Chestnut’s Hot Dog Hopes Run High for the Fourth

While most Americans have been happily looking forward to vacations, cookouts, days off, and lavish fireworks displays on Tuesday, San Jose’s Joey Chestnut has been preparing for the Fourth of July by downing 40 hot dogs or more in a single sitting, twice a week. Chestnut is hoping to wolf down more than four dozen franks in 12 minutes at Tuesday’s annual Coney Island hot dog eating competition.

Chestnut’s primary opponent in the competition is five-time defending champion Takeru Kobayashi of Japan. Kobayashi’s unbelievably slender waist has proudly carried the mustard-yellow winner’s belt, presented annually at the original Nathan’s hot dog stand, for five years. Hot dogs are not Kobayashi’s only claim to fame; he is undefeated in many American eating competitions, despite America being a nation of undeniably healthy eaters. But Chestnut, who holds a U.S. record of eating 50 hot dogs in 12 minutes, which earned him note in Sports Illustrated in May, hopes to reclaim victory for the Americans in the contest of eating the quintessential American food.

Chestnut, who is 6’ 230 lbs., is considered to be a real contender for the title. Rich Shea, one of the founders of the International Federation of Competitive Eating, says that the possibility of Chestnut grabbing the title from Kobayashi really has a lot of people closely eyeing Tuesday’s competition. "People believe Joey can win this contest," Shea said. "How much can a human being eat? What is the capacity? I think we’ll find out."

Chestnut’s relatively diminutive opponent, the 5’7:, 144 lb. Kobayashi, may not look like a champion chow hound, but he’s regularly eaten down the competition each year, from Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas, the world’s top female competitive eater, to Eric "Badlands" Booker, a 6’4", 400-pound subway conductor. Kobayashi has even out-eaten William "The Refrigerator" Perry, the ex-NFL star who memorably blew the crowd away in his Nathan’s debut when he downed a humiliating four hot dogs in 12 minutes.

Chestnut is impressed by Kobayashi’s credentials, which make him a little nervous. "Everybody knows that the Americans get beat by this little Japanese man," Chestnut says. "A victory for me would be to even get close. He never lets an American get close." The Japanese champ’s record at Nathan’s was 53½ franks on July 4, 2004—one hot dog every 13.45 seconds.

But Chestnut himself has a few world records of his own under his belt. He has eaten 32 grilled cheese sandwiches in 10 minutes, 5½ pounds of pork ribs in 12 minutes, and 173 chicken wings in 30 minutes. Last year was his debut at Nathan’s, and he finished in third place with 32 hot dogs. Although he didn’t win, he wasn’t disappointed because it gave him the chance to meet his formidable opponent face-to-face. "He's a real humble guy," Chestnut said. "He's a sportsman, and he treats it like sport. He's a good guy, and I love competing against him."

And compete they will, in front of crowds of eager onlookers, Tuesday at Coney Island. Chestnut is looking forward to the competition with quivering taste buds, despite his steady wiener diet of the last few weeks. "If I’m not eating hot dogs, I’m not eating much," he says. "Everything is going pretty good."