There’s a reason Joey Chestnut is the GOAT of guzzling hot dogs. Chestnut consumed an incredible 70.5 hot dogs and bun Friday to capture his 17th win at the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest.
The win marked his first since Chestnut was banned from the competition in 2024 due to sponsorship issues.
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Chestnut returned to the competition with a vengeance, beating second-place finisher Patrick Bertoletti by 24 hot dogs and buns. Bertoletti took down 46.5 hot dogs and buns to finish as the runner-up behind Chestnut.
After years of dominance, Chestnut was banned from the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest in 2024 due to a partnership with Impossible Foods. Nathan’s does not allow competitors to promote other brands, which led to Chestnut missing the event.
In June, Chestnut announced he reached common ground with Nathan’s and would return to the event.
During his year away, Chestnut instead decided to hold a hot-dog eating competition against his long-time rival Takeru Kobayashi. The competition — which aired on Netflix — saw Chestnut eat 83 hot dogs, his personal record. That easily beat Kobayashi’s 66.
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Chestnut entered Friday hoping to set a new record at the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. He set that record, taking down 76 hot dogs, at the event in 2021.
Prior to the event, Chestnut said he would need roughly 48 to 50 hot dogs at the halfway point to set a new record. With five minutes off the clock, Chestnut fell just short of that figure, and had consumed 46 hot dogs. As expected, he slowed down as the competition went along, finishing with 70.5 hot dogs and buns consumed. While he failed to set a new record, it was still a dominant victory.
With the win, Chestnut has now won all but two Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contests since 2007. He fell to Matt Stonie in 2015 and did not participate in the event in 2024 due to the ban. Every other year in which he’s taken part in the competition, he’s won it.
He plans to do that again next year. After the win, Chestnut vowed to return and compete in the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest in 2026.
