How to watch Nathan's July 4th hot dog eating contest and who's competing with Joey Chestnut out

Nathan's Famous Fourth of July hot dog-eating contest is coming up this week. The yearly bun fight, which dates back to 1972, sees large crowds of fans in foam hot-dog hats gather in front of the original Nathan's Famous' restaurant in Coney Island, Brooklyn, to cheer on the the competitors as they chow down. The contestants are allowed to dunk the dogs in cups of water to soften them up, creating a stomach-churning spectacle.

The field has shifted this year as Joey "Jaws" Chestnut , the reigning champion of the contest, will not participate in Thursday's event after signing a deal with a rival brand.

Instead, Chestnut will take his hot dog-downing talents to an army base in Texas for America's Independence Day. Chestnut, of Indiana, will compete against soldiers in Fort Bliss, in El Paso, in a 5-minute hot dog eating contest. In 2021, Chestnut set the current record of 76 hot dogs, in 10 minutes.

With Chestnut out, those vying for second place in Brooklyn in the past might have renewed hope to chomp their way to victory this year.

Last year's second-place winner was Geoffrey Esper from Oxford, Massachusetts, who downed 49 dogs to Chestnut's 62. Third place went to Australia's James Webb with 47.

Miki Sudo, of Tampa, Florida, holds the women's record of 48.5 in 10 minutes. Miki won her ninth title at the Nathan's Famous contest last year with 39.5 hot dogs and buns eaten.

Contestants hail from 13 states and several countries.

HOW TO WATCH

If you can't make it to Coney Island, ESPN will be airing and streaming the competition. Coverage of the women's competition begins at 10:45 a.m. ET on ESPN3. The men's competition airs at 12 p.m. ET on ESPN2, with re-airs at 5 p.m. ET and 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Here are the names for contestants based in the U.S. (there are additional contestants based in other countries).

Men:

Nicholas Wehry

Gideon Oji

Patrick Bertoletti

Geoffrey Esper

Derek "Heavy D" Hendrickson

George Chiger

Sean Yeager

William Claude Lyon IV

Women:

Michelle "Cardboard Shell" Lesco