Joey Chestnut wins hot dog eating contest again, despite hiatus

Joey Chestnut's inner dog wasn't going to be deterred by a supposed human torpedo, who tried to derail his sausage by engulfing it in the middle of the competition...but failed, because the guy still won.

The reigning Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest champion successfully defended his title on Monday at Coney Island, where year after year he returns to devour dozens of dogs in 10 minutes. This year, he did it again... by knocking down 63 francs, far ahead of the competition.

TMZ.com

But something crazy happened halfway through...a guy with a Darth Vader mask came on stage and made contact with JC -- and the King didn't like it too much!

Check... rather than let security take the poser away (which they eventually did), Joey took care of this punk himself: he put the whipped snapper in a headlock and tugged him a bit, before turning himself back to stuff his face. He didn't even think twice about it.

We have video of the aftermath...namely, that poor sap being dragged out to be processed -- but it's crazy that Joey still won the race even with that major interruption.

ESPN

You have to wonder if this actually affected how many sausages he finally got to inhale. While 63 hot is nothing to sneeze at – and far more than anyone else – it doesn't compare to his all-time high of 76 hot dogs from last year.