Joey Chestnut told Newsmax on Thursday he's excited about the annual Fourth of July Nathan's Hot Dog eating contest.

Chestnut holds 17 career titles at the famous hot dog competition held at Coney Island, New York, and once ate 76 wieners in 0 minutes.

He also holds 55 world records in competitive eating, including for chicken wings and tacos.

"Eating is the best thing in life," Chestnut said on "Rob Schmitt Tonight."  "And competition's the second-best thing. It's pushing yourself to new limits and just having a blast."

Chestnut described his "stomach capacity" as "pretty awesome" and said he does burping exercises.

"I can swallow air and then burp into a bag," Chestnut said. "It'll be about 3 gallons."

At home, Chestnut said he has eaten 80 hot dogs in one sitting in training.

"I love hot dogs. I'm a little bit of a hot dog snob," he said.

Chestnut said he doesn't dunk his hot dog buns outside of competitions and said he likes soft buns in general.

He added that he likes to train with raw onions and mustard at home.

"I put guacamole on [my hot dogs]," Chestnut said. "Sometimes I love bacon, a chili cheese dog."

The champion said he's jazzed to compete on America's 250th anniversary

"It's electric. And I just can't wait," Chestnut said. "I'm excited. It's just a magical place."

If Chestnut wins, it will be his 18th Nathan's contest victory.

"I'll finally be legal," Chestnut quipped.

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