The comeback
8.2 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 8.2 years, then back at Downtown Mesa BBQ Classic (One Meat Ribs) (Nov 3, 2023).
- last seen Aug 21, 2015
- back Nov 3, 2023
Smoke It Up
Smoke It Up is a competition barbecue team with 4 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2014 and 2023. Their best overall finish is 18th of 25 at the Hill City Wine, Brew & BBQ (2014). They finished #1129 in the 2024 Master Series Team of the Year standings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1482
Unranked — needs 5 rated contests, has 3
Contests
4
in the data
First seen
Aug 22, 2014
latest Nov 3, 2023 · 9.2 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
0% of 4 contests
Avg finish
top 80%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
0%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±13.33
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 159.98 · weakest Brisket (154.06)
Road miles
851
across 4 mapped stops · furthest 851 mi
Schedule strength
59%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1575)
Purse competed for
$10K
listed at 1 contest — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 1 state-championship entry
Master avg
626.17 / 720
3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #1129 (71 pts) | #1584 (51 pts) | #820 (200 pts) | #1085 (96 pts) | #1161 (71 pts) |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 163.4400 | 153.0972 | 159.98 | top 70% |
| Pork Ribs | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 168.5372 | 146.7884 | 155.39 | top 78% |
| Pork | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 166.2972 | 149.1316 | 157.13 | top 78% |
| Brisket | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 161.7028 | 143.9656 | 154.06 | top 76% |
“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
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hill City Wine, Brew & BBQ | 2 | 18 | 0 | top 80% | Aug 21, 2015 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2023
2 contests
Contests a season
1.3
across 3 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
AZ
2 of 4 contests · 2 states in all
Contests visited
2
1 of them more than once
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
4 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls
Opponents faced
65
finished ahead 15 times, behind 59
Longest layoff
8.2 yrs
Aug 21, 2015 → Nov 3, 2023
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20233 milestones
- Career-best overall score644.4460 Downtown Mesa BBQ Classic
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)168.5372 Downtown Mesa BBQ Classic
- Most recent contest Downtown Mesa BBQ Classic
20142 milestones
- First tracked contest Hill City Wine, Brew & BBQ
- Peak power rating (1496) Hill City Wine, Brew & BBQ
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -9.2 | Hill City Wine, Brew & BBQ | Aug 21, 2015 |
| -4.8 | Downtown Mesa BBQ Classic | Nov 3, 2023 |
| -4.4 | Hill City Wine, Brew & BBQ | Aug 22, 2014 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 81% | 89.5% | 89.5% |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 88% | 85.1% | 85.1% |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 72% | 86.3% | 86.3% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 3, 2023 | Downtown Mesa BBQ Classic 🏅 Mesa, AZ | 21 / 26 (644.4460) | 25 (153.0972) | 13 (168.5372) | 16 (166.2972) | 21 (156.5144) |
| Nov 3, 2023 | Downtown Mesa BBQ Classic (One Meat Ribs) Mesa, AZ | — | — | 16 (156.5600) | — | — |
| Aug 21, 2015 | Hill City Wine, Brew & BBQ Hill City, SD | 23 / 26 (613.0056) | 14 (163.4172) | 22 (149.6572) | 21 (155.9656) | 25 (143.9656) |
| Aug 22, 2014 | Hill City Wine, Brew & BBQ Hill City, SD | 18 / 25 (621.0628) | 15 (163.4400) | 23 (146.7884) | 23 (149.1316) | 13 (161.7028) |