What does the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest have in common with the Indianapolis 500?
A lot if you’re Joey Chestnut, the 16-time Nathan’s champion set to return to the contest Friday after a one-year ban over a contractual dispute.
“If you’re an IndyCar racer, you want to be (in the) Indy 500,’’ Chestnut told USA TODAY Sports this week. “There might be other eating contests all throughout the year and there might be other races throughout the year. But if you’re any car driver, you should be at the 500. That’s the way I felt about Fourth of July. If you’re a competitive eater, you should be at the Fourth of July hot dog contest.’’
Yet last year, Nathan’s refused to let the fastest car in competitive eating onto the track. So Chestnut ended up competing at Fort Bliss, the Army base in El Paso, Texas, without the ESPN crew that televises the Nathan’s spectacle from Coney Island, New York.
Chestnut, who holds the all-time Nathan’s record for hot dogs consumed — 76 hot dogs and buns during the 10-minute contest in 2021 — is aiming for more than the checkered flag. This week it was clear Chestnut was, well, revved up for the competition.
“I’m going to let loose,’’ he said.
What needed to be repaired?
For almost a year, Chestnut said, his absence from the Nathan’s contest was inescapable. Especially while competing at other events.
“I could almost read people’s facial expressions when they’re going to tell me how they used to watch me on the Fourth of July,’’ he said. “And eventually it was going to come to, ‘Oh, I’m sorry you didn’t compete last year.’
‘I told people I was going to try really hard to get back, but I couldn’t guarantee it.’’
In early June, Chestnut told USA TODAY Sports he was exploring other possibilities for the Fourth of July. That included competing under the Gateway Arch in St. Louis with his own field of eaters.
But on June 16, Chestnut announced he had signed a three-year deal with Nathan’s and the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE) Inc., which runs the Nathan’s competition.
Chestnut said the terms of the deal call for him to endorse only Nathan’s hot dogs. That required him to stop endorsing hot dogs for Impossible Foods, although Chestnut said he still endorses other Impossible Foods products.
Though he attributes his return to Nathan’s in part to the fans, he also said it hinged on his relationship with Nathan’s.
“I wasn’t sure if we could repair it,’’ he said, “and it took a long time.’’