HE ATE HOW MANY HOT DOGS AND MORE!? | Stacking Pennies Podcast
Stacking Pennies with Corey LaJoie · Jun 11, 2026
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All right friends special edition episode man
The weather has been crazy so far this weekend with Charlotte motor speedway right behind us truck race got pushed from Friday night
Now we're sitting here Sunday. Obviously crazy week
Unbelievable sadness and tragedy this week with Cobb Bush
So as you see his obit page is on behind us in the studio or on the in the suite
But we are joined by an unusual character here an all-american hero
Not Ryan Flores my co-host, please help me. Welcome. This is Joey Chestnut
Stacking them deep selling them cheap. It tastes like gasoline rubber and victory. Where's that here stacks back?
You
Good to be here guys. Yeah, man. That's me all of you. It's sorry. It's been so chaotic man
Racetrack schedule TV schedule is always shifting with mother nature. She's had some plans for us this week
But may you are here hanging out at the char burl a
activation down
And you char burl is the sponsor of today's the NASCAR O'Reilly series race
So are you waving the green flag or anything? What are they got you doing out here? I'm getting the engines started
Oh, yeah, that's a big job. Oh, it is. Yeah. Yeah, I gotta say drivers start your engine and with some good energy
Well, you got to say a little more juice. Oh, yeah. Oh, you'll hear it
You know, yeah, yeah, don't hurt the boat
My throat my throat doesn't work. It's gonna be working hard for
Well, I want to hear all that. Have you watched have you gone back on YouTube and watch other watch some good ones
Kevin
Kevin James, that's an all-timer. He's up there Matthew McConaughey. Yeah, he was there
Just bring the energy. Yeah, I mean, it's a it's a big job because you set the tone for yeah
You know that now as a driver though, you don't ever really get to hear it
You just see the clips afterwards really you don't hear it. Oh, you don't hear very much
Unless you really bring the juice and you're like, oh somebody really got after so I want I want you to do that
So how do you if you can't hear him? How do you know what to start?
spotter spotter spotter right spotter from the roof and he listens to it
Right, and then there's a game
We all play now too because the margins are so small with these race cars. You're trying to save fuel, right?
So you start a gentleman start your engines you started up and then you shut it right back off
It's like ceremony is starting out your engine
Do you don't really have to start the carp until you start rolling? So you'll hear it, right?
You'll get the initial wrong and that'll be quiet about 30 seconds later
So it's not because they didn't hear you. It's because we're just saving other gaming. Yeah, I like it
That's right out real quick story before we get into some crossover motor sports and just being an all
All-american high-level performer such as yourself. I think there's some crossover here. I met you in 2022
and
I've only seen you
Doing what you do best and that's putting down more hot dogs than any human man could ever dream of
Um
We're walking down. I'm an indy. Let's see the date July 31st
2022
Okay, I'm sure you remember the exact moment because the picture was taken at 10 o'clock at night
10-03 to be exact. All right
So I'm walking in a sec might have been walking out of st.
Almost probably at 10 10 o'clock and I'm like, you know how people from long way away you're like you look kind of familiar
But I think you look like somebody and I'm not sure who that is and I keep getting closer
I feel like that's that's jelly chest
And I got closer and you had little tiny hot dogs on your shirt. Yeah, and I was like, okay context clues
This is the man the myth alleged
So I'm sure you remember that day vividly. Oh, yeah vividly. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. What is a normal order, right?
Do you eat hot dogs?
Are you just like only one day a year like and everything else is just normal diet? No, that's silly dude. I uh
No, all right. I love hot dogs, but I I do not dunk my hot dogs in water
I don't separate like you're like a like I I I enjoy a good hot dog picnic and
My wife just catch up in the street relish. What do you go with? I love raw onions. I love I love uh deli muster
Yeah, but a good backyard dog is
That's that's hard to beat and then like good any kind of dog at like a raceway or baseball game
It's marnesville marnesville. Oh, have you been to martinsville mark? No, I haven't so their thing is the martinsville dogs
now
They're not the most
Pleasing to the eye. They don't pass the eye test at all, but they got chili. They got mustard. They got raw onions on there
They'd be wrap your alley. I'd be I would love to do well hot dog eat and accomplish
It's almost like how many people
Would it take if we have 10 minutes?
How many normal humans would it take to eat the same amount of hot dogs as joey chestnut?
Well, the funny part is
In the garages at martinsville forever
When we had practice qualifying everybody's there if you go in the garages there if you ever go to martinsville
There's these wrapped metal rafters and there's tally marks. There's somebody's names
Like somebody like okay jiff and he's got like 20 tally marks because it's a competition all week to see who can eat the most hot dogs
I think the most I've seen was like 40, but that's they're a weekend. That's pretty good that
If you can do it in a weekend, you should be able to do it in a day and we can do it on a day
You can do it in 10 minutes
Spoken like a true vet well one thing core we were talking about
How many different eating records do you hold because it's not just hot dogs. Oh my god over 50, right?
Yeah, 55 different ones everything from ribs chicken wings. I just made a bologna record in tennessee
16 pounds 16 pounds bologna smoked bologna. It was delicious. It was all oh my god
It had a little smokiness and it was tasty
What what shape does bologna come in?
They cook it in the big chubb and then they slice it in these quarter pound slices
And it's yeah, and I just pick up the whole pound go. I've got so many questions because
You truly are
A hero because whether you go do your own netflix eating competition. I'm following you there
I am invested in your career. How many you said how many 55?
Yeah, like Guinness World Book of Records. They don't they uh qualify all of them, but uh
But like in the in the business against again. They got majorly eating records against the other eaters
Yeah, is there a peak
Of a career
Man like a driver's age, right? You're looking to 38 is about statistical peak of when your
Bravery and your experience and your physical body doesn't start coming together. Yeah
I mean right now 42 and I can tell my body there there's things aren't recovering as fast as me
But I also know my body better than ever. I know I
And and I I'm always trying new things trying to get get an edge and I uh, yeah, so like if I uh
If I if I knew everything I know now when I was like 35
Oh, I would have been putting even more smashing smashing 80 hot dogs
But uh now I'm putting I'm putting more work in and trying to yeah
I'm uh, I'm still trying to make me record. What does work look like? Oh my god
People yeah, I eat clean in between. Okay
Eat clean in between so but like I've heard so eating clean in between support, but then like I've also heard like
Rumors of stretching your stomach and getting prepared. It's like how does that all work?
Oh, yeah, so like everybody knows like if you don't eat for a couple days
You're you're you're gonna feel full when you start to eat real quick and that's like that's not necessarily your stomach
That's the muscles around your stomach. So if those muscles aren't used to stretching like any muscle like they're just not gonna
They're tight. It's gonna be tight tight and uh, so so there there's tricks
They're all I'll wake up in the morning. I'll do my drink a gallon of water and throughout the day
I'm gonna swallow air and burp keep those muscles
Keep that area stretching and also I'll use a massage gun and I'll I'll I'll hit
I'll do pull on yoga and really hit those muscles in my core just to keep everything loose
That's something that there's tricks to every tree, right? And that's where our show is called stacking pennies
And that's what it's about right because everybody sees the race where they see the big thing winning the race
But it's all the small there's so much little stuff
I wish it was just me waking up and eating 70 hot dogs
But no, I usually I win the contest
Days ahead of time my last practice and then I wake up that morning. I know I'm empty. getting loose
I've done my cleanse perfectly and uh, yeah, it's it's a lot of uh, I try not to leave it up to chance
There's always there's always the elements out of your control. What's the best
Food to go chase a record to eat the most and the worst
Everybody's a little different
Uh
For me the best one was I love hot dogs. So that made I'd hope made it super easy
Yeah, if it's the food you like
It's uh, it's so much easier your body naturally is gonna accept more of it
And that's a lot of what competitive eating is you have to uh build the tolerance for every food
If there's a food you don't like
It's gonna be a lot I like watching the guys that are down in like a gallon of like pink lemonade and 14 seconds
Oh, dude
That lands a sweetheart, but uh, I've seen him lose it
So like today, right?
You'll see all three. I'm pitting all three series this weekend
But you look and you see a race, but each one's vastly different
Oh, it's like what are the different techniques that you would use for a hot dog or like a shrimp or my favorite
pork roll that you
Jersey boys holding down you want the pork or you can count us but like there's so many different things ribs and chicken like
How many different strategies are there between all that every food you have to come up with a different technique to attack it
Uh, it's like hot dogs. They they allow you to separate the meat from the bun
Did you come up with the dunk in the water and I can't take credit the Japanese did that and they were dominating
And so I saw their technique and I was like Kobayashi
I'm just gonna
He's doing he's winning right now. So I'm gonna take his technique and uh improve on it and uh
And read it for the americans too. I take back what's ours. I mean, it's whoever wins and uh, now it's now it's back
Well, I'm proud. I'm proud Joe. What about like shrimp? Do you have to peel them shrimp? They already come peeled
But so for st. Elmo when I we did the shrimp cocktail contest everybody knows that shrimp cocktail is like
Spicy bro. It hits hard just just thinking about it. Yeah, she had to dip everyone
No, it's already dipped and like no, but there's tricks like like you're not allowed to knock it off
But you squeeze you squeeze the shrimp a little bit and hopefully some of the sauce comes off
And then okay, you find little tricks to
Are your sinuses absolutely annihilated after that dude?
It's my eyes or water. My nose went in my ears actually hurt after that
Because like your whole nasal eye, ear, nose, mouth. It's just it's a mess
What about the wings? So is it all flats or the drumsticks like that depends on the sponsor?
Uh, last one we did a hermanaki wings in uh, indianapolis
Um, yeah, it was it was rings and flat drums and flats
Drums flats are always a little bit. So like all right, we're racing guys
So we're always right away no matter if it's a kickball contest like you're looking at the rules like how can I get around it?
So like if you have drums and flats, is there a certain amount of each?
So you have to eat or because like if the if the flats are easier to eat
I'm pushing more of them the side and just sprinkle in there. They got they caught on quick
They weigh us they they give us a tray that weighs 15 pounds
We put our all our bones back in there. They weigh it again. So they know exactly who ate the most meat
Okay, and so it's
If you're just taking little bites, you're not going to be right
So you gotta be find a way to be efficient get that meat off the bone and uh, get it down
Well, we're sitting here in the char borough suite. They're the proud sponsor of sam mayors
No rally car today. You are are you the grand marshal? I believe I am. Yes, okay
So when you come out, you said you're a general motorsports fan. You said you're buddy with connor daily connor daily
Good friend of the show indiana indiana boys such as yourself. Have you been to the 8500? I have how is it?
I've never been. Oh, it's great. Indiana shows up for it. It actually feels like yeah, dude. It's a big deal
Yeah, uh, yeah connor daily. I'm feeling he's a kid of fast cars. He's got a very fast car here tomorrow
We're gonna find out but I think indiana might burn to the ground if he ends up finding his way
Oh my god, he'll be partying hard too
That's uh, so have you
Been a or you had nascar fan where you're a dale earnhardt guy like when did you start kind of
So I grew up in the bay area in california. Uh, jeff gordon. Yeah, he was the man
I got carl arson. You're just breeding the winners out there. So it's uh, yeah, I yeah, jeff gordon was growing up my favorite and then uh, yeah, it's
It's it's been uh, yeah
All right. Yeah, we're
Sorry, I've been to a bunch of good races the last one was with bristol. Yeah, that's track sick
Oh my god, it's wildly. It's just like it's like a cathedral
Or like a coliseum. It is a it is a it's like have you been to italy into the actual coliseum?
It's what it literally feels like the last great coliseum speaking italy. We went there on my honeymoon. We love some italian food
Have you been over there? Have you got part to take like part taken at italy tour?
I love besides olive garden everything they say about the the pasta you can only eat more over there
You can it's absolutely true. You can eat more and uh, I mean I
I put on some pounds, but I feel like if I would have done it in america, it would have been a lot more
Let's fight and wait fighting wait
I'm about four pounds off. I'm like i'm 230 right now to 225 226. I'm really really close to breaking right
Do you weigh yourself before nathan's hot dog eating conference in the morning? Yeah, so what's if you weigh in at 230
So and you weigh in a night. What is it? I'll be 22 pounds heavier
Roughly it depends. How am I like I'll start. I'll be sweaty and then so it's a lot of water
Yeah, but yeah, usually it's 15 or 16 pounds of hot dogs and then a lot of water to keep things moving. I gotta ask
What's about movement? I knew it was coming. Oh, baby. I knew do we we were talking about this?
I could not ask. I said gory's gonna ask if there's anybody's gonna ask. I could not ask it comes in waves
And uh, the first ones are running but then then they're uh, they firm up then you're gonna be a lumberjack. Oh
I I'm glad that we got that one out. Yeah, good. So I get a visual. Yeah, you mentioned kobi ashi
Right and he was the
Premier guy then you came in. I think it's so great because he was from japan and then that that really
Like made it national right and that's how you became american here coming out of the american flag beating the japanese
Competition is amazing. It's beautiful
race
You don't want to
Nobody wants to drive against themselves. It's uh, yeah
Like I don't like
Yeah, when somebody wants me to do a big meal. I'm like, I have to be going against somebody. Yeah, it's no fun
I there's nothing better than lining up next to somebody knowing that your best is better
Are you guys
Friendly cordial or like because that was a pretty big rival for a long time most of the years we are but me and kobi ashi
He won't talk to me. He still has me blocked, but it's all right unless there's another netflix special
You guys can go. He's already turned down another opportunity. Really? That's some of a gun is he has an ego
He is he's unstoppable. Well, everybody has a price
Yeah, if you had put together another
pay window
Eating contest with kobi ashi or anybody of your choice. What would you what would your?
Food not being a hot dog. What would your food choice be? Oh my god not being hot
And is there a worker that you don't it would it would be I've no oh, yeah, yeah
That's a double right answer. You know, I would love to do some sort of sushi in tokyo
Whoa, sushi in tokyo wouldn't be great. Man. You're throwing shots. I love it
Yeah, it's uh, yeah, I'm gonna go in hungry. We'll come beat you at your own game
Do it that's right. So you've probably gotten to do a ton of cool stuff just being like an american hero. What is the
I'm not here. I'm just
Don't be humble. I'm a goopy. I'm a goopy dude. I stand up off my couch during the hot dog eating contest
Saluting you there's not something that's more electric. This way speaking of american heroes, right?
We're here memorial day weekend coke 600. They do such a great job
Honoring real military. Yeah, those guys real heroes. Those guys are amazing. You said you've got to do a lot of stuff with the military
I've been really lucky. I've been able to uh, there's a lot of navy bases around the country and uh, see these guys
young men
Dude, they're in women. They're just away from their families on boats for six months at a time and it's uh, it's
It really is eye-opening to what people sacrifice
It's it's such a cool event and what what nascar does. It's so cool that you're here at charbro
I brought you here and and what the charbro gave a hundred of these things away to the first campers that that came in
so it's really cool that you're doing this but
like uh
I feel me and court both agree that you're an american icon and you've probably gotten to a lot of cool
american stuff we were talking about
The hockey team against canada and how electric that was like, what are your favorite american moments? Oh my gosh
it's
american moments, it's uh
i'm
There's been some really awesome things like i get to hang out with some awesome slurries. That's fun
Who's your favorite? I mean the charles barclays always great to hang out with
I met him a couple times. Chuck is a sweetheart
But like I think some of the best memories like I get
I'm in a tower and I get invited to a
Stranger's wedding their biggest day of their life and they're inviting me to their wedding and I like dude
I get often invited. It's like so flattering and they're like I just want to show up to one
I have you know, you never know. I'll do it. It's great. I've probably got 10 random invitations from fans
That I've never been able to make you gotta do it and they're so happy and like they're sharing
They're sharing their biggest day of their life and I'm like, yeah, let's do it. Yeah, where's the buffet at boys?
Hey, they're everything. Sorry
But I think I think yeah, I'm really lucky that I can
Just be me and make people happy
I hear you. tell you what else makes people happy?
Grill and dogs grill and burgers in the backyard food food brings people together
I know so I'm I'm I in this this thing up. We just the camping grill and outdoor grill
Charbro, we're familiar with the pit boss brand. They've been supporters of the show and myself for multiple years
Now they're we're pivoting to the charbroil brand supporting the nascar
O'Reilly series here today at sharp motor speedway
Gas grows reliable man
Because if I leave my cover off my pit boss, which I do all the time
My wife gives me a hard time for you got to take the pellets out you got to clean it off
You get no worry about don't worry about that char grill
Sharp char broil number one gas grill in country and they uh, yeah, they know what they're doing
They clearly do because that's what they were telling me that's the three way you can grill it
You can griddle it and you can charcoal. Yeah add some charcoal and get some really good smoky flavor. What's your preference?
All right, how does how does joey chesters burgers? I like to grill. Okay. I like just to get that flame on there
For hot dogs. I like griddle griddle it to get you. Oh, yeah
When it's griddle it gets a little bit more of the fat flowing out of that
Have you ever had a gleezy dog? Gleezy. Gleezy. I know we call them. Gleezy. There's another brand Gleezy dogs
We haven't big supporters of the mo party this past week. They're double smoked beef brisket dogs. They're unbelievable
Oh, that sounds right. Fat boys too. They got mad at me for putting ketchup on them
Which is that a party fell because I'm gonna catch up on that. We're my child
Yeah, what are you Peter Pan? I think it's good. That's what I like
I'm glad you called it Peter Pan
It's like it's all right. You know, I'm never gonna really make fun of somebody for the way they eat because I eat like a
Crazy person, but uh, yeah, you're like a child. That's all right. I'm taking it. I like ketchup on my hot dog
I mean a hot dog is chili
and mustard
Or glazy sauce
Gleezy sauce. Have you ever had to do a uh, the corn dog?
Does that change the game? I've done a couple corn dog events. Does that change the game?
What's scary, you know, like well, there's a stick. What's yeah, like yeah, if you're your first bite
You don't you don't get the stick off because you got it kind of bite and pull the stick out
If you you could you dip the corn dog in the water. Well, because the corn dog's fried. I didn't think it's fried
It really doesn't absorb water
Tricks to the trade. I love a good corn dog. My corn dogs are good every trade
What uh, what are you looking forward to most today? He'd be in here to race. Oh my god starting. Yeah getting the driver started
You need to go down the road and hit lug nuts. Hopefully a dry race track. That's what we can look forward to
Yeah, I'm probably looking forward to. I'm hoping to see uh, yeah, I want to see it start
Uh, let's let's tie it back into motorsports a little bit. What's your daily driver? Are you a car guy?
I uh, I drive just a gmc truck seara. I like that
Should not want a ramp
That's what you need to get
Tim canisius, let's get him a ramp. Have you seen that rumble bee with the 700 horsepower? That is pretty wild
I mean joey chestnut american icon. He deserves to ride around at some of the 700
American car ram. You need to be wild. Yeah
Do you have an all-time iconic? It's all about jeff gordon rainbow warrior car
But is there a particular paint scheme for memory of nascar that you have? Oh my god
I remember my first time betting. I was 21 and uh
Matt kensan, yeah, I loved it. Did you make some money on it?
Yeah, I was like, oh you could bet like top three. Yeah, and uh, yeah, he did all right. He got you some money
Yeah, he did good, but uh
That is the walk car with
The his pickroom the bumblegill killer buddy killer bees. We talked earlier about
Um, and we talked about going with the military but traveling like everybody knows the the nathan's hotdog
Coney island there's labor day. That's like
Fourth of july my bad. That's days of thunder. I mean, that's uh, the daytona 500
Okay, what like what are some of the other big ones that that people don't know about more so much or
there's all right, so every year in uh
Early september, there's a big chicken wing contest in buffalo new york
Buffalo new york is a blue cheese only no ranch up there, but they
Oh, they love their buffalo wings and they do a killer job. Is this a yearly thing for you? Yeah, okay
So are you do you go to the restaurants like the gables gate or gabriel's gate?
Gabriel's gate there's a couple of them
Okay, yeah, is there a particular wing spot for the listeners if they go to buffalo they have to go try
Buffalo is a unique place man. Buffalo. It's the bills or nothing. Oh, yeah, and it's underrated people don't know it
It's a very good. It's nice gyrographol is right on street. Yeah, uh, yeah, it's a fun city
I mentioned doc selavan doc selavan good bar. They have some goods
Oh, they have a good variety of sauces nice
I don't know what they put in but it's like a
Lighter colored sauce if you're Lee if you're leisurely eating buffalo wings
What level of sauce 10 be in the hottest are you what do you grab to eat into?
I'm usually a little bit more than middle of the road. Yeah, like seven and seven
I like to feel some heat. I like to have a reason to use the blue cheese
The blue cheese something I don't like is national hot chicken. That's too hot
Well, it's just silly when they're just piling up the powder on there
Gosh, but Dave's hot chicken pretty good. Have you had Dave's hot chicken? I haven't had it
Haven't had Dave's hot. I do know
Kind of my ass little chap to be honest about the ketchup on an hot dog thing
But if you go to Buffalo, how a chap do they get put ranch on the wings?
You know, it depends where you are
I think that's a fight like that's not calling me Peter Pan. That might be getting punched face. I don't think no punch
Yeah, it's fine. I don't know if it depends on how the bills are doing
If you put something on the face over that you probably did other things but uh, no, it's the room for the Patriots
Yeah, I
They'll they'll they'll put up with you
But I think they're they're pretty uh, they do love their about their uh,
Blue cheese in a wing contest you have to dip or you have to have no condiments
Dude, it's vicious wing wing contest. You're using your face and your hand to kind of strip the meat
And you're hoping hoping they're not overcooked because of the bones break your phishing bones out of your mouth
gosh
So it's uh, yeah
Wings of the intense
There's a guy of australia. He's beaten me four to the last five times in wings
Well, there's a guy in new zealons kicking everybody's ass over here too. Yeah, so feel it. I'll kill you. That's pg
Yeah, so this uh, yeah, there's some in the water down there. This kangaroo lover is uh
Uh, I'll I'll see I'll be seeing him on the fourth. Really? I was saying so he's hot hot
You're getting better. Yeah, so yeah, it's that it's good young guy. He's a little bit younger. He used to be a bodybuilder
Oh, these bodybuilders they like they like like to push themselves
Is there a little bit more when someone comes from another country that you feel really? Oh, yeah
All of that. Yeah, you gotta protect this house
Come to fourth of july and beat me. No, you ain't doing that
Well, and we were talking about his entrance like he comes out like a like the undertaker. Yeah locked in bro with american flag
Locked in there's nothing better
But you're you're you are ours. We are you up there on the stage. Oh, thank you
And is there a point though?
Like you said, you know your body as good as you ever have right being 42 42
How do you see because the end is inevitable for anybody
Is it a is it a you know what?
Mike drop situation because
Do you see yourself knowing you're slipping knowing you can't put down the quality and the speed that you had been in your prime
Quote on quote. What's that look like? Have you thought through that? Wow?
It's a big question. I've changed just now. I know you got real sucked all the energy out of it. Uh, it
I
Man, I I still love it. Good. Uh, I'm still trying to get a record and I uh
What's the record you shoot record 76 it'd be it'd be pretty sweet to get uh get close that you said
Yeah, it's my record. Of course, but I last year did 70 and a half and I
I want to get closer to the record or break it and but it's one thing at a time. Uh, I'm I'm gonna it's uh
The most important thing healthy as long as I'm healthy. Yeah, and I'll have it fun
I want to be involved
Do you have an internal clock if you're running like the guy that broke the two minute or two hour marathon record?
I know he's got his pace down
To the tenth of a second of his cadence every every like is your cadence every minute
I know where I should be. Yeah, uh last year
I slipped right right before the lowest five minute mark
I should have been right about 50 hot dogs
And then I knew I was a little bit slow and then it just compounded and then you can't rush it
Right, but then any kind of panic. Yeah, there's panic nothing nothing goes where you're not in flow
You're not in flow. Yeah, you're not breathing right and it's uh, yeah, don't push it. So if
Part of me that wishes that I didn't know where I should be at every minute. Yeah, so I'd
But so I'd just
Just keep going
Do you watch film on it?
Like because like we watch like with pit stops, right? We watch film and we break everything down to hundreds of a second
So, you know, it's actually easy for me. Yeah, so I film all my practices
So, like, do you know, like is it bun placement? Like, okay, I can get that a little closer and cut out a tenth here
Or do that exactly so there are little tricks like
Like when you're dunking your buns in water, you know, so after every 10 hot dog
I'm pulling that cup off because I don't want to accidentally dump dunk into an happy cup
So it's little things to just to make sure I like little ways to cut time
Uh little things that and then it's just getting my rhythm or like if I if I forget to forget to swallow
My mouth is a little bit overstuffed. Just gotta practice. Just practice the rhythm
Is there a team that hands you hot dogs and water?
Like do you have somebody that does that or is that somebody from the nathans hot dogs nathans?
They uh, they hand the corner man the whole time funny story. So, uh,
2020 2021
Uh, that yeah, that's the year there was a protester came up on stage. Oh, and this guy
They like all of a sudden somebody hits me in the shoulder. I'm like, oh man, the person delivered in hot dogs is pretty reckless
Yeah, yeah, I'm locked in here, dude
And then like they're standing right in front of me and I looked up like oh
The protester and could grab them and like I really don't remember grabbing them
But I remember I remember like looking at him. I was like didn't you did like the whole twist and drag to the ground
I think he was he was already falling. Oh, yeah
Just helped him. Oh, it's shoes. I helped him. No shoes. Yeah, I saw he had to change his heart and uh
And then I uh, dude, and I was like I gotta get back to eating
But yeah, it was sometimes the and then he still won. Yeah, I got the way of course
I remember you dragging him that dragged him down and I remember that just added to the aura of like
He locked in protester out
It was so good. Now that you say that I remember that that was a weird year
Dude, I had a cast on and my dog had just died and my mom passed away like a month earlier
Dude, it was like
Here's like I just like do I just want to go to the contest and do what I love doing
Nothing can heal my soul more than put down 70 dogs in 10 minutes
There's nothing better than eating winning. That's right. That's right
So
I
The more we talk about the more I get hungry
Because I like I just I want a damn hot dog to share. I feel like that'd be an honor
I think we should be grilling pretty soon. I know well
Let's fire up the char bro and throw some glazes on there and have some fun
But so what's the rest of your weekend look like you're doing the stuff today? You're saying gentlemen start your engines
You're gonna bring the juice to how much more
Stuff you're gonna be doing with char bro in the future. Oh, yeah, so a series of meet and greets around the country and uh
And probably doing some cooking demos and it may be some
That's the best life there is where do you
Is there like trade shows is there like like where are you gonna do some meet and greets at like naval bases
Looks like a schedule of joey chest not look like well
I know they do some work with uh, there's some big uh barbecue festivals that char bro
They're they're always always involved. What's your barbecue style? We got Memphis barbecue. You got carolina barbecue, obviously
I like texas slow
Texas slow
Yeah, and then brisket pork butt, I'd say my favorite the tarred fine is a beef rib, bro
Those big bronze looking things. Oh the dinosaur ribs are wild. Yeah. You ever had one? No, I've had that beef rib
I was I'm just sitting here thinking about
All like I'm just trying to process all this but like right now we are out of our rhythm with the rain delay, right? Yeah, and
I know how pissed off and hangry I get when I don't get to eat, right?
But if you get like if you are in the middle of getting ready for a competition and there's a delay protester like rain
Like how important is your rhythm to what you do?
It's a little bit of a yeah, it definitely throws you off because we had a big uh rain delay in 2023
And uh, there was lightning. They told everybody the contest was canceled
Uh, and eventually the everything stopped and then we were able to go out, but it was like two hours later
But so like so my timing that I stopped eating at a certain time
I stopped drinking water
So it threw off all like a little bit like but it does it to everybody
Yeah, that's one thing about a kind of delay. Everybody's going through the same thing
So it hopefully it's just if you want to be a baby and say oh
Everybody's going through the same thing
But it's uh, just got to deal with it. The one thing that happens in NASCAR rain delays
I feel like it becomes a eating contest because everybody eats every snack in the truck. There is no by the time
The race gets back going. There is no snacks left everything. It's like, uh
The locusts went in the truck and ate everything I have so that's got I mean, I don't know for for us
Like rain delays just breed just bad eating
Yeah, but you can't do that. No, no it actually so the year there was a delay people were like
Oh, I need some coffee or drinking something like something like settler nerves it but uh, uh, no, I just got like
Stay empty. Get in and stay. Stay locked in. Stay hungry. Put headphones on you listen anything any any pre
pre-nathans hot dog contests like rituals
Hungry
Hard rock that makes me want to hurt myself
Some Rob zombie or something
When you know how like
People and like your hands for example, right? You've been changing
With a gun for 20 years, right? You get calluses on your hand from where
You are hitting the change button, right? And we'll probably show you this is from the gun
And then that's from the rim where you pull it like those are all calluses from
So like the body acclimates to protect itself or get better. It's particular
Rip repetitive movements, right? So when you were looking at him, I'm sitting there looking at the side of your face from the light
and your
cheek your
Jaw muscles, bro are like a crocodile
You got some freaking six-pack jaw. That's what we're working. Yeah, clearly do it. Yeah
I need I need to because my jaws and my throat these are the little muscles that that are uh,
They they're moving 15 pounds of food down
And they need to be ready and they're they're chewing and are you like do you do just actual jaw exercise?
I got like a weird chew toy and I
Jaws your size, bro. Jaws your size. Yeah, I got one. Yeah, I also have a molded mouthpiece with a weight and and then I
Huh, seriously? Yeah. Oh, yeah, and and then there's a strap on the inside
How bad you want it boys? You don't want it as bad as this guy right here. Let me tell you
It's it's not winning. There's there's a lot of ugliness
But it's uh, you just gotta put it in that's why the trophy's a cup because you have to drink from the cup of suffering
In the trenches, baby everybody and that's that's it like every
Thing that you want to be great at there is sacrifices and things that you have to do that nobody sees
Yeah, and that's all right. It's uh, you know, I go into it knowing
Like like all right eating. It's fun eating's great
But I go in knowing that I'm gonna eat to a point where I'm uncomfortable for two or three days
Have you ever seen rocky with the the was it rocky five with tommy gun where they like he challenges him in the bar
Like how many times have you been out eating someone's like
Me and you right now ten wings. Let's go not too often once in a while most most of the time people know that uh
It's not that'd be like John Jones to that's why that's why I feel like like people fight Nate D
Yeah, like I hear about him getting in fights at the bar. Like well, maybe it's his own fight
Like but I feel like somebody would be like, oh, this is my shot. I know I can he's not that good
I know I can beat him. I ate 15 hot dogs at my mom's house last night
People say that all the time at racers like I was doing a hundred on 85 man. How hard is it?
I think hot dogs for the most part you people know that they can't win
But if I'm at a baseball game, oh my god, there's so many times people come up with a beer
And we gotta chug we have to chug off. I just heard about this particular like
Thing to do at a baseball game and it's fascinating to me. It's a dog and a beer per any. Yeah. Well, I didn't know that
That's a lifestyle. I had a lifestyle
How easy is like you you have a beer and you have you got to put a beer and a dog down every any
I think every adult should be able to do it. All right. Well, I have a try. I am not an adult
I'll be now. Is it like a mick ultra like there's no specs on
No specs and you don't have to go like because if I went to eight percenter
I'm passed out by the second. Yeah. Yeah. Well, you gotta be responsible
You gotta know your limits or have friends that can carry wherever you gotta go
What is the baseball team in indy there? Oh the indians. So when we come
For indy race, we're gonna come around the time and we're gonna come to do that. That'll be fun
That would be pretty cool to try to do
with
The greatest that's it. That's our next thing. We're laid out and he's just standing there victorious
Yeah, we can't you guys come out for the brickyard. That'll be that's on
Oh
We have dude on thursday. So we give ourselves some time or a come on
Tell me tell me what your thought is on this. I read it. I read a study that every hot dog eat takes 10 minutes off your life
And that was the case only I think I read that. Are you exaggerating? That's just what I read, man
All right. Well, I mean the internet says so it's true. Yeah, I must be going back in time. I know you're negative years old
What do these doctors know, I don't know clearly nothing these quacks over or under
10,000 over
Way over it. I'm not good at math, but I think that's a 100000 minutes off your life
I don't know what that always has to be. I think you're doing just fine. I'm doing all right
I was here for I'm here for a good time. How's your blood pressure is up there. Oh blood pressure is great
That's your cholesterol fluctuation
A little high end of the summer after a bunch of contests
Cholesterol will be a little bit high, but right now my blood work is dialed in dialed in
Well, I feel like you almost challenge your body like all right guys. I'm gonna really put the same distress
It's like but anybody you think
It's hard and competition isn't easy
You're gonna push your body through it to a lot, but it's nice to go to the doctor and uh
I get the okay like all right. I can't push it
So do they like know like my doctor file like do they know what you do? Oh my god. Yeah, my cosy airs doctor is one of my biggest expenses
So like everybody always asks me one of the biggest questions I get on pierrot is like, how'd you get here?
Well, how did you get to do this job? It's like, what is the level of
You start you're like, okay. I want to be a competitive somebody wants somebody's watching the show
They're like, I want to be a competitive eater
Do they go to their is there like a local series and then a national and then there's global there's
It's uh, I wouldn't say it's a subculture, but but there's definitely like it's not too hard to find contests
You just search in your area. There's always little local contests
There's always restaurant challenges
And you can kind of get a feel of like you go a restaurant challenge to see who holds the record
See how you can compare yourself to them. Yeah
Like a burger eating kind of like you go to a restaurant with a big a big burger or like the old 96 or something
Uh, so you then you say all right
I'm better than that guy. Yeah, and then uh
You can kind of just like and then there's the bigger contest with majorly eating and usually you have to
You have to kind of convince them like hey, I'm a serious competitor
So you have to call so you think be on the stage in nature. Do you have to qualify or free qualifiers?
So this is one of the first years where they haven't had like that many qualifiers
so I think there's only three qualifiers and
Uh, it used to be you had to win a qualifier. Where are those? Where are they? What are those qualifiers this year?
I think they're one in new york
one in
Uh, I think one just happened in georgia. Okay. Yeah, so so yeah, they're you're past that. You don't have to qualify
Yeah, champion don't need to qualify
Once you get the jacket, you don't need to he's like tiger at the master, but uh, come on everyone
Yeah, so like yeah big contest you need to uh, either have a name or qualify. I got two questions one
Has there been any
Eating challenges at a restaurant like where it's on the old 96 or like the blazing challenge at Buffalo
Wild Wings comes to mind like is there any that you haven't
Done or accomplished. There's one that you wanted. There's one and I was in Bangkok, Thailand
And uh, there's this big japanese curry
dish
And there's just a little it was I was hot. It was like super blazing hot. There was no air conditioning this little
Little uh restaurant and I was I was sweating. I just couldn't finish it. I was one of those deals
Like if you ate all it was free your type thing or you get your picture on the wall
Yeah, yeah, it was exactly like that. But I so I was in in Thailand
I was like, you know, I want to make the record. Nobody's ever done it before
Okay, and I just couldn't finish it. That's the only place that's ever going everywhere
Everywhere else you go. You get some thick porterhouse steak that's a hundred ounces. I can finish it. Yeah, it's uh
Yeah, but I'll I'll be going back there one of those burgers. He's got that one in a circle
Some small place in Bangkok
Like some guy like I did you remember what it's called
Oh, it's gold curry. Oh boy. All right. We're coming for you
We're coming there drink the American flag
Like a foot tall burger someplace like Guy Frere goes down. There's some good burgers. Yeah. Yeah
So you want it stacked high rather than like really wide because if it's cooked wide, it's uh,
Like I've won big patty. Yeah, hard to season. It's hard to cook it properly. Yeah, then they'll give you a big bun that's old
You want you want something like
Like like normal bun nice big stack. Okay, I can open up pretty wide my my second question. I think I forgot it
Um, yeah, I forgot it. Yeah. Hey one thing you got to do and you've gotten to do some cool stuff here in charlie
You got to go see mr. H's collection. Oh, you got to see that. God. What do you what do you think is wild?
What were the coolest things you saw in there? There's
Oh my god, so he had every pretty much every paint scheme for the uh, 67 Corvette every every type that was available
And I didn't know I liked 67 Corvette that much. It's pretty wild
He's got like ven number one of every number of ven number one of so many cars every one every corvette
It's it's that that's wild. I don't know if it's I don't know if it's crazy or or or passionate
Well, I've you know, I've got we've got some cool things over at nonsense garage
And we all feel like we have something cool
In our own personal collections, right? But I between working with with dale gene run prime
rick hendrick going over to that museum that you saw
I've realized that anything that I feel like or anybody else in the entire world has something they think is cool
either dale jr. Or Mike
Rick Hendrick has something way cooler. Oh, yeah
Like guitar signed by anybody you could possibly imagine
One of the coolest things that I mean you get the dairy the working dairy queen, right? Like rick worked out as a kid
I don't know if you get the full experience. Yeah
um
But yeah, it's like a little time lapse of his life. It's got rick henricks ricky henricks haulers with leavenscar still in there
But the coolest thing the most sentimental thing is his first
First corvette he ever had with the chassis with the table on it
Yeah, yeah, because he's the rest of moderate and all carbon fiber since then but yeah, that one's pretty cool
What's your prize possession?
Probably cool. You've got you've probably gotten to collect some cool stuff over the years. Oh my gosh. What's the coolest thing you own?
I don't know
Got my dogs
No, I got no, uh
I've
Possessions I got I got some pretty cool. What's your like memory be it? Oh, yeah, I'm pretty cool. Nathanville
Uh, you keep all of them. I got I've lost that. I got most of them frame. Um, or what do you do?
Yeah, I'm just hanging around there a couple a couple of friends have them in the restaurants
But uh, that's awesome. There's some really they've gotten way better over the years. They've done a great job
Have you modified three questions?
Yeah, I have I've been ruminating. I'm in my in my head here. So we had three questions most of time
We talked about race by drivers, right? So the the first question is if you had to pick one race track
And one race car to race at the rest of your life
It gives you a little insight on like what people's style is how they grew up and ultimately what their favorite style of racing is
Right, so I'll change it for you
Because you never raced. Yeah, but you are the world's best competitive eater of all time if you had to eat
a food
And at a location the rest of your life. Oh, like you get to eat no other competitions. What do you do?
So one competition. Yep one location one food. I mean it has to be hot dogs. Okay July
Yeah, coney island fireworks in the background
National anthem going best day of the year america's birthday. Okay, happy
There's uh, dude, it's just thinking about it. Now if you did it more than to fire me up jojo
Yeah
How many competitions would it get old do you think?
Oh, like if you didn't want a month too much
It was really hard getting like no, I mean
I don't know. I've never I've never done one a month like the effort for hot dogs, but uh, dude getting beating people doesn't get old
Hey, yeah, spoken like a true pro
It'd be hard to get new people to go against me
So then the second question
Usually is what's the most embarrassed you've been at the racetrack and this in your case in a competition almost embarrassed
I've been in a contest
Was it a gold curry no no actually I remember my second contest and now it was uh, it was deep fried asparagus
It's docked in california. Okay, what deep fried asparagus contest
Do you travel to this like I'm going to oakland
Yeah, you go going to stockton and I'm gonna eat some I'm gonna and I'm gonna eat me some deep fried asparagus
Actually, I knew what the food was I practiced for it. Okay, and then uh during the contest
They were like like everybody was kind of cheering and then it got quiet for a second
And my mom yells out do it for mama and everybody starts laughing
You know like I almost I almost choked right then
But uh, they calmed down and yeah ended up getting my first win
That was your first ever competitive win. Was deep fried asparagus fried asparagus
I would never guess that no
Nice and healthy. I know but I've never even heard of a deep fried asparagus eating contest
All right, you're battered with some parmesan cheese on top. Oh
It was it like a restaurant or a fair so in uh
Yeah, what is that that area the stockton area. They uh, it's like the asparagus capital
Okay, who to thank you. There's a festival there. No the asparagus festival
Free red how'd your pee had to smell terrible?
I was working for a construction company in the office
The next on monday. I went in there
I went to the bathroom. I went to the bathroom. What is that? I left it in the toilet for the next table
What is that rancid smell? Yeah, 814 pounds of deep fried asparagus. Oh, this is it was you guys need to experience this
Oh god, bless it. All right question number three is this finally somebody knows what man in black is
I know the the neuralizer pen, right? We click it and zap all your memory, right?
Oh, yeah, all these young race car drivers kids are don't know what men black is
They don't and they don't know the reference
But if I had this the neuralizer pen and click and zap all your memories, which you only got to keep one memory from your professional career
What do you keep one memory from one moment?
I
One moment, I guess the one of the shorter
Yeah, there was 2000
2006 was the over no, no, I'm sorry 2008 was the overtime year
Oh, it was it was mean to go. We actually tied
And then we had to eat five more hot dogs
And it's that that five that five hot dogs. I like I know I got this and it was like
Like the whole that whole contest I was losing
And I just barely caught him at the end
And then like what soon as they were like, oh, it's just five more hot dogs. I got this you want him more than he did
Oh, yeah
So it's five as fast you can go five as fast as you can on top of what we already been eating
Yeah, you've already got 22 pounds of hot dogs. Yeah, and it was uh, no, that was it was perfect over time
Was that your first one? No, no, that was my second win. Okay
Well an overtime fire me up for anything especially hot dog in there
You might have been thinking you read for yourself and you were reading for america. Oh, it was great. Yeah, I definitely felt it
It was oh, dude, the audience is wild. Well, man, I've I've enjoyed this conversation
This is also making me hungry because it's lunch time now
So I I want to go eat a little bit of food now that now I'm sitting here mouth watering, but
We need to do we need to connect an indy for this 999. Oh, yeah
Situation it's on. I don't like my chances. I don't you know, we're not competing
I know. Yeah, I'm not. Yeah. No, it's just competing against myself, but I don't like my odds against myself
Yeah, I know myself and myself can't do it. You can but I'm gonna power through you're
And uh, it'll be hopefully it'll be a good game
And then I look forward to seeing you out with some more tarboro events
Hopefully see you at a racetrack. We're root on our buddy Connor daily this weekend indy 500
We got a lot of cool stuff
My man is going if it doesn't rain out here. He's going to sit in the grandstands of the indy 500 tomorrow
Just going to be a fan of stands. So that's really cool
Where are you gonna sit?
I have no idea. It's people got tickets. I'm I'm I'm coming with them
To just a race fan. Just love it. It'll be good. Well, Indianapolis 500. It's they say it's a pretty big deal
Yeah, it's I do want to go to bucket list for me for sure
Definitely we're gonna line it up man. I appreciate you guys all the audience here stacking pennies joined by the man himself
Mr. Joey Chesnut, where can people follow along your journey got social media you got all do a little social
What is it Joey Chesnut on instagram? Yep, and uh, Joe
I don't do too much on twitter anymore, but uh, but uh, you you were holding out
For the nathan's hot dog eating contest for a couple years, right and then right I wasn't holding out
Well, I don't know the deal there. There was there was a little contract dispute. They weren't happy. I was
I eat 10 pounds of meat on saturday. Yeah on monday. I take a look. I do meatless mondays
So I'm working. I still work with impossible. Okay. Okay, so they were they were upset with that
But we you gotta figure it out. We smooth it only added to the aura, buddy
Getting we've getting banned for a year and coming back. Well the next time you'll see this man
We'll be on stage, correct? Fourth of july fourth of july
The moment
That we all been waiting for each and every year is watching this man
Eat for america. I'll be a fan. I'll be eating with you
My friend joey, thanks for the time today talking to you guys. Yeah, it was great. Thank you
Go follow him along. Thank you for watching sag and pennies follow the race this weekend. Ask our race on prime
I'll be on there pre-race deaths. We've got a lot of interesting stuff to talk about
That's all we got guys tune in next monday for the show. Have a good day. Goodbye
About this episode
A chaotic NASCAR weekend at Charlotte and Martinsville sets the stage for a wild pivot into competitive eating. The hosts trade hot-dog and wing stories—complete with garage tally marks, dunking techniques, and “stretching” the muscles around the stomach—while Corey LaJoiey shares his own extreme challenges and fan moments. Between fuel-saving race talk, rain-delay snack chaos, and Memorial Day Coke 600 honor, the episode lands on pacing, recovery, and why Joey Chestnut’s engine-starting role matters.
Original notes
Bonus Episode: The GOAT of competitive eating, Joey Chestnut, joins us live from Charlotte Motor Speedway on Memorial Day race weekend. Joey pulls back the curtain on what it actually takes to eat 70+ hot dogs in 10 minutes: the cleanses, the jaw training, the rhythm, the film study, and why it's a lot more like racing than people realize.
We cover the 76 hot dog world record, the time he grabbed a protestor mid-contest and still won, the Kobayashi rivalry, the "999" baseball challenge, his first-ever win (deep-fried asparagus, somehow), and what the end of a career looks like for the best to ever do it. He also tries a Gleezy dog for the first time and weighs in on the great ketchup debate.
Equal parts hilarious, surprising, and oddly inspiring. New episodes every Monday.
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