No, they were just finishing them off over the coals as you surmised. Although the event is fun to attend and there is a lot to see and do, I think the ribs that are being sold to the general public (at a clip of $20/rack or $6 for a "sampler" which was typically 3 bones) were pretty mediocre. Over 100 tons of ribs were cooked and sold at the event this year (over 5 days) and I don't see how that kind of volume cooking can result in a really high quality product. The stuff the teams (27 of 'em I believe) turned in for judging was probably a totally different story.