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At this point, no Fourth of July is complete without Joey Chestnut.
Americans everywhere will run to their televisions at noon on America’s 250th birthday as the world’s biggest eater strives to eat one hot dog for every year the United States has existed.
OK, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but it’s already a given that Chestnut will win his 18th mustard yellow belt in 19 attempts on Saturday afternoon.
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Joey Chestnut wins the men’s competition at the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest in New York on July 4, 2025. He returned to compete for a 17th victory after missing the 2024 event due to a sponsorship dispute with Major League Eating. (Adam Gray/Getty Images)
The greatness began in 2007, ending a streak of six consecutive titles won by former GOAT Takeru Kobayashi, who suffered a jaw injury before that competition. Chestnut’s 66 hot dogs beat Kobayashi’s 63 in a preview of a legendary career to follow.
A rivalry ensued between the two, with Chestnut narrowly defeating Kobayashi the next two years, including via a tiebreaker in 2008. When Kobayashi was banned from the event in 2010, Chestnut took off.
Chestnut had won every title from 2007 to 2014, but suffered a huge upset in 2015 against Matt Stonie, losing 62-60. But Stonie’s glory was short-lived and Chestnut won each of the next eight events.
There was a new champion in 2024, but not because Chestnut lost – he was actually banned from competing after signing a brand deal with a rival of Nathan’s. After much back and forth, Chestnut was allowed to return for the 2025 event with only a few weeks to spare, and he reclaimed the title with 70.5 dogs and buns.
Joey Chestnut visits “The Claman Countdown” with host Liz Claman at the Fox Business Network studios on July 2, 2025 in New York. (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)
JOEY CHESTNUT REFLECTS ON HIS RETURN TO HOT DOG EATING CONTEST AFTER CONTRACT DISPUTE AND TEMPORARY BAN
“It’s been awesome. The crowd is awesome, it’s electric. It’s good to be back after mending some fences,” Chestnut recently told PK Press Club Digital about his comeback last year. “I do what I love. I got the best job in the world. I get to eat, travel, beat people and meet happy people. So it was great to be back.”
Not all of Chestnut’s titles came easily. In 2022, Chestnut’s meal was interrupted by a protester, but he miraculously strangled him and returned to business; he still managed to slaughter 63 dogs and buns.
Even his likely championship on Saturday won’t come without a hitch, as his eligibility for 2026 was actually in a bit of doubt amid a battery charge. Chestnut slapped a drunk man in an Indiana bar and pleaded guilty to the charge in April. He is currently serving 180 days of probation, but was granted permission to travel for the event.
His all-time record is 76, which he broke in 2021. He broke his own record of 75 from the previous year, which broke another previous record of 74 from 2018.
And while most watch for a reason, Chestnut believes there’s more to this event than just watching.
FILE – Joey Chestnut, winner of Nathan’s Famous 4th of July 2021 International Hot Dog Eating Contest, poses for photos in Maimonides Park on Coney Island, July 4, 2021, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman, file)
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“It’s never about me,” he told PK Press Club in May. “It’s not even about the hot dogs. It’s the Fourth of July. It’s an eating contest, but really, it’s a Fourth of July celebration, it’s a New York celebration. And this contest, it’s hard to describe exactly.
“It’s an event, it’s more than just an eating competition. It’s part of the 4th of July celebration in New York, and I’m just a very small part of it. And when it comes to this celebration, I’m very happy that I was able to come back and be a part of the 4th of July party.”
