The comeback
7 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 7 years, then back at Fire in the Foothills BBQ Festival (Sep 1, 2023).
- last seen Sep 9, 2016
- back Sep 1, 2023
Shep's BBQ
Shep's BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 3 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2015 and 2023. Their best overall finish is 8th of 21 at the Fire in the Foothills BBQ Festival (2023). They finished #2274 in the 2016 Master Series Team of the Year standings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1507
Unranked — needs 5 rated contests, has 3
Contests
3
in the data
First seen
Sep 11, 2015
latest Sep 1, 2023 · 8 years on the trail
Overall top-10s
1
of 3 contests
Avg finish
top 50%
overall standings
Walk rate
33%
contests with a top-10 call
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 165.13 · weakest Brisket (159.39)
Road miles
1,548
across 3 mapped stops · furthest 1,547 mi
Schedule strength
67%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1584)
Purse competed for
$5,250
listed at 1 contest — purses, not winnings
Master avg
652.49 / 720
2 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
318.78 / 360
1 Backyard contest · 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 ↗ | Master | #2274 (60 pts) | #2353 (60 pts) | #2081 (110 pts) | #2326 (60 pts) | #2345 (60 pts) |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 163.4172 | 157.0856 | 160.73 | top 54% |
| Pork Ribs | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 169.7028 | 161.6916 | 165.13 | top 35% |
| Pork | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 164.5600 | 162.8344 | 163.70 | top 51% |
| Brisket | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 160.5600 | 158.2284 | 159.39 | top 64% |
“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 3 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
CO
2 of 3 contests · 2 states in all
Contests visited
3
a different one every time
Opponents faced
92
finished ahead 51 times, behind 57
Longest layoff
7 yrs
Sep 9, 2016 → Sep 1, 2023
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20234 milestones
- First call Fire in the Foothills BBQ Festival
- First overall top-10 Fire in the Foothills BBQ Festival
- Peak power rating (1507) Fire in the Foothills BBQ Festival
- Most recent contest Fire in the Foothills BBQ Festival
20162 milestones
- Career-best overall score656.5144 Colorado Pork & Hops Challenge
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)169.7028 Colorado Pork & Hops Challenge
20152 milestones
- First tracked contest Colorado Pork & Hops Challenge
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score648.4684 Colorado Pork & Hops Challenge
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2023 | Fire in the Foothills BBQ Festival 🏅 King, NC | 8 / 21 (318.7772) | 10 (157.0856) | 7 (161.6916) | — | — |
| Sep 9, 2016 | Colorado Pork & Hops Challenge Grand Junction, CO | 26 / 49 (656.5144) | 29 (163.4172) | 15 (169.7028) | 29 (162.8344) | 31 (160.5600) |
| Sep 11, 2015 | Colorado Pork & Hops Challenge Grand Junction, CO | 19 / 32 (648.4684) | 18 (161.6800) | 13 (164) | 14 (164.5600) | 21 (158.2284) |