The one to beat
2×
one call ahead of them
Philly Smoke has finished one call ahead of Mates Nice Rack BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
Mates Nice Rack BBQ
Mates Nice Rack BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 9 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2015 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 6th of 64 at the New Jersey State Barbecue Championship (2018). They are ranked #3437 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1495
peak 1518 · rated over 9 contests
Contests
9
in the data
First seen
Jul 10, 2015
latest Jul 11, 2026 · 11 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podium
Overall top-10s
1
11% of 9 contests
Avg finish
top 55%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
632.63
last 5 Master vs avg 632.56 (+0.07)
Walk rate
56%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±14.82
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 159.85 · weakest Pork Ribs (156.91)
Road miles
2
across 9 mapped stops
Schedule strength
16%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1523)
Purse competed for
$46K
listed at 5 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 5 state-championship entries
Master avg
632.56 / 720
9 Master contests · 0 GCs
Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Master | #1065 (60 pts) | #1141 (60 pts) | #1203 (60 pts) | #1111 (60 pts) | #1102 (60 pts) |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #1148 (60 pts) | #910 (135 pts) | #1293 (60 pts) | #1190 (60 pts) | #1190 (60 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #1182 (60 pts) | #1242 (60 pts) | #1317 (60 pts) | #1231 (60 pts) | #1204 (60 pts) |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Mates Nice Rack BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
123 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#3,427 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 9%
- Peak
- 1504
Careers of much the same size, 11 contests to 9, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#3,443 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1513
Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 9 years before Mates Nice Rack BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#3,441 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 13%
- Peak
- 1506
Level with Mates Nice Rack BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#3,447 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 27%
- Peak
- 1507
Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 9 years before Mates Nice Rack BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#3,421 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 9%
- Peak
- 1495
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 11 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#3,436 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1510
Their last contest in the data was back in 2023, 3 years before Mates Nice Rack BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BIG BAD WOLVES | 9 | 9 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| Bar B Q Dat | 9 | 7 | 2 | 78% | ⚔ compare |
| Palm tree smokehouse | 9 | 2 | 7 | 22% | ⚔ compare |
| B'S QUE | 9 | 1 | 8 | 11% | ⚔ compare |
| PHILLY BLIND PIG BBQ | 9 | 1 | 8 | 11% | ⚔ compare |
| Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit | 9 | 1 | 8 | 11% | ⚔ compare |
| LOCAL SMOKE BBQ | 9 | 1 | 8 | 11% | ⚔ compare |
| Philly Smoke | 9 | 1 | 8 | 11% | ⚔ compare |
| SWINE AND CHEESE | 8 | 4 | 4 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| PACKANACK LAKE BBQ CLUB | 8 | 3 | 5 | 38% | ⚔ compare |
| PHAT BASTERDZ BBQ | 8 | 3 | 5 | 38% | ⚔ compare |
| GLAZED AND INFUSED NEW JERSEY BBQ | 8 | 2 | 6 | 25% | ⚔ compare |
| SIR-PORK'S-ALOT BBQ | 8 | 2 | 6 | 25% | ⚔ compare |
| POP POP'S RIBS | 7 | 6 | 1 | 86% | ⚔ compare |
| Tom Tom Bob A Que | 7 | 5 | 2 | 71% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 173.1200 | 154.2972 | 159.85 | top 57% |
| Pork Ribs | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 168 | 142.1832 | 156.91 | top 54% |
| Pork | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 171.9772 | 139.9200 | 157.29 | top 58% |
| Brisket | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 166.8572 | 149.1088 | 158.51 | top 44% |
“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.
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey State Barbecue Championship | 9 | 6 | 0 | top 55% | Jul 11, 2026 |
More numbers
Contests a season
1
across 9 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
NJ
9 of 9 contests
Contests visited
1
1 of them more than once
Opponents faced
210
finished ahead 261 times, behind 306
Longest layoff
4 yrs
Jul 12, 2019 → Jul 14, 2023
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20261 milestone
- Most recent contest New Jersey State Barbecue Championship
20251 milestone
- Career-best single call (Chicken)173.1200 New Jersey State Barbecue Championship
20184 milestones
- First overall top-10 New Jersey State Barbecue Championship
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score658.2288 New Jersey State Barbecue Championship
- Career-best overall score658.2288 New Jersey State Barbecue Championship
- Peak power rating (1518) New Jersey State Barbecue Championship
20152 milestones
- First tracked contest New Jersey State Barbecue Championship
- First call New Jersey State Barbecue Championship
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +14.2 | New Jersey State Barbecue Championship | Jul 14, 2018 |
| +10.9 | New Jersey State Barbecue Championship | Jul 7, 2017 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -6.8 | New Jersey State Barbecue Championship | Jul 12, 2019 |
| -6.6 | New Jersey State Barbecue Championship | Jul 11, 2026 |
| -4.3 | New Jersey State Barbecue Championship | Jul 10, 2015 |
| -3.8 | New Jersey State Barbecue Championship | Jul 12, 2025 |
| -3.3 | New Jersey State Barbecue Championship | Jul 14, 2023 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 74% | 87.8% | 87.8% |
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 65% | 87.6% | 87.6% |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 63% | 89.2% | 89.2% |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 63% | 88.9% | 88.9% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 72% | 85.9% | 85.9% |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 9% | 91.4% | 91.4% |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 21% | 89.7% | 89.7% |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 62% | 85.3% | 85.3% |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 66% | 84.9% | 84.9% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 11, 2026 | New Jersey State Barbecue Championship 🏅 North Wildwood, NJ | 46 / 62 (631.8288) | 47 (159.9544) | 54 (153.7028) | 38 (162.8000) | 47 (155.3716) |
| Jul 12, 2025 | New Jersey State Barbecue Championship 🏅 North Wildwood, NJ | 41 / 63 (630.6172) | 10 (173.1200) | 54 (147.3488) | 41 (158.7884) | 42 (151.3600) |
| Jul 13, 2024 | New Jersey State Barbecue Championship 🏅 North Wildwood, NJ | 39 / 62 (642.1716) | 49 (155.3944) | 28 (164.5372) | 45 (157.0972) | 25 (165.1428) |
| Jul 14, 2023 | New Jersey State Barbecue Championship 🏅 North Wildwood, NJ | 40 / 64 (639.8748) | 46 (159.4056) | 62 (142.1832) | 7 (171.4288) | 13 (166.8572) |
| Jul 12, 2019 | New Jersey State Barbecue Championship 🏅 North Wildwood, NJ | 46 / 64 (618.6512) | 42 (157.6684) | 38 (156.5144) | 63 (143.9428) | 26 (160.5256) |
| Jul 14, 2018 | New Jersey State Barbecue Championship North Wildwood, NJ | 6 / 64 (658.2288) | 24 (161.1544) | 19 (161.6800) | 3 (171.9772) | 13 (163.4172) |
| Jul 7, 2017 | New Jersey State Barbecue Championship North Wildwood, NJ | 14 / 67 (646.1600) | 26 (161.6800) | 8 (162.2628) | 33 (157.0856) | 14 (165.1316) |
| Jul 8, 2016 | New Jersey State Barbecue Championship North Wildwood, NJ | 40 / 65 (614.1832) | 34 (155.9544) | 34 (155.9772) | 39 (152.5716) | 36 (149.6800) |
| Jul 10, 2015 | New Jersey State Barbecue Championship North Wildwood, NJ | 43 / 65 (611.3260) | 50 (154.2972) | 9 (168) | 62 (139.9200) | 38 (149.1088) |