Joey Chestnut devoured 57 hot dogs and buns Thursday during a five-minute demonstration at Fort Bliss Army Base in El Paso, Texas, on the Fourth of July.
That’s one point shy of the winning total in the 10-minute Nathan’s hot dog eating contest at Coney Island that Chestnut was banned from this year.
“At first I was in a hurry,” Chestnut said after eating the 57 hot dogs and buns. “I slowed down a little bit. For a second I thought maybe I could make it to 60.
“I wasn’t holding back.”
Pat Bertoletti ate 58 hot dogs at Nathan’s earlier in the day and won the champion’s mustard belt. He was one of four competitors this year to eat 50 or more hot dogs, something no one did last year when Chestnut won his 16th title with 62 hot dogs.
“Those guys did a great job!” Chestnut told USA TODAY Sports via text message. “Much better than last year. Really happy for Pat.”
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In preparation for the El Paso show, Chestnut, 40, set a goal: Eat more hot dogs and buns in five minutes than the Nathan’s winner did in 10 minutes.
“I would be very happy to do it,” said Chestnut, who in 2021 set a Nathan’s record with 76 hot dogs and buns.
Chestnut was unable to compete this year because he has a sponsorship deal with Impossible Foods. The company has launched a plant-based hot dog, and Nathan’s considers Chestnut’s partnership with Impossible Foods a conflict of interest, said George Shea of Major League Eating, which runs the Nathan’s contest.
While Chestnut’s fans didn’t get a chance to watch it on ESPN, his performance from the base was livestreamed on his YouTube page and viewed by about 19,000 people. He competed against four soldiers, who ate a total of 49 hot dogs and buns.
Of his ban from playing at Nathan’s, Chestnut told USA TODAY Sports last week: “It’s definitely very painful. There’s a little bit of heartbreak.”
But he said that was nothing compared to what he endured in 2022, when he competed less than three weeks after his mother died and with a broken leg.
“This situation is really bad, but it’s not as bad as that,” Chestnut said. “I was able to get through it and I was able to overcome the year I lost (in 2015 to Matt Stonie) and come back stronger. I’m going to get through it and we’ll see where it takes me.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How Joey Chestnut fared compared to Nathan’s hot dog eating contest winner
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