SMOKE ON THE PRAIRIE

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

Power ranking

#2940

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1507

peak 1510 · rated over 12 contests ⓘ

Best runs

straight top-10s

Contests

in the data

First seen

2018-04-21

latest 2022-09-16

Best ToY finish

#953

Master 2019

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

4 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 12 contests

Avg finish

top 55%

overall standings

Best overall

676.0460 / 720

Master · Harper County Bullseye BBQ

Perfect 180s

Current form

657.19 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 649.80 (+7.39)

Walk rate

67%

contests with a top-10 call

Top-10 streak

and counting

Best single call

172.0228

Chicken · Kincaid Fair Backyard BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY)

Consistency

±15.13

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 166.08 · weakest Pork Ribs (159.54)

Road miles

1,288

mi across 12 mapped stops · furthest 137 mi

Schedule strength

39%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1551)

Purse competed for

$59K

listed at 6 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

GCs in 4 state-championship entries

Master avg

649.80 / 720

7 Master contests · 0 GCs

Backyard avg

326.47 / 360

5 Backyard contests · 1 GC

Master and Backyard overall scores sit on different scales (Master is out of 720, Backyard out of 360), so they're kept separate — averaging them together would be misleading.

This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.

⚔ 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.

Riding a hot streak

4 straight overall top-10s

Currently on a 4-contest overall top-10 run.

career best 4

They almost always walk

67% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 8 of 12 contests

A top-10 category call in 67% of their 12 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

676.0460 career-best overall

93.9% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 676.0460 at Harper County Bullseye BBQ — 93.9% of a perfect 720.

Master
2019-10-18

Their season

2019 1 Grand Championship

2019 was the year it came together: 4 contests, 1 Grand Championship and 1 category win, at an average finish in the top 45%.

4 contests
1 overall top-10s
1 category wins
average top 45%

A tough matchup

4–0 behind in the head-to-head

Fergolicious BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings

Fergolicious BBQ has come out ahead in 4 of their 4 shared contests.

The weak link

−6.5 points behind their best meat

Pork Ribs is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 6.53 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 50% of the time against 50%.

Pork Ribs avg 159.54
Chicken avg 166.08
6 calls in 12 entries

A strong matchup

4–1 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 80% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of ALWAYS SAUCED in 4 of their 5 shared contests.

Chicken nemesis

4 of 5 shared chicken entries lost

Boom Chicka Cow Cow ahead 80% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, Boom Chicka Cow Cow has out-cooked them in 4 of 5 shared chicken entries.

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.

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

Holy Smokes NY

#2925 of the rated field

1507 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 12
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 17%
Peak: 1517

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 12 contests to 12, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 12 contests
last seen 2024-05-24

⚔ Head-to-head

M & M Barbeque

#2928 of the rated field

1507 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 13
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1522

No shared contest yet.

13 contests and no Grand Championship yet.

rated over 13 contests
last seen 2024-12-06

⚔ Head-to-head

A GUY, A GIRL, AND HIS MEAT

#2956 of the rated field

1506 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 27%
Peak: 1516

No shared contest yet.

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

rated over 11 contests
last seen 2021-05-01

⚔ Head-to-head

PRO-BONE-OH

#2947 of the rated field

1507 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1519

No shared contest yet.

Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 3 years before SMOKE ON THE PRAIRIE's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 11 contests

⚔ Head-to-head

VanHoozen BBQ

#2951 of the rated field

1507 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 20%
Peak: 1507

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 10 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 10 contests
last seen 2026-08-08

⚔ Head-to-head

BIG DOG BBQ CANADA

#2926 of the rated field

1507 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 40%
Peak: 1513

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 10 contests to 12, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 10 contests
last seen 2025-11-21

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
ALWAYS SAUCED	5	4	1	80%	⚔ compare
IMAT BBQ	5	2	3	40%	⚔ compare
Boom Chicka Cow Cow	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	12	6	1	2	172.0228	152.5372	166.08	top 47%
Pork Ribs	12	6	0	2	171.4400	138.7772	159.54	top 58%
Pork	7	1	0	0	170.8572	154.2516	162.10	top 64%
Brisket	7	0	0	0	167.4056	157.0856	162.69	top 60%

“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
KS	11	1	top 59%
MO	1	0	top 17%

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	3	1	top 53%
Medium (20–39)	7	0	top 51%
Large (40+)	2	0	top 74%

Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest	2	7	0	top 39%	2021-06-11

The story so far (21 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 4.4 yrs 2018-04-21 → 2022-09-16

Busiest season 2019 4 contests · 1 GC

Contests a season 3 across 4 seasons in the data

Cooks most in KS 11 of 12 contests · 2 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 11 1 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 12 entries · 1 win · 6 calls

Strongest meat Chicken averages 166.08 · weakest Pork Ribs (159.54)

Walk rate 67% a top-10 call in 8 of 12 contests

Overall top-10 rate 42% 5 of 12 contests

Wins it all 8% 1 Grand Championship · 0 reserve

First title 2019-09-27 Kincaid Fair Backyard BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY)

Best top-10 run 4 straight contests — and still running

Master average 649.80 out of 720 · 7 contests · 0 GCs

Backyard average 326.47 out of 360 · 5 contests · 1 GC

Opponents faced 259 144–204 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 1,288 12 mapped stops · furthest 137 mi

Schedule strength 1551 average field rating faced — tougher than 39% of rated contests

Purse competed for $58,900 listed at 6 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships 0 from 4 state-championship entries

Longest layoff 1.4 yrs 2019-10-19 → 2021-03-12

Power rating 1507 peak 1510 · #2940 of 6,413 rated

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

2018
Apr 21 First tracked contest *Fire N Up in the Flint Hills
Jun 8 First call *Derby BBQ Festival
Sep 28 First overall past 90% of a perfect score650.2056 *Smoke On the Trails
2019
Sep 27 First category win (Chicken) Kincaid Fair Backyard BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY)
Sep 27 First overall top-10 Kincaid Fair Backyard BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY)
Sep 27 First overall podium Kincaid Fair Backyard BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY)
Sep 27 First Grand Championship Kincaid Fair Backyard BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY)
Sep 27 Career-best single call (Chicken)172.0228 Kincaid Fair Backyard BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY)
Oct 18 Career-best overall score676.0460 Harper County Bullseye BBQ
2021
Mar 12 Peak power rating (1510) American Royal Backyard and Steak Contest
Apr 9 10th tracked contest Rod Trowbridge Memorial Cook Airfield Flyin Cook Off (BACKYARD ONLY)
2022
Sep 16 Most recent contest Smoke on the River (BACKYARD ONLY)

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+16.6	Kincaid Fair Backyard BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY)	2019-09-27
+8.5	Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest	2021-06-11
+8.1	American Royal Backyard and Steak Contest	2021-03-12
+2.8	Rock-N-Q on the planes	2019-10-19
+2.8	Harper County Bullseye BBQ	2019-10-18

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-8.8	Rod Trowbridge Memorial Cook Airfield Flyin Cook Off (BACKYARD ONLY)	2021-04-09
-6.1	*Fire N Up in the Flint Hills	2018-04-21
-5.8	*Derby BBQ Festival	2018-06-08
-3.2	*Smoke On the Trails	2018-09-28
-2.9	Smoke on the River (BACKYARD ONLY)	2022-09-16

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)
2022	1	0	1	0	100%	top 67%	90.6%	90.6%
2021	3	0	3	0	100%	top 40%	94.8%	90.2%
2019	4	1	1	1	75%	top 45%	93.9%	92%
2018	4	0	0	0	25%	top 75%	90.3%	88.9%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2022-09-16	Smoke on the River (BACKYARD ONLY) Burlington, KS	4 / 6 (326.2056)	4 (161.6684)	3 (164.5372)	—	—
2021-06-11	Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS	7 / 28 (329.6460)	3 (171.9772)	9 (157.6688)	—	—
2021-04-09	Rod Trowbridge Memorial Cook Airfield Flyin Cook Off (BACKYARD ONLY) Derby, KS	10 / 13 (303.8972)	9 (152.5372)	10 (151.3600)	—	—
2021-03-12	American Royal Backyard and Steak Contest Kansas City, MO	4 / 24 (341.1200)	6 (170.8456)	6 (170.2744)	—	—
2019-10-19	Rock-N-Q on the planes 🏅 Great Bend, KS	16 / 28 (654.2628)	6 (170.8572)	23 (157.6684)	21 (161.7028)	16 (164.0344)
2019-10-18	Harper County Bullseye BBQ 🏅 Harper, KS	14 / 25 (676.0460)	13 (170.2972)	7 (171.4400)	12 (168.0000)	16 (166.3088)
2019-09-27	Kincaid Fair Backyard BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY) Kincaid, KS	1 / 7 (331.4628)	1 (172.0228)	2 (159.4400)	—	—
2019-06-07	Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS	21 / 39 (657.5768)	23 (163.9656)	11 (166.8228)	30 (159.3828)	13 (167.4056)
2018-09-28	*Smoke On the Trails Gardner, KS	48 / 68 (650.2056)	30 (168.5372)	57 (158.2628)	41 (163.3828)	46 (160.0228)
2018-07-27	Smokin Hot Cars & BBQ Iola, KS	20 / 27 (647.8628)	17 (167.9772)	18 (165.7028)	23 (157.0972)	21 (157.0856)
2018-06-08	*Derby BBQ Festival Derby, KS	31 / 40 (639.8744)	20 (166.8456)	40 (138.7772)	7 (170.8572)	21 (163.3944)
2018-04-21	*Fire N Up in the Flint Hills Council Grove, KS	16 / 21 (622.7660)	19 (155.3828)	19 (152.5600)	18 (154.2516)	14 (160.5716)

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
2021 ↗	Backyard	—	#74 (504 pts)	#82 (404 pts)	—	—
2019 ↗	Master	#953 (283 pts)	#879 (348 pts)	#883 (348 pts)	#1088 (248 pts)	#945 (313 pts)
2018 ↗	Master	#982 (288 pts)	#998 (313 pts)	#1070 (283 pts)	#887 (368 pts)	#971 (313 pts)