The comeback
5.5 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 5.5 years, then back at WhistleStop BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) (Oct 18, 2024).
- last seen May 3, 2019
- back Oct 18, 2024
Rocket Smoke
Rocket Smoke is a competition barbecue team with 6 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2019 and 2024. Their best overall finish is 40th of 50 at the WhistleStop BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) (2024).
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1487
Unranked — needs 5 rated contests, has 2
Contests
6
in the data
First seen
May 3, 2019
latest Oct 18, 2024 · 5.5 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
0% of 6 contests
Avg finish
top 78%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
0%
contests with a top-10 call
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 155.18 · weakest Chicken (153.94)
Road miles
7
across 6 mapped stops
Purse competed for
$4,300
listed at 1 contest — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 1 state-championship entry
Backyard avg
309.11 / 360
2 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Rocket Smoke, each with one reason worth a look.
Rocket Smoke has 2 rated contests, short of the five a power ranking needs, so its rating is still close to the 1500 every team starts on and 125 rated teams sit within a point of it.
#3,787 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 60%
- Peak
- 1502
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#3,798 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1502
Level with Rocket Smoke on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#3,793 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1509
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 9 contests to 6.
⚔ Compare careers#3,778 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1503
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#3,785 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1502
Their last contest in the data was back in 2021, 3 years before Rocket Smoke's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#3,783 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 40%
- Peak
- 1488
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 5 years before Rocket Smoke's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careersBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 155.9312 | 151.9428 | 153.94 | top 80% |
| Pork Ribs | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 161.0972 | 149.2572 | 155.18 | top 77% |
“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.
More numbers
Contests a season
1
across 6 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
AL
6 of 6 contests
Contests visited
2
a different one every time
Opponents faced
157
finished ahead 51 times, behind 119
Longest layoff
5.5 yrs
May 3, 2019 → Oct 18, 2024
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20243 milestones
- Career-best overall score317.0284 WhistleStop BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)161.0972 WhistleStop BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Most recent contest WhistleStop BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)
20151 milestone
- First tracked contest The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 80% | 88.1% | 88.1% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 76% | 83.7% | 83.7% |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 18, 2024 | WhistleStop BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Huntsville, AL | 40 / 50 (317.0284) | 47 (155.9312) | 30 (161.0972) | — | — |
| May 3, 2019 | The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ 🏅 Huntsville, AL | 41 / 54 (301.2000) | 36 (151.9428) | 51 (149.2572) | — | — |
| May 4, 2018 | The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ Huntsville, AL | — | — | — | — | — |
| May 5, 2017 | The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ Huntsville, AL | — | — | — | — | — |
| May 6, 2016 | The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ Huntsville, AL | — | — | — | — | — |
| May 1, 2015 | The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ Huntsville, AL | — | — | — | — | — |