The guy at left is “Nasty” Nathan Biller. This weekend, he and 14 other guys met up at 11 a.m. in a tent in a Plano Sam’s Club parking lot to see who could eat the most hot dogs in 10 minutes. Nasty Nathan is ranked 30th in the world of competitive eating, and at the contest (a qualifier for the Nathan’s Famous International Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest), he competed with the ‘athlete’ who holds the No. 29 spot. History was made.
At least that’s what the overzealous hot dog fans in the crowded tent were saying. Because Nasty Nathan and Kevin Ross (29th) each ate 20 HDBs (‘hot dog in bun,’ to the uninitiated) in 10 minutes, forcing a sudden-death overtime: Whoever ate the most HDBs in 2 minutes without barfing would move to nationals. And wouldn’t you know it, Kevin Ross was half a dog behind Nasty Nathan when he showed the audience the contents of his upper esophagus. It should be said that Ross forced down his HDBs by soaking them in hot pink Crystal Light.
Nasty Nathan, a New York resident originally from Wichita Falls, ate 25 hot dogs in 12 minutes. Last year’s national winner, Joey Chestnut, ate 66 HDBs in 12 minutes. Good luck, Nathan.
The best part of Saturday’s contest was the pre-game kids’ challenge—instead of speed eating, the child who eats his or her hot dog without making a mess wins. It ended in a 12-way tie. Brooke, the teensy cutie pictured here, was not excited about eating a hot dog and took about three nibbles in two minutes.
