By ASHLEY FOWLER
WISH-TV | wishtv.com
Professional eater Joey Chestnut can add “record holder at Victory Field” to his long list of accomplishments.
Chestnut ate a total of 32 24-ounce servings of popcorn in eight minutes just before Wednesday night’s game between the Indianapolis Indians and Rochester Red Wings.
The Westfield resident crunched and munched on enough popcorn to break the previous record of 28.5 servings set last year in Las Vegas.
Before taking on the challenge, Chestnut checked in with News 8 and shared his strategy.
“I’ll be drinking water. One hand is going to be gripping the right side handful, squeezing it just enough,” Chestnut said. “One chew in my mouth, and a sip of water to chug it down. Maybe a couple of chews toward the end of the contest. My throat’s going to be tired so I’m going to have to chew a little bit more. I might have to drink a bit more water. It’s going to be a battle.”
Chestnut’s new record in the World Popcorn-Eating Challenge is his 50th competitive eating world record. He has set – and broken – the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog and bun eating record 15 times. His other records include eating 182 chicken wings in 30 minutes and 18 pounds, 9.6 ounces of St. Elmo shrimp cocktail in eight minutes.
After Chestnut chowed down, the Indians opened a five-game series against the Red Wings with a 3-2 victory. The Indians and Red Wings meet again at the Vic on Wednesday. The first pitch is at 1:35 p.m.