke BBQ Bash
- Most recent contest 10th Annual Big Island BBQ
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +4.6 | *Up in Smoke BBQ Bash | 2017-07-21 |
| +0.2 | 10th Annual Big Island BBQ | 2017-08-25 |
| +0.2 | Up in Smoke BBQ Bash | 2013-07-26 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -9.5 | Up in Smoke BBQ Bash | 2015-07-24 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 53% | 91.2% | 90.8% |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 89% | 86.2% | 86.2% |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2013 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 53% | 90.4% | 90.4% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-08-25 | 10th Annual Big Island BBQ Albert Lea, MN | 33 / 56 (651.3716) | 40 (162.2628) | 25 (165.1660) | 37 (160.5256) | 28 (163.4172) |
| 2017-07-21 | *Up in Smoke BBQ Bash Mason City, IA | 23 / 49 (656.4224) | 33 (161.0856) | 7 (171.9656) | 16 (170.2628) | 39 (153.1084) |
| 2015-07-24 | Up in Smoke BBQ Bash Mason City, IA | 48 / 54 (620.4116) | 47 (157.1200) | 38 (159.9888) | 48 (154.2056) | 49 (149.0972) |
| 2014-08-08 | MD State BBQ Bash, Presented by Mars Super Markets Bel Air, MD | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2013-07-26 | Up in Smoke BBQ Bash Mason City, IA | 35 / 66 (650.8000) | 43 (162.8228) | 31 (164.5488) | 16 (169.7028) | 54 (153.7256) |