High-water mark
670.7544
career-best overall
93.2% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 670.7544 at Montana Pitmaster Classic — 93.2% of a perfect 720.
- Master
- 2023-08-25
Iron Horse Party
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1492
peak 1504 · rated over 3 contests ⓘ
Contests
3
in the data
First seen
2023-08-25
latest 2026-08-28
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
of 3 contests
Avg finish
top 68%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
666.58
last 3 Master vs avg 666.58 (+0.00)
Walk rate
0%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±3.08
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 168.35 · weakest Chicken (163.77)
Road miles
167
mi across 3 mapped stops · furthest 56 mi
Schedule strength
53%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1568)
Purse competed for
$31K
listed at 3 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 3 state-championship entries
Master avg
666.58 / 720
3 Master contests · 0 GCs
Storylines (3 found in this team's record)
Each card leads with the number that made it a story — read straight out of their results, no editorialising.
A tough matchup
3–0
behind in the head-to-head
1 Bite BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings
1 Bite BBQ has come out ahead in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
The comeback
2.9 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 2.9 years, then back at Dillon Days Blowin' Smoke BBQ Cook Off (2026-07-03).
- last seen 2023-08-25
- back 2026-07-03
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The nearest teams in the power rankings, with a different reason on each card — six teams on one rating are rarely on it for the same reason. Rating decides who makes the list; where teams tie on it, the ones this team has actually cooked against come first, then teams at a similar point in their own career. KCBS doesn’t publish where a team is from, so nothing here is inferred from geography.
Iron Horse Party has 3 rated contests — short of the five it takes to earn a power ranking — so this rating has barely moved off the 1500 every team starts on and 140 rated teams sit within a point of it. Read the list as the nearest company at a number nobody here has moved far from, not as a verdict on who this team belongs with.
#3556 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1512
No shared contest yet.
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 5 contests to 3.
⚔ Head-to-head#3538 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1492
No shared contest yet.
Level with Iron Horse Party on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#3559 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1502
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2021, 5 years before Iron Horse Party's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#3551 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1505
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2020, 6 years before Iron Horse Party's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#3537 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1507
No shared contest yet.
They were already cooking in 2015, 8 years before Iron Horse Party's first contest.
⚔ Head-to-head#3561 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1492
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 9 years before Iron Horse Party's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-headBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 170.8228 | 157.6800 | 163.77 | top 80% |
| Pork Ribs | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 168.5716 | 162.8572 | 166.66 | top 69% |
| Pork | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 169.6800 | 166.2400 | 168.35 | top 60% |
| Brisket | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 173.7144 | 164.5828 | 167.81 | top 62% |
“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 contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 2 | 0 | top 80% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 43% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montana Pitmaster Classic | 2 | 19 | 0 | top 61% | 2026-08-28 |
The story so far (17 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
3 yrs
2023-08-25 → 2026-08-28
Busiest season
2026
2 contests
Contests a season
1.5
across 2 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
MT
3 of 3 contests
Contests visited
2
1 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
3 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls
Strongest meat
Pork
averages 168.35 · weakest Chicken (163.77)
Walk rate
0%
a top-10 call in 0 of 3 contests
Overall top-10 rate
0%
0 of 3 contests
Master average
666.58
out of 720 · 3 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
79
38–68 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
167
3 mapped stops · furthest 56 mi
Schedule strength
1568
average field rating faced — tougher than 53% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$30,500
listed at 3 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 3 state-championship entries
Longest layoff
2.9 yrs
2023-08-25 → 2026-07-03
Power rating
1492
peak 1504 · #null of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2023
- First tracked contest Montana Pitmaster Classic
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score670.7544 Montana Pitmaster Classic
- Career-best overall score670.7544 Montana Pitmaster Classic
- Peak power rating (1504) Montana Pitmaster Classic
- 2026
- Career-best single call (Brisket)173.7144 Montana Pitmaster Classic
- Most recent contest Montana Pitmaster Classic
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +4.3 | Montana Pitmaster Classic | 2023-08-25 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -6.5 | Dillon Days Blowin' Smoke BBQ Cook Off | 2026-07-03 |
| -5.9 | Montana Pitmaster Classic | 2026-08-28 |
Category scores over time
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 80% | 92.4% | 92.3% |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 43% | 93.2% | 93.2% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-28 | Montana Pitmaster Classic 🏅 Bozeman, MT | 31 / 39 (663.3944) | 38 (157.6800) | 37 (162.8572) | 24 (169.1428) | 17 (173.7144) |
| 2026-07-03 | Dillon Days Blowin' Smoke BBQ Cook Off 🏅 Dillon, MT | 21 / 26 (665.6000) | 25 (162.8000) | 20 (168.5372) | 18 (169.6800) | 22 (164.5828) |
| 2023-08-25 | Montana Pitmaster Classic 🏅 Bozeman, MT | 19 / 44 (670.7544) | 21 (170.8228) | 15 (168.5716) | 22 (166.2400) | 25 (165.1200) |