They almost always walk
80%
of contests with a top-10 call
A call in 8 of 10 contests
A top-10 category call in 80% of their 10 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.
Tojos Smoke Me Tender
Tojos Smoke Me Tender is a competition barbecue team with 10 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2019 and 2024. Their best overall finish is 3rd of 14 at the Hot Summer Nights Smoke n Sauce BBQ- (BACKYARD ONLY) (2021). They are ranked #1497 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings. Also listed in KCBS results as “ToJo's Smoke Me Tender”.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1564
peak 1564 · rated over 8 contests2 invitational or side-series contests not counted
Contests
10
in the data
First seen
Apr 26, 2019
latest Jul 27, 2024 · 5.3 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
2
7 podiums
Overall top-10s
6
60% of 10 contests
Best top-10 run
4
straight overall top-10s
Avg finish
top 37%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
496.32 ▼
last 5 Backyard (3-meat) vs avg 497.21 (-0.89)
Walk rate
80%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±7.58
spread of their Backyard (3-meat) overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 167.83 · weakest Pork (161.77)
Road miles
2,353
across 10 mapped stops · furthest 582 mi
Schedule strength
62%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1578)
Purse competed for
$57K
listed at 8 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 6 state-championship entries
Backyard avg
328.66 / 360
4 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
Backyard (3-meat) avg
497.21 / 540
6 Backyard (3-meat) contests · 0 GCs
These overall scores sit on different scales (Backyard out of 360, Backyard (3-meat) out of 540), 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.
Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Tojos Smoke Me Tender, each with one reason worth a look.
33 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#1,499 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 33%
- Peak
- 1564
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 9 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#1,502 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 86%
- Peak
- 1568
Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 10, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#1,496 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 60%
- Peak
- 1564
They turned up 6 years after Tojos Smoke Me Tender did, first appearing in 2025.
⚔ Compare careers#1,495 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 27%
- Peak
- 1564
Level with Tojos Smoke Me Tender on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#1,500 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 45%
- Peak
- 1564
Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 6 years before Tojos Smoke Me Tender's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#1,494 of the rated field
- Contests
- 24
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 25%
- Peak
- 1577
24 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 25% top-10 finishes rather than wins.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Swine Crew | 7 | 1 | 6 | 14% | ⚔ compare |
| LOCAL YOKELS BBQ | 6 | 1 | 3 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| JaBs BBQ | 5 | 3 | 2 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
| Can Country Outlaw BBQ | 5 | 3 | 2 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
| WeQ4U | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| JANKY LEG BBQ | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| SmokinGhost BBQ | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 10 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 177.7600 | 158.8000 | 167.83 | top 34% |
| Pork Ribs | 10 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 170.2744 | 155.9428 | 164.49 | top 34% |
| Pork | 7 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 174.2972 | 148.5028 | 161.77 | top 40% |
“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 field size and state
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 1 | 0 | top 21% |
| Medium (20–39) | 6 | 0 | top 33% |
| Large (40+) | 3 | 0 | top 48% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smokin' For Garrett | 3 | 3 | 0 | top 23% | Oct 22, 2021 |
| Smokin' for Garrett | 2 | 6 | 0 | top 28% | Oct 6, 2023 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2021
3 contests
Contests a season
1.7
across 6 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
IN
4 of 10 contests · 5 states in all
Contests visited
7
2 of them more than once
Opponents faced
353
finished ahead 317 times, behind 203
Longest layoff
1.5 yrs
Apr 26, 2019 → Oct 23, 2020
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20243 milestones
- 10th tracked contest Code 3 Spices - Smokin' on Main
- Peak power rating (1564) Code 3 Spices - Smokin' on Main
- Most recent contest Code 3 Spices - Smokin' on Main
20222 milestones
- Career-best overall score505.7372 Smokin' For Garrett
- Career-best single call (Chicken)177.7600 Smokin' For Garrett
20196 milestones
- First tracked contest Smokin For Garrett
- First call Smokin For Garrett
- First category win (Chicken) Smokin For Garrett
- First overall top-10 Smokin For Garrett
- First overall podium Smokin For Garrett
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score501.6684 Smokin For Garrett
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +14.2 | Smokin For Garrett | Apr 26, 2019 |
| +11.4 | Hot Summer Nights Smoke n Sauce BBQ- (BACKYARD ONLY) | Jul 23, 2021 |
| +9.4 | Smokin For Garrett | Oct 23, 2020 |
| +7.8 | Smokin' for Garrett | Oct 6, 2023 |
| +7 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship | Mar 15, 2024 |
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 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 34% | 92.5% | 92% |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 23% | 92.2% | 92.2% |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50% | top 64% | 93.7% | 91.1% |
| 2021 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 100% | top 37% | 92.9% | 92.4% |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 24% | 89.3% | 89.3% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 100% | top 12% | 92.9% | 92.9% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 27, 2024 | Code 3 Spices - Smokin' on Main 🏅 Collinsville, IL | 14 / 34 (333.0972) | 15 (167.9772) | 13 (165.1200) | — | — |
| Mar 15, 2024 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship 🏅 Lebanon, TN | 25 / 93 (329.0744) | 39 (158.8000) | 9 (170.2744) | 34 (157.6684) | — |
| Oct 6, 2023 | Smokin' for Garrett 🏅 Mt. Carmel, IL | 6 / 26 (497.6116) | 6 (166.2516) | 7 (163.3828) | 2 (167.9772) | — |
| Nov 12, 2022 | 4th Annual KCBS World Invitational - BACKYARD SERIES INVITATIONAL unrated Gadsden, AL | 46 / 49 (318.8116) | 45 (160.5600) | 46 (158.2516) | — | — |
| Sep 16, 2022 | Smokin' For Garrett 🏅 Mt. Carmel, IL | 9 / 27 (505.7372) | 2 (177.7600) | 11 (165.1200) | 15 (162.8572) | — |
| Nov 12, 2021 | 3rd Annual KCBS World Invitational - Backyard unrated Shawnee, OK | 19 / 33 (333.6572) | 28 (164.5372) | 9 (169.1200) | — | — |
| Oct 22, 2021 | Smokin' For Garrett 🏅 Boonville, IN | 9 / 27 (494.3084) | 7 (166.9028) | 7 (169.1428) | 16 (158.2628) | — |
| Jul 23, 2021 | Hot Summer Nights Smoke n Sauce BBQ- (BACKYARD ONLY) Bloomington, IN | 3 / 14 (501.6684) | 1 (173.7256) | 3 (165.1200) | 8 (162.8228) | — |
| Oct 23, 2020 | Smokin For Garrett Boonville, IN | 10 / 41 (482.2516) | 2 (170.3544) | 8 (163.3944) | 23 (148.5028) | — |
| Apr 26, 2019 | Smokin For Garrett 🏅 Boonville, IN | 3 / 26 (501.6684) | 1 (171.4284) | 9 (155.9428) | 2 (174.2972) | — |
An unrated contest — an invitational, or a Competitor or Kosher Series board — is in the record but doesn’t move the power rating.