Bay Area's Joey Chestnut downs 62 tacos in 8 minutes for Santa Monica eating contest

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Friday, October 5, 2018
Joey Chestnut downs 62 tacos in 8 minutes for Santa Monica eating contest
Competitive eating master Joey "Jaws" Chestnut chowed down on a record 62 carnitas tacos in eight minutes to win the inaugural Pacific Park World Taco-Eating Championship on Thursday.

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Competitive eating master Joey "Jaws" Chestnut downed a record 62 carnitas tacos in eight minutes to win the inaugural Pacific Park World Taco-Eating Championship on Thursday.

RELATED: Joey Chestnut gobbles 74 hotdogs, setting new world record

The event on the Santa Monica pier offered $5,000 in prizes, including $2,500 for first place, and featured many of the world's highest-ranked competitive eaters. The eating circuit's top female, Miki Sudo from New York, finished in fourth place with 37 tacos.

Chestnut, who is from San Jose, held 44 eating records prior to the taco event and is perhaps best known for his digestive feats at the annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest on Coney Island, where he has downed a record 74 hot dogs.