JULY 4th: New hot dog eating contest in Green Country to launch

America’s 248 ^th birthday is this week, and one staple of Independence Day celebrations is hot dog eating competitions

While Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest has reigned supreme for a half-century nationally, there’s a new upstart one in Green Country.

For those who are hungry for some dogs and want to taste victory on July 4, the first-ever Route 66 Hot Dog Eating Competition is looking for the toughest athletes — and strongest stomachs.

The ground rules are “however many hot dogs you can eat in five minutes,” Chuck Foxen explained. “And you definitely need to eat the whole hot dog.”

2 News Oklahoma

Foxen is the manager and film programmer of the Tee Pee Drive-In, where the inaugural competition will happen.

Hot dogs are "kind of like a staple of what we do out here at Tee Pee — it's on our menu," he said. "We just thought it was gonna be a fun thing to do."

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He told 2 News that competitors will wolf down grilled hot dogs in front of a special judge, Michael Lowman (a.k.a. “Indian Elvis”). The local filmmaker and Native American actor will also bring a bit of showmanship and humor to the whole event.
The winner will receive a t-shirt and a free overnight stay in the furnished, retro Spartan trailers at the Drive-In.

As for what prompted them to start their very own competition, Foxen said: “You know — hot dogs, Americana, the Tee Pee Drive-in — it just all kind of fits together.”

“Joey Chestnut has been in the news with his cancellation, and then his new competition he’s doing on Netflix. So, it’s just kind of like a fun thing,” he continued. “Tee Pee Drive-in’s always more than a movie, so we wanna be a part of the cultural stuff that’s going on.”

Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest goes 52 years strong this July 4.

While this new Route 66 Hot Dog Eating Competition is a small-fry operation by comparison, Foxen hopes to someday become top dog.

John Minchillo/AP

Asked if he thinks Joey Chestnut might show up another year, should this competition become big enough, Foxen replied: "We would love to have some celebrities."

"This year, we're gonna kick it off and see what we do, get our wheels rolling with it, sell some hot dogs, and then ... we'll expand out from there," he also said. "Hopefully, it'll become a big Route 66 event every year."

However, that’s not the only thing happening at the Drive-In on Thursday night. There will be a film screening, food and drinks (to consume noncompetitively), and classic lawn games.

People can click here to sign up for the competition and get tickets for the event.

The gates are scheduled to open at 6:30pm, with the competition kicking off at 7pm. There will also be fireworks and a screening of "Despicable Me 4" afterward.

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