Riding a hot streak
4
straight overall top-10s
Currently on a 4-contest overall top-10 run.
- career best 4
SMOKE ON THE PRAIRIE
SMOKE ON THE PRAIRIE is a competition barbecue team with 12 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2018 and 2022. They have won 1 Grand Championship, at the Kincaid Fair Backyard BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY) (2019). They are ranked #2967 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1507
peak 1510 · rated over 12 contests
Contests
12
in the data
First seen
Apr 21, 2018
latest Sep 16, 2022 · 4.4 years on the trail
Grand champs
1
0 reserve · wins it all 8% of the time
Category wins
1
4 podiums
Overall top-10s
5
42% of 12 contests
Best top-10 run
4
straight overall top-10s, still running
Avg finish
top 55%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
657.19 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 649.80 (+7.39)
Walk rate
67%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±15.13
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 166.08 · weakest Pork Ribs (159.54)
Road miles
1,288
across 12 mapped stops · furthest 137 mi
Schedule strength
38%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1551)
Purse competed for
$59K
listed at 6 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 4 state-championship entries
Master avg
649.80 / 720
7 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
326.47 / 360
5 Backyard contests · 1 GC
These overall scores sit on different scales (Master 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.
Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to SMOKE ON THE PRAIRIE, each with one reason worth a look.
115 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#2,979 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 27%
- Peak
- 1516
Careers of much the same size, 11 contests to 12, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#2,954 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 40%
- Peak
- 1513
Level with SMOKE ON THE PRAIRIE on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#2,951 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1517
They were already cooking in 2013, 5 years before SMOKE ON THE PRAIRIE's first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#2,978 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 10%
- Peak
- 1519
Their last contest in the data was back in 2016, 6 years before SMOKE ON THE PRAIRIE's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#2,957 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 10%
- Peak
- 1508
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 10 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#2,976 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1526
Careers of much the same size, 9 contests to 12, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar 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 field size and state
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% |
Repeat visits (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% | Jun 11, 2021 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2019
4 contests · 1 GC
Contests a season
3
across 4 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
KS
11 of 12 contests · 2 states in all
Contests visited
11
1 of them more than once
First title
Sep 27, 2019
Kincaid Fair Backyard BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY)
Opponents faced
258
finished ahead 144 times, behind 204
Longest layoff
1.4 yrs
Oct 19, 2019 → Mar 12, 2021
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20221 milestone
- Most recent contest Smoke on the River (BACKYARD ONLY)
20212 milestones
- Peak power rating (1510) American Royal Backyard and Steak Contest
- 10th tracked contest Rod Trowbridge Memorial Cook Airfield Flyin Cook Off (BACKYARD ONLY)
20196 milestones
- First category win (Chicken) Kincaid Fair Backyard BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY)
- First overall top-10 Kincaid Fair Backyard BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY)
- First overall podium Kincaid Fair Backyard BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY)
- First Grand Championship Kincaid Fair Backyard BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Career-best single call (Chicken)172.0228 Kincaid Fair Backyard BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Career-best overall score676.0460 Harper County Bullseye BBQ
20183 milestones
- First tracked contest Fire N Up in the Flint Hills
- First call Derby BBQ Festival
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score650.2056 Smoke On the Trails
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +16.6 | Kincaid Fair Backyard BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY) | Sep 27, 2019 |
| +8.5 | Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest | Jun 11, 2021 |
| +8.1 | American Royal Backyard and Steak Contest | Mar 12, 2021 |
| +2.8 | Rock-N-Q on the planes | Oct 19, 2019 |
| +2.8 | Harper County Bullseye BBQ | Oct 18, 2019 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -8.8 | Rod Trowbridge Memorial Cook Airfield Flyin Cook Off (BACKYARD ONLY) | Apr 9, 2021 |
| -6.1 | Fire N Up in the Flint Hills | Apr 21, 2018 |
| -5.8 | Derby BBQ Festival | Jun 8, 2018 |
| -3.2 | Smoke On the Trails | Sep 28, 2018 |
| -2.9 | Smoke on the River (BACKYARD ONLY) | Sep 16, 2022 |
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 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 16, 2022 | Smoke on the River (BACKYARD ONLY) Burlington, KS | 4 / 6 (326.2056) | 4 (161.6684) | 3 (164.5372) | — | — |
| Jun 11, 2021 | Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS | 7 / 28 (329.6460) | 3 (171.9772) | 9 (157.6688) | — | — |
| Apr 9, 2021 | Rod Trowbridge Memorial Cook Airfield Flyin Cook Off (BACKYARD ONLY) Derby, KS | 10 / 13 (303.8972) | 9 (152.5372) | 10 (151.3600) | — | — |
| Mar 12, 2021 | American Royal Backyard and Steak Contest Kansas City, MO | 4 / 24 (341.1200) | 6 (170.8456) | 6 (170.2744) | — | — |
| Oct 19, 2019 | 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) |
| Oct 18, 2019 | Harper County Bullseye BBQ 🏅 Harper, KS | 14 / 25 (676.0460) | 13 (170.2972) | 7 (171.4400) | 12 (168) | 16 (166.3088) |
| Sep 27, 2019 | Kincaid Fair Backyard BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY) Kincaid, KS | 1 / 7 (331.4628) | 1 (172.0228) | 2 (159.4400) | — | — |
| Jun 7, 2019 | 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) |
| Sep 28, 2018 | Smoke On the Trails Gardner, KS | 48 / 68 (650.2056) | 30 (168.5372) | 57 (158.2628) | 41 (163.3828) | 46 (160.0228) |
| Jul 27, 2018 | Smokin Hot Cars & BBQ Iola, KS | 20 / 27 (647.8628) | 17 (167.9772) | 18 (165.7028) | 23 (157.0972) | 21 (157.0856) |
| Jun 8, 2018 | Derby BBQ Festival Derby, KS | 31 / 40 (639.8744) | 20 (166.8456) | 40 (138.7772) | 7 (170.8572) | 21 (163.3944) |
| Apr 21, 2018 | 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) |