A tough matchup
3–0
behind in the head-to-head
BIG POPPA SMOKERS ahead in 100% of their meetings
BIG POPPA SMOKERS has come out ahead in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
Smokin' Ray's BBQ
Smokin' Ray's BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 7 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2019 and 2022. They have won 1 Grand Championship, at the Elk Grove Western Festival and BBQ Championship (BACK YARD ONLY) (2019). Also listed in KCBS results as “Smokin Ray's BBQ” and “Smokin Rays BBQ”.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1519
Unranked — needs 5 rated contests, has 31 invitational or side-series contest not counted
Contests
7
in the data
First seen
May 3, 2019
latest Apr 29, 2022 · 3 years on the trail
Grand champs
1
0 reserve · wins it all 14% of the time
Category wins
1
1 podium
Overall top-10s
2
29% of 7 contests
Avg finish
top 29%
overall standings
Best overall
330.9144 / 360
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
57%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±16.57
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 159.85 · weakest Pork Ribs (149.89)
Road miles
2,166
across 7 mapped stops · furthest 1,863 mi
Schedule strength
26%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1536)
Purse competed for
$35K
listed at 3 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 3 state-championship entries
Backyard avg
310.66 / 360
3 Backyard contests · 1 GC
This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Smokin' Ray's BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
Smokin' Ray's BBQ has 3 rated contests, short of the five a power ranking needs, so its rating is still close to the 1500 every team starts on and 83 rated teams sit within a point of it.
#2,543 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1519
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 7, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#2,537 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1519
Level with Smokin' Ray's BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#2,529 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 100%
- Peak
- 1522
5 straight overall top-10s says this rating is a moving target.
⚔ Compare careers#2,524 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1522
Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 5 years before Smokin' Ray's BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#2,541 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1524
They were already cooking in 2013, 6 years before Smokin' Ray's BBQ's first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#2,528 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 11%
- Peak
- 1519
Careers of much the same size, 9 contests to 7, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careersBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 170.3316 | 155.3712 | 159.85 | top 19% |
| Pork Ribs | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 160.5828 | 133.7148 | 149.89 | top 37% |
“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
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 1 | 1 | top 7% |
| Medium (20–39) | 2 | 0 | top 41% |
More numbers
Busiest season
2019
3 contests · 1 GC
Contests a season
1.8
across 4 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
CA
6 of 7 contests · 2 states in all
Contests visited
4
a different one every time
Most-entered meat
Chicken
4 entries · 1 win · 4 calls
First title
May 3, 2019
Elk Grove Western Festival and BBQ Championship (BACK YARD ONLY)
Opponents faced
142
finished ahead 92 times, behind 72
Longest layoff
4.7 yrs
Aug 16, 2013 → May 4, 2018
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20222 milestones
- Peak power rating (1519) 3rd Annual Lodi BeerFest & BBQ Championship
- Most recent contest 3rd Annual Lodi BeerFest & BBQ Championship
20198 milestones
- First call Elk Grove Western Festival and BBQ Championship (BACK YARD ONLY)
- First category win (Chicken) Elk Grove Western Festival and BBQ Championship (BACK YARD ONLY)
- First overall top-10 Elk Grove Western Festival and BBQ Championship (BACK YARD ONLY)
- First overall podium Elk Grove Western Festival and BBQ Championship (BACK YARD ONLY)
- First Grand Championship Elk Grove Western Festival and BBQ Championship (BACK YARD ONLY)
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score330.9144 Elk Grove Western Festival and BBQ Championship (BACK YARD ONLY)
- Career-best overall score330.9144 Elk Grove Western Festival and BBQ Championship (BACK YARD ONLY)
- Career-best single call (Chicken)170.3316 Elk Grove Western Festival and BBQ Championship (BACK YARD ONLY)
20131 milestone
- First tracked contest Stand By Your Grill
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +15.9 | Elk Grove Western Festival and BBQ Championship (BACK YARD ONLY) | May 3, 2019 |
| +10.7 | 3rd Annual Lodi BeerFest & BBQ Championship | Apr 29, 2022 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -7.5 | Clayton BBQ Cook-off | Jul 12, 2019 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 17% | 86.3% | 86.3% |
| 2019 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 100% | top 36% | 91.9% | 86.1% |
| 2018 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2013 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 29, 2022 | 3rd Annual Lodi BeerFest & BBQ Championship 🏅 Lodi, CA | 5 / 29 (310.7540) | 5 (155.3712) | 4 (155.3828) | — | — |
| Jul 12, 2019 | Clayton BBQ Cook-off 🏅 Clayton, CA | 20 / 31 (290.3204) | 10 (156.6056) | 22 (133.7148) | — | — |
| Jun 21, 2019 | Silicon Valley BBQ Championship 🏅 unrated Santa Clara, CA | 14 (308.4912) | 7 (157.1084) | — | — | — |
| May 3, 2019 | Elk Grove Western Festival and BBQ Championship (BACK YARD ONLY) Elk Grove, CA | 1 / 15 (330.9144) | 1 (170.3316) | 4 (160.5828) | — | — |
| Jun 22, 2018 | Silicon Valley BBQ Championship Santa Clara, CA | — | — | — | — | — |
| May 4, 2018 | Elk Grove Western Festival and BBQ Championship Elk Grove, CA | — | — | — | — | — |
| Aug 16, 2013 | Stand By Your Grill Fulton, MS | — | — | — | — | — |
An unrated contest — an invitational, or a Competitor or Kosher Series board — is in the record but doesn’t move the power rating.