The heartbreaker
4.0344
points from the title
Came within 4.0344 points of the Grand Championship at Smoke in the Park (Sep 24, 2021).
Checkered Flag 500
Checkered Flag 500 is a competition barbecue team with 10 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2020 and 2023. Their best overall finish is 2nd of 31 at the Smoke in the Park (2021), and they have finished Reserve Grand Champion once. They are ranked #1666 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1554
peak 1571 · rated over 10 contests
Contests
10
in the data
First seen
Oct 29, 2020
latest Apr 7, 2023 · 2.4 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
1 reserve
Category wins
3
7 podiums
Overall top-10s
5
50% of 10 contests
Best top-10 run
3
straight overall top-10s
Avg finish
top 39%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
649.66 ▼
last 5 Master vs avg 663.65 (-13.99)
Walk rate
80%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±48.00
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Brisket
avg 172.12 · weakest Pork (168.31)
Road miles
1,303
across 10 mapped stops · furthest 364 mi
Schedule strength
67%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1585)
Purse competed for
$82K
listed at 10 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 10 state-championship entries
Master avg
663.65 / 720
10 Master contests · 0 GCs
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Checkered Flag 500, each with one reason worth a look.
47 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#1,674 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1553
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 10 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#1,675 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 18%
- Peak
- 1553
Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 6 years before Checkered Flag 500's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#1,670 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 67%
- Peak
- 1554
Careers of much the same size, 9 contests to 10, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#1,660 of the rated field
- Contests
- 12
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 8%
- Peak
- 1554
12 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 8% top-10 finishes rather than wins.
⚔ Compare careers#1,664 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 33%
- Peak
- 1554
Level with Checkered Flag 500 on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#1,669 of the rated field
- Contests
- 13
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 46%
- Peak
- 1554
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 13 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit | 7 | 5 | 2 | 71% | ⚔ compare |
| BOGGS HOG BBQ | 6 | 2 | 4 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| GOOD GOOGLY GOO BBQ | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| DRILLING & GRILLING | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| CHUNKY BBQ | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 10 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 176.5600 | 165.6800 | 171.24 | top 39% |
| Pork Ribs | 10 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 178.2972 | 159.3944 | 169.18 | top 38% |
| Pork | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 173.1544 | 160.5028 | 168.31 | top 43% |
| Brisket | 9 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 178.3200 | 165.7028 | 172.12 | top 24% |
“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 | 0 | top 24% |
| Medium (20–39) | 7 | 0 | top 46% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 23% |
More numbers
Busiest season
2021
6 contests
Contests a season
3.3
across 3 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
PA
4 of 10 contests · 4 states in all
Contests visited
10
a different one every time
Opponents faced
284
finished ahead 277 times, behind 172
Longest layoff
1.5 yrs
Oct 15, 2021 → Apr 7, 2023
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20232 milestones
- 10th tracked contest The Ironman
- Most recent contest The Ironman
20216 milestones
- First overall podium New Holland Summer Fest
- First category win (Brisket) Smoke in the Park
- First Reserve Championship Smoke in the Park
- Career-best overall score689.6684 Maryland State BBQ Bash
- Career-best single call (Brisket)178.3200 Maryland State BBQ Bash
- Peak power rating (1571) Maryland State BBQ Bash
20204 milestones
- First tracked contest The Nightmare Before Zom-B-Q
- First call The Nightmare Before Zom-B-Q
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score682.7884 The Nightmare Before Zom-B-Q
- First overall top-10 Zom-B-Q
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +15.9 | Smoke in the Park | Sep 24, 2021 |
| +14.4 | New Holland Summer Fest | Aug 27, 2021 |
| +11.8 | Maryland State BBQ Bash | Oct 15, 2021 |
| +11.8 | Smoke on the Mountain BBQ Championship | Jul 23, 2021 |
| +10.4 | Zom-B-Q | Oct 30, 2020 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -17.5 | The Ironman | Apr 7, 2023 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 100% | top 100% | 72.5% | 72.5% |
| 2021 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 83% | top 26% | 95.8% | 94.6% |
| 2020 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 67% | top 45% | 94.8% | 94% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 7, 2023 | The Ironman 🏅 Greencastle, PA | 30 / 30 (521.6800) | 12 (171.4056) | 1 (178.2972) | 6 (171.9772) | — |
| Oct 15, 2021 | Maryland State BBQ Bash 🏅 Belair, MD | 4 / 25 (689.6684) | 10 (172.5484) | 14 (166.8344) | 5 (171.9656) | 1 (178.3200) |
| Sep 24, 2021 | Smoke in the Park 🏅 Lemoyne, PA | 2 / 31 (686.2400) | 7 (174.2628) | 9 (167.9772) | 15 (166.8572) | 1 (177.1428) |
| Aug 27, 2021 | New Holland Summer Fest 🏅 New Holland, PA | 3 / 44 (685.6800) | 6 (174.2628) | 9 (167.9656) | 5 (173.1544) | 6 (170.2972) |
| Jul 30, 2021 | Smoke in the Grove 🏅 Spring Grove, PA | 21 / 54 (665.0284) | 28 (167.4400) | 17 (168.5600) | 38 (160.5028) | 15 (168.5256) |
| Jul 23, 2021 | Smoke on the Mountain BBQ Championship 🏅 Galax, VA | 4 / 17 (685.6228) | 2 (176.5600) | 11 (164.5372) | 4 (169.1200) | 2 (175.4056) |
| Jul 16, 2021 | Chillin & Grillin In the Glades 🏅 Wise, VA | 16 / 25 (673.0288) | 18 (165.6800) | 17 (167.3944) | 20 (161.6572) | 2 (178.2972) |
| Nov 6, 2020 | Currituck Bulls & BBQ 🏅 Powells Point, NC | 17 / 28 (666.7884) | 13 (170.2856) | 23 (159.3944) | 12 (169.6800) | 14 (167.4284) |
| Oct 30, 2020 | Zom-B-Q 🏅 Wytheville, VA | 10 / 33 (679.9312) | 21 (167.9656) | 6 (173.1544) | 8 (173.1084) | 13 (165.7028) |
| Oct 29, 2020 | The Nightmare Before Zom-B-Q 🏅 Wytheville, VA | 15 / 33 (682.7884) | 9 (172) | 3 (177.7144) | 28 (165.0856) | 20 (167.9884) |