The one to beat
2×
one call ahead of them
Drewbie-Que has finished one call ahead of Shelby Smokers 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
Shelby Smokers
Shelby Smokers is a competition barbecue team with 8 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2013 and 2024. Their best overall finish is 14th of 32 at the Smoke on the Mountain (2024). They are ranked #5985 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1434
peak 1434 · rated over 8 contests
Contests
8
in the data
First seen
Nov 1, 2013
latest Jul 26, 2024 · 10.7 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
0% of 8 contests
Avg finish
top 87%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
0%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±5.66
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 158.96 · weakest Chicken (151.55)
Road miles
301
across 8 mapped stops · furthest 101 mi
Schedule strength
53%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1568)
Purse competed for
$26K
listed at 3 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 3 state-championship entries
Master avg
618.87 / 720
5 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
299.20 / 360
3 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
These overall scores sit on different scales (Master 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.
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Shelby Smokers, each with one reason worth a look.
54 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#5,993 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1434
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#5,992 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1434
Careers of much the same size, 8 contests to 8, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#5,984 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1435
They turned up 5 years after Shelby Smokers did, first appearing in 2018.
⚔ Compare careers#5,987 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1434
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 5 years before Shelby Smokers's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#5,991 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1434
Level with Shelby Smokers on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#5,986 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1434
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 9 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| King's Cooking | 8 | 3 | 4 | 38% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKIN SKULLIES | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 161.7372 | 138.7656 | 151.55 | top 82% |
| Pork Ribs | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 159.4516 | 141.6572 | 152.83 | top 80% |
| Pork | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 167.4400 | 146.2628 | 158.96 | top 75% |
| Brisket | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 165.1200 | 143.3600 | 152.42 | top 84% |
“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 100% |
| Medium (20–39) | 3 | 0 | top 75% |
| Large (40+) | 4 | 0 | top 92% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hog Happnin' | 4 | 53 | 0 | top 92% | Nov 4, 2016 |
| Smoke on the Mountain BBQ Championship 2022 | 2 | 17 | 0 | top 94% | Jul 21, 2022 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2015
2 contests
Contests a season
1.1
across 7 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
VA
4 of 8 contests · 2 states in all
Contests visited
4
2 of them more than once
Opponents faced
248
finished ahead 45 times, behind 353
Longest layoff
4.7 yrs
Nov 4, 2016 → Jul 23, 2021
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20241 milestone
- Most recent contest Smoke on the Mountain
20141 milestone
- Career-best overall score627.9200 Hog Happnin'
20133 milestones
- First tracked contest Hog Happnin'
- Career-best single call (Pork)167.4400 Hog Happnin'
- Peak power rating (1489) Hog Happnin'
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +3.3 | Smoke on the Mountain | Jul 26, 2024 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -11.1 | Hog Happnin' | Nov 1, 2013 |
| -10.8 | Smoke on the Mountain BBQ Championship | Jul 23, 2021 |
| -10.3 | Smoke on the Mountain - VA State BBQ Championship | Jul 17, 2015 |
| -10.1 | Hog Happnin' | Nov 6, 2015 |
| -10 | Hog Happnin' | Nov 4, 2016 |
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 44% | 84.3% | 84.3% |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 88% | 79.3% | 79.3% |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 100% | 85.7% | 85.7% |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 96% | 85% | 85% |
| 2015 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 94% | 85.9% | 85.6% |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 87% | 87.2% | 87.2% |
| 2013 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 89% | 86.3% | 86.3% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 26, 2024 | Smoke on the Mountain 🏅 Galax, VA | 14 / 32 (303.4060) | 13 (151.9888) | 12 (151.4172) | — | — |
| Jul 21, 2022 | Smoke on the Mountain BBQ Championship 2022 🏅 Galax, VA | 22 / 25 (285.6572) | 21 (144) | 22 (141.6572) | — | — |
| Jul 23, 2021 | Smoke on the Mountain BBQ Championship 🏅 Galax, VA | 17 / 17 (308.5488) | 17 (149.0972) | 15 (159.4516) | — | — |
| Nov 4, 2016 | Hog Happnin' Shelby, NC | 54 / 56 (611.8516) | 54 (152.5372) | 53 (145.6688) | 42 (163.4056) | 55 (150.2400) |
| Nov 6, 2015 | Hog Happnin' Shelby, NC | 57 / 60 (618.7544) | 43 (161.7372) | 52 (153.0972) | 46 (160.5600) | 58 (143.3600) |
| Jul 17, 2015 | Smoke on the Mountain - VA State BBQ Championship Galax, VA | 27 / 29 (614.2404) | 25 (155.4516) | 26 (154.2516) | 27 (157.1428) | 27 (147.3944) |
| Oct 31, 2014 | Hog Happnin' Shelby, NC | 53 / 61 (627.9200) | 48 (158.8344) | 51 (157.7028) | 61 (146.2628) | 34 (165.1200) |
| Nov 1, 2013 | Hog Happnin' Shelby, NC | 67 / 75 (621.6000) | 74 (138.7656) | 54 (159.4172) | 22 (167.4400) | 57 (155.9772) |