EL PASO, Texas — With half the time and nearly the same number of hot dogs, Nathan's famous star Joey Chestnut gave the winner of the annual July 4 hot dog eating contest a run for their money... in a completely different competition across the country.
Chestnut traditionally competes in the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest but did not this year due to a sponsorship tiff. He is sponsored by Impossible Foods, a plant-based meat substitute company that is a rival brand of Nathan's Famous.
While Major League Eating, which organizes the contest, said Chestnut is not permanently banned, he said he would return to their competition without an apology.
Instead, Chestnut chose to compete at the Pop Goes the Fort celebration in El Paso to help raise money for military families. In only five minutes, competing against a team of four soldiers from the army base, Chestnut scarfed down 57 hot dogs compared to their combined total of 49.
At the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July in Brooklyn, Patrick Bertoletti of Chicago gobbled down 58 hot dogs in ten minutes to win his first men’s title. Without Chestnut there sweeping the contest, which he had not lost since 2015, it was a tight race between Bertoletti and his 13 competitors.
This means in half the time, Chestnut only ate one less hot dog than this year's winner of the Nathan's Famous contest. At last year's contest, Chestnut won first place and ate 62 hot dogs, beating the runner-up by 13 hot dogs.
The record for most hot dogs eaten was set by Chestnut with 76 franks eaten in 10 minutes at the 2021 competition.