FIRE DOWN BELOW NJ
Rating
1663
peak 1665
Contests
27
in the data
First seen
2019-04-27
latest 2023-05-06
Best ToY finish
#51
Master 2019
Grand champs
2
3 reserve
Category wins
8
20 podiums
Overall top-10s
21
of 27 contests
Avg finish
top 23%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
1 🔥
Current form
673.04 ▼
last 5 vs career avg 675.25 (-2.20)
Walk rate
81%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
11
best run (overall)
Consistency
±10.56
std dev of overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 171.71 · weakest Pork Ribs (167.13)
Road miles
4161
mi across 27 mapped stops · furthest 721 mi
Storylines
🎯 The one to beat
SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA has finished one call ahead of FIRE DOWN BELOW 3 times — their closest competition in the data.
👀 Looking over their shoulder
Rogue Hog BBQ has landed one call behind them 2 times.
⚔️ A tough matchup
FIRE AT THE END OF THE DAY has come out ahead in 13 of their 17 shared contests.
⚔️ A strong matchup
They've finished ahead of FOUR SMOKING GUYS in 11 of their 14 shared contests.
🏕️ Happy hunting ground
New Jersey KnoQ-out: Day 2-CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES is their spot: an average finish in the top 12% across 2 visits.
💔 The heartbreaker
Came within 0.6744 points of the Grand Championship at Hudson Valley Ribfest (2019-08-16).
🗡️ Giant slayer
Took the Grand Championship over a 43-team field at New Jersey KnoQ-out CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES.
📅 A September team
Something about September: average finish in the top 14% across 3 contests, versus top 23% the rest of the year.
🐣 Announced themselves early
Finished 1 of 43 at their very first tracked contest, New Jersey KnoQ-out CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (2019-04-27).
Teams like this (closest power rating, NJ first)
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 27 | 16 | 3 | 6 | 180.0000 🔥 | 163.9656 | 171.71 | top 26% |
| Pork Ribs | 27 | 13 | 1 | 5 | 178.2972 | 155.9544 | 167.13 | top 37% |
| Pork | 27 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 177.1544 | 160.5256 | 168.44 | top 36% |
| Brisket | 27 | 13 | 3 | 5 | 178.8572 | 156.5144 | 167.97 | top 32% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| NJ | 9 | 1 | top 25% |
| MA | 4 | 1 | top 23% |
| ME | 3 | 0 | top 22% |
| NY | 3 | 0 | top 14% |
| RI | 2 | 0 | top 22% |
| CT | 2 | 0 | top 34% |
| NH | 2 | 0 | top 24% |
| TN | 1 | 0 | top 19% |
| VT | 1 | 0 | top 16% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 18 | 1 | top 21% |
| Large (40+) | 9 | 1 | top 26% |
The story so far
- Busiest season: 2019 (16 contests)
- Cooks mostly in NJ (9 of 27 contests)
- Most-entered category: Chicken (27 entries)
- First Grand Championship in the data: New Jersey KnoQ-out CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (2019-04-27)
- Wins it all in 7% of contests
- All-time average overall score: 675.25
- 1 perfect 180 on the books 🔥
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
Category scores over time
Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)
Where they finish (overall)
Best vs average (by meat)
Team of the Year rank by season
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Category wins | Best overall | Avg overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 682.7656 | 671.02 |
| 2021 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 679.9316 | 671.92 |
| 2020 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 688.5028 | 675.63 |
| 2019 | 16 | 2 | 6 | 691.9660 | 676.72 |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-05-06 | HOGS 4 HEROES Jamestown, RI | 19 / 50 (659.2796) | 26 (163.9656) | 15 (168.5372) | 20 (165.7028) | 24 (161.0740) |
| 2023-04-15 | Southern New England Barbecue Throwdown - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES Bristol, CT | 12 / 43 (682.7656) | 29 (167.3712) | 23 (166.8572) | 3 (176.5716) | 7 (171.9656) |
| 2021-09-25 | Nor'Easter BBQ Showdown Southwick, MA | 5 / 26 (674.2056) | 12 (165.1084) | 12 (162.2744) | 10 (169.1200) | 2 (177.7028) |
| 2021-08-20 | Kora Kare For Kids Shriner's Ride-In and BBQ Competition Hiram, ME | 9 / 26 (675.9084) | 10 (169.1084) | 10 (169.1316) | 10 (171.9772) | 14 (165.6912) |
| 2021-06-12 | Granite State BBQ Championship Hancock, NH | 9 / 32 (673.0632) | 1 (176.0000) | 24 (157.6916) | 6 (169.6800) | 10 (169.6916) |
| 2021-04-24 | New Jersey KnoQ-out: Day 2-CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES Blairstown, NJ | 7 / 40 (679.9316) | 11 (172.0000) | 33 (158.2516) | 2 (176.5600) | 5 (173.1200) |
| 2021-04-23 | New Jersey KnoQ-out: Day 1-CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES Blairstown, NJ | 23 / 40 (656.4804) | 16 (169.1316) | 29 (161.1088) | 20 (166.8572) | 26 (159.3828) |
| 2020-10-17 | Red White & Que: Day 2 CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES Jackson, NJ | 10 / 40 (675.3028) | 16 (170.8228) | 3 (171.9772) | 10 (169.7028) | 21 (162.8000) |
| 2020-10-16 | Red White & Que: Day 1 CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES Jackson, NJ | 7 / 37 (675.9088) | 10 (172.5716) | 22 (164.5256) | 4 (175.4172) | 18 (163.3944) |
| 2020-07-31 | New Jersey KnoQ-out: DAY 2-CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES Blairstown, NJ | 2 / 28 (688.5028) | 5 (175.4056) | 5 (172.5600) | 25 (161.6800) | 1 (178.8572) |
| 2020-07-31 | New Jersey KnoQ-out: Day 1-CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES Blairstown, NJ | 17 / 35 (662.7888) | 15 (170.8688) | 15 (166.2972) | 23 (163.3828) | 20 (162.2400) |
| 2019-10-25 | 31st Annual Jack Daniels World Championship Invitational Barbecue(JUDGES FULL)(COMPETITORS SERIES) Lynchburg, TN | 18 / 97 (689.0512) | 28 (173.1200) | 39 (171.9656) | 29 (170.8456) | 20 (173.1200) |
| 2019-10-12 | Red White & Que: Day 2 CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES Jackson, NJ | 7 / 30 (671.3372) | 11 (167.4172) | 11 (164.5488) | 22 (161.0740) | 1 (178.2972) |
| 2019-10-11 | Red White & Que: Day 1 CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES Jackson, NJ | 7 / 32 (669.5540) | 2 (174.2628) | 18 (158.7884) | 18 (162.8000) | 1 (173.7028) |
| 2019-10-04 | Riverside Blues, Brews & BBQ Greenfield, MA | 10 / 26 (667.3028) | 4 (172.5716) | 6 (170.2628) | 16 (161.6800) | 15 (162.7884) |
| 2019-09-28 | Ocean Sate BBQ Championship-CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES Hope Valley, RI | 2 / 36 (690.1940) | 3 (174.2628) | 1 (177.7028) | 15 (167.3828) | 6 (170.8456) |
| 2019-09-07 | Green Mountain BBQ Championship- CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES Braintree, VT | 5 / 31 (677.6116) | 1 (175.4172) | 9 (167.9772) | 14 (163.3944) | 5 (170.8228) |
| 2019-08-24 | Kora Kare for Kids Ride-In & BBQ Competition Hiram, ME | 6 / 36 (676.4684) | 2 (172.5600) | 24 (158.8000) | 11 (170.8228) | 4 (174.2856) |
| 2019-08-16 | Hudson Valley Ribfest New Paltz, NY | 2 / 53 (685.0512) | 4 (174.8572) | 4 (174.2972) | 8 (169.6684) | 11 (166.2284) |
| 2019-08-10 | Thrillin' & Grillin' Maine State Championship BBQ Festival @ aquaboggan Waterpark Saco, ME | 4 / 28 (678.8112) | 5 (176.5828) | 5 (170.2628) | 11 (167.4172) | 9 (164.5484) |
| 2019-07-20 | Ribs and Rhythm & Blues Auburn, NY | 3 / 34 (680.4572) | 6 (170.8344) | 7 (173.1200) | 1 (174.2628) | 13 (162.2400) |
| 2019-07-05 | I Love Barbecue & Music Festival Lake Placid, NY | 9 / 32 (655.3144) | 7 (168.5600) | 20 (158.8116) | 5 (168.0000) | 16 (159.9428) |
| 2019-06-08 | Granite State BBQ Championship Hancock, NH | 6 / 29 (678.1828) | 7 (174.2628) | 9 (167.4172) | 16 (164.5372) | 7 (171.9656) |
| 2019-06-01 | Sun BBQFest Uncasville, CT | 25 / 61 (659.8628) | 11 (172.5484) | 41 (155.9544) | 14 (170.8572) | 38 (160.5028) |
| 2019-05-18 | Nor'Easter BBQ Showdown (DAY 2) CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES Plymouth, MA | 1 / 28 (691.9660) | 1 (180.0000) | 2 (178.2972) | 2 (177.1544) | 19 (156.5144) |
| 2019-05-17 | Nor'Easter BBQ Showdown (DAY 1) CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES Plymouth, MA | 8 / 27 (664.4456) | 16 (165.1200) | 2 (171.4172) | 16 (160.5256) | 11 (167.3828) |
| 2019-04-27 | New Jersey KnoQ-out CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES Blairstown, NJ | 1 / 43 (691.9544) | 7 (171.4172) | 2 (173.7144) | 7 (170.8228) | 2 (176.0000) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #703 (215 pts) | #1011 (120 pts) | #913 (180 pts) | #582 (320 pts) | #718 (230 pts) |
| 2021 ↗ | Master | #282 (689 pts) | #269 (759 pts) | #481 (424 pts) | #260 (769 pts) | #274 (734 pts) |
| 2020 ↗ | Master | #174 (653 pts) | #230 (528 pts) | #199 (598 pts) | #270 (468 pts) | #218 (538 pts) |
| 2019 ↗ | Master | #51 (2207 pts) | #24 (2239 pts) | #46 (2048 pts) | #115 (1628 pts) | #59 (1937 pts) |
| 2018 ↗ | Master | #60 (2137 pts) | #96 (1791 pts) | #59 (1967 pts) | #99 (1749 pts) | #131 (1642 pts) |
| 2017 ↗ | Master | #348 (1061 pts) | #543 (731 pts) | #437 (901 pts) | #522 (751 pts) | #323 (1141 pts) |
| 2016 ↗ | Master | #279 (1238 pts) | #169 (1533 pts) | #202 (1423 pts) | #484 (838 pts) | #319 (1133 pts) |
| 2015 ↗ | Master | #240 (1349 pts) | #154 (1589 pts) | #312 (1109 pts) | #314 (1074 pts) | #296 (1169 pts) |
| 2014 ↗ | Master | #233 (1406 pts) | #189 (1461 pts) | #361 (1013 pts) | #272 (1226 pts) | #308 (1131 pts) |
| 2013 ↗ | Master | #1368 (172 pts) | #1276 (217 pts) | #1814 (122 pts) | #1755 (132 pts) | #1768 (122 pts) |