Why Not Smoke

At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)

Power ranking

#6071

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1428

peak 1501 · rated over 16 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2013-08-23

latest 2025-09-26

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

0 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 16 contests

Avg finish

top 71%

overall standings

Best overall

662.1712 / 720

Master · Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship Barbeque

Perfect 180s

Current form

628.61 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 621.93 (+6.68)

Walk rate

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

171.4400

Pork · Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship Barbeque

Consistency

±44.21

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork

avg 158.20 · weakest Chicken (151.27)

Road miles

183

mi across 16 mapped stops

Schedule strength

13%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1519)

Purse competed for

$37K

listed at 6 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

GCs in 13 state-championship entries

Master avg

621.93 / 720

16 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (7 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

12–1 behind in the head-to-head

Fat&Dumb BBQ ahead in 92% of their meetings

Fat&Dumb BBQ has come out ahead in 12 of their 13 shared contests.

The weak link

−6.9 points behind their best meat

Chicken is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 6.93 points below their pork, and turns into a call 0% of the time against 0%.

Chicken avg 151.27
Pork avg 158.20
0 calls in 16 entries

A strong matchup

10–4 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 71% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of YARDHOGS BBQ in 10 of their 14 shared contests.

The comeback

2 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 2 years, then back at Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship (TEAM & JUDGES ARE FULL-WAITLIST ONLY) (2021-09-24).

last seen 2019-09-27
back 2021-09-24

Pork nemesis

12 of 13 shared pork entries lost

Fat&Dumb BBQ ahead 92% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, Fat&Dumb BBQ has out-cooked them in 12 of 13 shared pork entries.

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

Bucket Heads has landed one call behind them 2 times.

A standing appointment

4 years running at one contest

They've cooked Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship every year from 2013 to 2016 — the contest they never miss.

7 visits in all
best finish 37th

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.

36 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.

4 MEAT SAKES

#6075 of the rated field

1427 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 9%
Peak: 1427

0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to Why Not Smoke)

One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Why Not Smoke has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.

rated over 11 contests
last seen 2023-06-16

⚔ Head-to-head

ALL OUT PIG OUT

#6068 of the rated field

1428 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 16
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1428

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 16 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 16 contests
last seen 2015-06-19

⚔ Head-to-head

BBEEQ

#6072 of the rated field

1428 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 14
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1428

No shared contest yet.

Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 8 years before Why Not Smoke's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 14 contests

⚔ Head-to-head

SMOKE & FIRE BBQ

#6073 of the rated field

1428 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 13
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1428

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 13 contests to 16, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 13 contests
last seen 2017-08-18

⚔ Head-to-head

Second Hand Smokers

#6067 of the rated field

1428 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 12
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1428

No shared contest yet.

12 contests and no Grand Championship yet.

rated over 12 contests
last seen 2026-05-01

⚔ Head-to-head

Mercer BBQ

#6074 of the rated field

1427 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 14
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1427

No shared contest yet.

They turned up 9 years after Why Not Smoke did, first appearing in 2022.

rated over 12 contests
last seen 2026-04-10

⚔ Head-to-head

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
YARDHOGS BBQ	14	10	4	71%	⚔ compare
Evening Wood	13	2	11	15%	⚔ compare
Fat&Dumb BBQ	13	1	12	8%	⚔ compare
Last Years Leftovers	12	7	5	58%	⚔ compare
Bubba's Pig-a-licious	12	7	5	58%	⚔ compare
Overland Pig Committee	12	6	6	50%	⚔ compare
Grilligans Island	12	3	9	25%	⚔ compare
KC Rib doctor	12	2	10	17%	⚔ compare
F.O.M.S.B.	12	2	10	17%	⚔ compare
T'S SMOKIN PIT	12	1	11	8%	⚔ compare
This Little Piggy Got Smoked	12	1	11	8%	⚔ compare
IHC BBQ	12	1	11	8%	⚔ compare
SMF	11	5	6	45%	⚔ compare
ALMOST FLAMOUS BARBEQUE	11	3	8	27%	⚔ compare
HAWG HEAVEN	11	3	8	27%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	16	166.8228	20.0000	151.27	top 64%
Pork Ribs	16	169.1200	143.4172	157.14	top 69%
Pork	16	171.4400	132.4684	158.20	top 66%
Brisket	16	171.4056	141.6684	155.32	top 66%

“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	Avg finish	Last visit
Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship	7	37	top 70%	2022-09-23
Shawnee Great Grillers	3	55	top 90%	2025-09-26
East Central State BBQ Cook Off Paola Roots Festival	3	34	top 66%	2015-08-28
Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship Barbeque	2	36	top 40%	2018-09-21

The story so far (17 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 12.1 yrs 2013-08-23 → 2025-09-26

Busiest season 2019 2 contests

Contests a season 1.3 across 12 seasons in the data

Cooks most in KS 16 of 16 contests

Contests visited 5 4 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 16 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls

Strongest meat Pork averages 158.20 · weakest Chicken (151.27)

Walk rate 0% a top-10 call in 0 of 16 contests

Overall top-10 rate 0% 0 of 16 contests

Master average 621.93 out of 720 · 16 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 496 442–964 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 183 16 mapped stops

Schedule strength 1519 average field rating faced — tougher than 13% of rated contests

Purse competed for $36,725 listed at 6 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships 0 from 13 state-championship entries

Longest layoff 2 yrs 2019-09-27 → 2021-09-24

Power rating 1428 peak 1501 · #6071 of 6,413 rated

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

2013
Aug 23 First tracked contest East Central State BBQ Cook-Off Paola Roots Festival
Aug 23 Peak power rating (1501) East Central State BBQ Cook-Off Paola Roots Festival
2014
Sep 26 First overall past 90% of a perfect score654.7656 Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship
2018
Sep 21 Career-best overall score662.1712 Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship Barbeque
Sep 21 Career-best single call (Pork)171.4400 Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship Barbeque
2019
Mar 15 10th tracked contest Qlathe BBQ Championship
2025
Sep 26 Most recent contest Shawnee Great Grillers

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+7	Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship	2014-09-26
+6.9	Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship Barbeque	2018-09-21
+3.2	Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship Barbeque	2017-09-22
+0.8	East Central State BBQ Cook-Off Paola Roots Festival	2013-08-23
+0.1	Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship (TEAM & JUDGES ARE FULL-WAITLIST ONLY)	2021-09-24

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-15.3	Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship	2013-09-27
-12.3	Shawnee Great Grillers	2024-09-27
-10.3	Shawnee Great Grillers	2025-09-26
-10	East Central State BBQ Cook Off Paola Roots Festival	2014-08-22
-9.8	Qlathe BBQ Championship	2019-03-15

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	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2025	1	0%	top 96%	85.7%	85.7%
2024	1	0%	top 100%	85.1%	85.1%
2023	1	0%	top 75%	88.7%	88.7%
2022	1	0%	top 83%	87%	87%
2021	1	0%	top 57%	90%	90%
2019	2	0%	top 82%	87.8%	86.5%
2018	1	0%	top 34%	92%	92%
2017	1	0%	top 46%	90.3%	90.3%
2016	1	0%	top 72%	87.4%	87.4%
2015	2	0%	top 68%	88.6%	87.6%
2014	2	0%	top 60%	90.9%	87%
2013	2	0%	top 74%	89.4%	76.9%

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2025-09-26	Shawnee Great Grillers 🏅 Shawnee, KS	64 / 67 (616.9484)	66 (147.4056)	64 (149.6228)	50 (162.2400)	51 (157.6800)
2024-09-27	Shawnee Great Grillers 🏅 Shawnee, KS	73 / 73 (613.0172)	66 (155.4400)	72 (152.5028)	49 (161.7028)	71 (143.3716)
2023-09-22	Shawnee Great Grillers 🏅 Shawnee, KS	55 / 73 (638.6860)	48 (163.4172)	29 (169.1200)	59 (157.0628)	63 (149.0860)
2022-09-23	Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship 🏅 Shawnee, KS	72 / 87 (626.5828)	63 (160.5256)	85 (145.6000)	67 (158.8000)	43 (161.6572)
2021-09-24	Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship (TEAM & JUDGES ARE FULL-WAITLIST ONLY) 🏅 Shawnee, KS	49 / 86 (647.8288)	47 (162.2744)	50 (163.4060)	62 (161.6340)	45 (160.5144)
2019-09-27	Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship 🏅 Shawnee, KS	76 / 102 (631.9660)	56 (164.5600)	52 (161.7260)	88 (152.5256)	77 (153.1544)
2019-03-15	Qlathe BBQ Championship 🏅 Olathe, KS	57 / 64 (613.6116)	50 (157.1428)	61 (143.4172)	53 (155.9084)	46 (157.1432)
2018-09-21	Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship Barbeque 🏅 Shawnee, KS	36 / 107 (662.1712)	63 (162.2628)	81 (157.0628)	17 (171.4400)	18 (171.4056)
2017-09-22	Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship Barbeque 🏅 Shawnee, KS	51 / 112 (650.1828)	31 (166.2628)	60 (162.2400)	26 (168.0000)	85 (153.6800)
2016-09-23	Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship 🏅 Shawnee, KS	80 / 111 (629.0052)	34 (166.8228)	69 (158.8456)	69 (161.6684)	103 (141.6684)
2015-09-25	Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship 🏅 Shawnee, KS	84 / 112 (623.2684)	52 (162.8572)	102 (150.7656)	68 (157.7028)	83 (151.9428)
2015-08-28	East Central State BBQ Cook Off Paola Roots Festival Paola, KS	40 / 65 (637.6572)	31 (160.5600)	43 (159.4744)	44 (159.3828)	38 (158.2400)
2014-09-26	Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship 🏅 Shawnee, KS	37 / 112 (654.7656)	42 (166.2972)	50 (162.2400)	59 (163.4056)	49 (162.8228)
2014-08-22	East Central State BBQ Cook Off Paola Roots Festival Paola, KS	60 / 69 (598.0572)	54 (152.5256)	49 (155.3600)	65 (143.3600)	58 (146.8116)
2013-09-27	Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship 🏅 Shawnee, KS	112 / 114 (463.2572)	114 (20.0000)	51 (161.6916)	114 (132.4684)	86 (149.0972)
2013-08-23	East Central State BBQ Cook-Off Paola Roots Festival Paola, KS	34 / 68 (643.8976)	61 (151.9428)	38 (161.1316)	25 (163.9544)	16 (166.8688)

Why Not Smoke

At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)

Power ranking

Rating

Contests

First seen

Grand champs

Category wins

Overall top-10s

Avg finish

Best overall

Perfect 180s

Current form

Walk rate

Best single call

Consistency

Strongest meat

Road miles

Schedule strength

Purse competed for

State championships

Master avg

Storylines (7 found in this team's record)

A tough matchup

The weak link

A strong matchup

The comeback

Pork nemesis

Looking over their shoulder

A standing appointment

Teams like this (closest power rating)

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

By meat

Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)

The story so far (17 numbers that describe this team)

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

📉 Toughest weekends

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

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)