HERDING SMOKE

At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)

Power ranking

#1727

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1550

peak 1552 · rated over 15 contests ⓘ

Best runs

straight top-10s

Contests

in the data

First seen

2013-05-10

latest 2015-09-26

Best ToY finish

#340

Master 2014

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

6 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 15 contests

Avg finish

top 43%

overall standings

Best overall

670.7312 / 720

Master · Sam's Club National BBQ Tour

Perfect 180s

Current form

647.42 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 633.17 (+14.25)

Walk rate

93%

contests with a top-10 call

Top-10 streak

best run (overall)

Best single call

174.8800

Pork Ribs · Coal Cracker Smoke & Stoke BBQ Competition

Consistency

±25.28

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork

avg 162.15 · weakest Brisket (155.86)

Road miles

2,388

mi across 15 mapped stops · furthest 232 mi

Schedule strength

24%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1533)

Master avg

633.17 / 720

15 Master contests · 1 GC

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (8 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.

Against the odds

21-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings

The ratings favoured the top seed the other 79 times in 100

Their Grand Championship at Sam's Club National BBQ Tour (2014-08-15) came as the ratings underdog — roughly a 21-in-100 shot against the field's top-rated team, 3 EYZ BBQ.

They almost always walk

93% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 14 of 15 contests

A top-10 category call in 93% of their 15 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

670.7312 career-best overall

93.2% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 670.7312 at Sam's Club National BBQ Tour — 93.2% of a perfect 720.

Master
2014-08-15

A tough matchup

6–2 behind in the head-to-head

FIRE & SPICE ahead in 75% of their meetings

FIRE & SPICE has come out ahead in 6 of their 8 shared contests.

The weak link

−6.3 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 6.30 points below their pork, and turns into a call 33% of the time against 53%.

Brisket avg 155.86
Pork avg 162.15
5 calls in 15 entries

A strong matchup

4–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of LITTLE CREEK BAR B CUE COMPANY in 4 of their 4 shared contests.

Pork nemesis

5 of 6 shared pork entries lost

WILBUR'S REVENGE ahead 83% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, WILBUR'S REVENGE has out-cooked them in 5 of 6 shared pork entries.

An October team

Top 27% average finish in October

Something about October: average finish in the top 27% across 3 contests, versus top 43% the rest of the year.

3 October contests
top 43% the rest of the year

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.

61 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.

Smokin R's

#1735 of the rated field

1550 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 14
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 29%
Peak: 1558

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 14 contests to 15, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 14 contests
last seen 2026-04-03

⚔ Head-to-head

EVEL QUE-NIEVEL

#1728 of the rated field

1550 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 14
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 21%
Peak: 1552

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 14 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 14 contests
last seen 2018-10-12

⚔ Head-to-head

THE SNORTIN' BOAR

#1738 of the rated field

1550 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 17
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 24%
Peak: 1550

No shared contest yet.

17 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 24% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 17 contests
last seen 2019-07-20

⚔ Head-to-head

Ro-Ro's Smokehouse

#1724 of the rated field

1551 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 12
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 58%
Peak: 1551

No shared contest yet.

Level with HERDING SMOKE on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 12 contests
last seen 2025-07-11

⚔ Head-to-head

DELIVERING SMOKE BBQ

#1729 of the rated field

1550 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 12
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 50%
Peak: 1550

No shared contest yet.

Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2013.

rated over 12 contests
last seen 2019-06-21
on a 3-contest top-10 run

⚔ Head-to-head

SMOKIN K

#1734 of the rated field

1550 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 36%
Peak: 1554

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 11 contests to 15, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 11 contests
last seen 2022-06-17

⚔ Head-to-head

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
Badlands BBQ	8	4	4	50%	⚔ compare
FIRE & SPICE	8	2	6	25%	⚔ compare
WILBUR'S REVENGE	6	2	4	33%	⚔ compare
PIGHEADED BBQ	6	2	4	33%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA	6	1	5	17%	⚔ compare
LO' -N- SLO' BBQ	6	1	5	17%	⚔ compare
CAMP BACON BBQ	5	4	1	80%	⚔ compare
Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit	5	4	1	80%	⚔ compare
Dr. Pearl's Medicinal Smoke BBQ Team	5	3	2	60%	⚔ compare
BBQ MAFIA	5	2	3	40%	⚔ compare
HAWG NATION BBQ	5	2	3	40%	⚔ compare
PHILLY BLIND PIG BBQ	5	2	3	40%	⚔ compare
THE BASIC BBQ TEAM	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
RIBS WITHIN	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
Rogue Hog BBQ	5	0	5	0%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	15	4	0	1	171.9772	140.4456	159.12	top 53%
Pork Ribs	15	6	1	2	174.8800	129.0400	156.04	top 51%
Pork	15	8	1	1	173.1428	149.6912	162.15	top 31%
Brisket	15	5	1	2	174.8572	127.9200	155.86	top 46%

“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 state / province

Where	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
PA	7	1	top 29%
VA	2	0	top 67%
NJ	1	0	top 54%
CT	1	0	top 25%
MA	1	0	top 19%
NY	1	0	top 78%
RI	1	0	top 93%
DE	1	0	top 39%

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	8	1	top 42%
Large (40+)	7	0	top 45%

The story so far (18 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 2.4 yrs 2013-05-10 → 2015-09-26

Busiest season 2014 7 contests · 1 GC

Contests a season 5 across 3 seasons in the data

Cooks most in PA 7 of 15 contests · 8 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 15 0 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 15 entries · 0 wins · 4 calls

Strongest meat Pork averages 162.15 · weakest Brisket (155.86)

Walk rate 93% a top-10 call in 14 of 15 contests

Overall top-10 rate 40% 6 of 15 contests

Wins it all 7% 1 Grand Championship · 0 reserve

First title 2014-08-15 Sam's Club National BBQ Tour

Best top-10 run 3 straight contests

Master average 633.17 out of 720 · 15 contests · 1 GC

Opponents faced 345 334–238 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 2,388 15 mapped stops · furthest 232 mi

Schedule strength 1533 average field rating faced — tougher than 24% of rated contests

Longest layoff 1 yrs 2014-09-26 → 2015-09-26

Power rating 1550 peak 1552 · #1727 of 6,413 rated

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

2013
May 10 First tracked contest Green Lane Fire CO's
May 10 First call Green Lane Fire CO's
Oct 4 First overall top-10 Keystone Classic Barbeque
Oct 4 First overall past 90% of a perfect score652.4800 Keystone Classic Barbeque
2014
Jul 12 First category win (Pork) Pork in the Park
Jul 12 10th tracked contest Pork in the Park
Aug 15 First overall podium Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
Aug 15 First Grand Championship Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
Aug 15 Career-best overall score670.7312 Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
Sep 12 Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)174.8800 Coal Cracker Smoke & Stoke BBQ Competition
Sep 26 Peak power rating (1552) Lehigh Valley QueFest
2015
Sep 26 Most recent contest Red, White and Que

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+16.9	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour	2014-08-15
+15.3	Que for the Troops	2014-06-06
+13.3	Keystone Classic Barbeque	2013-10-04
+11.8	Riverside Blues & BBQ Festival	2013-10-11
+10.3	Pork in the Park	2014-07-12

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-13.5	Wakefield Rotary Campus CookOff & State BBQ Championships	2013-07-20
-7.6	Smoke in the Valley BBQ Competition	2014-05-09
-7.4	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour (Regional)	2014-08-29
-7.4	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour	2013-08-09
-1.1	Red, White and Que	2015-09-26

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)

Team of the Year rank by season

Season by season

Season	Contests	GCs	Top-10s	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2015	1	0	0	0	100%	top 54%	87.8%	87.8%
2014	7	1	4	3	100%	top 38%	93.2%	89.5%
2013	7	0	2	0	86%	top 47%	90.8%	86.4%

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2015-09-26	Red, White and Que Cresskill, NJ	19 / 35 (631.8284)	3 (171.9772)	9 (163.9656)	17 (157.1200)	30 (138.7656)
2014-09-26	Lehigh Valley QueFest Allentown, PA	12 / 32 (639.9196)	19 (159.3600)	20 (151.9540)	13 (161.1428)	6 (167.4628)
2014-09-12	Coal Cracker Smoke & Stoke BBQ Competition Scranton, PA	8 / 25 (645.0628)	16 (155.3484)	1 (174.8800)	12 (156.5600)	11 (158.2744)
2014-08-29	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour (Regional) Richmond, VA	25 / 30 (649.5540)	27 (162.7884)	29 (155.3828)	4 (168.5600)	11 (162.8228)
2014-08-15	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Harrisburg, PA	1 / 28 (670.7312)	14 (162.8000)	10 (163.9540)	4 (169.1200)	1 (174.8572)
2014-07-12	Pork in the Park Stamford, CT	5 / 20 (651.8740)	14 (155.9200)	4 (166.2512)	1 (173.1428)	11 (156.5600)
2014-06-06	Que for the Troops Levittown, PA	4 / 65 (655.3140)	9 (168.0000)	11 (162.8228)	29 (158.8228)	8 (165.6684)
2014-05-09	Smoke in the Valley BBQ Competition Green Lane, PA	41 / 54 (596.4116)	24 (159.4172)	54 (129.0400)	6 (166.2628)	44 (141.6916)
2013-10-18	Autumnfest Woodstock, VA	20 / 40 (632.9368)	22 (159.3712)	25 (154.2056)	10 (165.1200)	21 (154.2400)
2013-10-11	Riverside Blues & BBQ Festival Greenfield, MA	4 / 21 (653.5888)	7 (163.3944)	8 (163.4172)	5 (165.6800)	12 (161.0972)
2013-10-04	Keystone Classic Barbeque Harrisburg, PA	7 / 55 (652.4800)	41 (151.4172)	2 (167.9772)	8 (166.2628)	6 (166.8228)
2013-08-09	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Medford, NY	21 / 27 (589.9884)	27 (140.4456)	16 (149.6344)	10 (154.8228)	14 (145.0856)
2013-07-20	Wakefield Rotary Campus CookOff & State BBQ Championships Kingston, RI	43 / 46 (581.5312)	32 (157.0972)	43 (146.8228)	40 (149.6912)	44 (127.9200)
2013-05-17	Middletown BBQ Cook Off Middletown, DE	22 / 56 (624.5712)	34 (153.1426)	52 (138.8570)	15 (160.5716)	2 (172.0000)
2013-05-10	Green Lane Fire CO's Green Lane, PA	22 / 58 (621.7142)	5 (166.2856)	27 (151.4288)	11 (159.4284)	44 (144.5714)

Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)

Team of the Year standings (rank per category by season — year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

Year	Series	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2015 ↗	Master	#1970 (90 pts)	#1275 (235 pts)	#1671 (145 pts)	#2011 (100 pts)	#2214 (60 pts)
2014 ↗	Master	#340 (1070 pts)	#569 (685 pts)	#406 (955 pts)	#293 (1175 pts)	#348 (1055 pts)
2013 ↗	Master	#384 (789 pts)	#449 (704 pts)	#389 (799 pts)	#313 (949 pts)	#336 (914 pts)