The comeback
1.6 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 1.6 years, then back at Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest (2024-06-07).
- last seen 2022-10-21
- back 2024-06-07
JK BBQ
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1478
peak 1503 · rated over 3 contests ⓘ
Contests
3
in the data
First seen
2022-10-21
latest 2025-06-13
Best ToY finish
#1148
Master 2025
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
of 3 contests
Avg finish
top 82%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
33%
contests with a top-10 call
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 161.68 · weakest Pork (153.96)
Road miles
510
mi across 3 mapped stops · furthest 510 mi
Schedule strength
55%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1571)
Purse competed for
$45K
listed at 3 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 2 state-championship entries
Master avg
617.22 / 720
2 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
335.95 / 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.
This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.
Storylines (1 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.
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.
JK BBQ has 3 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 150 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.
#4205 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1511
No shared contest yet.
They've been 1511 at their best, 33 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Head-to-head#4209 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1507
No shared contest yet.
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 5 contests to 3.
⚔ Head-to-head#4210 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1502
No shared contest yet.
Level with JK BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#4222 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1478
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2022, 3 years before JK BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#4186 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1479
No shared contest yet.
They were already cooking in 2015, 7 years before JK BBQ's first contest.
⚔ Head-to-head#4221 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1478
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 7 years before JK BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-headBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 166.8344 | 146.7888 | 154.99 | top 86% |
| Pork Ribs | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 169.1200 | 155.9544 | 161.68 | top 71% |
| Pork | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 158.2512 | 149.6684 | 153.96 | top 96% |
| Brisket | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 159.9884 | 152.4800 | 156.23 | top 91% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| KS | 2 | 0 | top 97% |
| MS | 1 | 0 | top 54% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 2 | 0 | top 77% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 93% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest | 2 | 36 | 0 | top 97% | 2025-06-13 |
The story so far (18 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
2.6 yrs
2022-10-21 → 2025-06-13
Busiest season
2025
1 contest
Contests a season
1
across 3 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
KS
2 of 3 contests · 2 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
2
1 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
3 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
averages 161.68 · weakest Pork (153.96)
Walk rate
33%
a top-10 call in 1 of 3 contests
Overall top-10 rate
0%
0 of 3 contests
Master average
617.22
out of 720 · 2 contests · 0 GCs
Backyard average
335.95
out of 360 · 1 contest · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
114
16–126 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
510
3 mapped stops · furthest 510 mi
Schedule strength
1571
average field rating faced — tougher than 55% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$44,880
listed at 3 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 2 state-championship entries
Longest layoff
1.6 yrs
2022-10-21 → 2024-06-07
Power rating
1478
peak 1503 · #null of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2022
- First tracked contest Barbecue With A View (BACKYARD ONLY)
- First call Barbecue With A View (BACKYARD ONLY)
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score335.9544 Barbecue With A View (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)169.1200 Barbecue With A View (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Peak power rating (1503) Barbecue With A View (BACKYARD ONLY)
- 2024
- Career-best overall score620.9596 Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest
- 2025
- Most recent contest Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +3.3 | Barbecue With A View (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2022-10-21 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -13 | Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest | 2025-06-13 |
| -11.9 | Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest | 2024-06-07 |
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)
Team of the Year rank by season
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 100% | 85.2% | 85.2% |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 93% | 86.2% | 86.2% |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 54% | 93.3% | 93.3% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-06-13 | Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS | 36 / 36 (613.4744) | 35 (146.7888) | 34 (155.9544) | 34 (158.2512) | 36 (152.4800) |
| 2024-06-07 | Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS | 40 / 43 (620.9596) | 42 (151.3484) | 37 (159.9544) | 42 (149.6684) | 35 (159.9884) |
| 2022-10-21 | Barbecue With A View (BACKYARD ONLY) Vicksburg, MS | 15 / 28 (335.9544) | 18 (166.8344) | 9 (169.1200) | — | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #1148 (60 pts) | #1221 (60 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) |