Nick Wehry of Port Richey is ready for the countdown to Nathan’s Hot Dog Contest

PORT RICHEY, Fla. – The excitement at Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest builds long before the eaters take the stage on July 4 in Coney Island, New York.

“It never gets boring for me. I’m still excited even 11 months before the game,” says Nick Wehry from Port Richey.

Wehry is the fourth-best competitive eater in the world and says the pre-contest hype never gets old.

“Of course there are times when training is hard, like anything else. The actual preparation for Coney and our biggest day of the year… no way. At this point, it’s still electrifying for me.”

The big headline of this year’s competition is who habit Joey Chestnut, a 16-time Nathan’s champion, has signed an endorsement deal with another hot dog company and is no longer eligible to compete. Now the race for the top prize in the eating contest is wide open.

“Joey is a dear friend and probably the best there ever was. Still, his numbers have been steadily declining over the last few years,” Wehry explained. “Who knows where he would have finished this year? But I think it’s really exciting to see that there are probably five guys with a real shot at the title, maybe even six.”

The spectacle of competitive eating has many fans and many critics, but Wehry’s approach to his passion is quite simple.

“Do you believe in what you’re doing? Do you bring more good into the world than bad? Then chase it,” Nick said. “Chase it with everything you have and you’ll give yourself a chance to achieve those – perhaps absurd – goals and dreams.”

Nathan’s competition and other performances have been criticized as excessive waste of food. Yet almost every competition Nick takes part in has a charitable background.

“On the Fourth of July alone, just through this contest, (Nathan’s Famous) is donating 100,000 hot dogs to the Food Banks of New York. That’s one day a year. We do something year-round with Feeding America,” Wehry added. “This year we’re part of Wings for Wishes in Miami. We raised $428,000 for Make-A-Wish Foundation South Florida. The good here seems to be a much bigger ball and the bad like a grain of sand, so hopefully it can be forgotten.”

Wehry’s wife, Miki Sudo, is the world’s leading competitive eater. She has won nine consecutive Nathan’s competitions she has competed in. She did not compete in 2021 because she was pregnant with the couple’s son, Max.

Due to scheduling conflicts, she was unavailable for an interview with Nick, but follow ABC Action News to stay in touch with The Hungry Couple.

This year’s Nathan’s Famous contest will air on July 4 at 11 a.m. on ESPN.