Joey Chestnut gears up for Independence Day hot dog competition faceoff against hungry soldiers

It looks like Joey Chestnut is going to have a "full" day ahead of him this July Fourth despite being excluded from the Nathan's hot dog eating contest at Coney Island.

Instead, the competitive eater – who downed a record-setting 76 hot dogs in 10 minutes during the 2021 event – is heading to an Army base in El Paso, Texas, to square off in a different hot dog eating contest: against soldiers. 

"It means so much [to be with them]," he said while joining "Fox & Friends" on Independence Day.

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The champ told Lawrence Jones, Joey Jones and Kayleigh McEnany that he is honored to be around those who are putting service before self.

"It's wonderful to be a part of people's 4th of July and especially people that are putting their entire putting their life on the line for our country. I was talking to a guy who just got back from Guantanamo yesterday [and] another guy who was in Germany, so these guys are leaving their families, and they're putting everything on the line for us."

Chestnut was not allowed to take part in this year's Nathan's hot dog eating contest because of his sponsorship with Nathan's rival Impossible Foods, and the development ignited a slew of drama.

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But he's determined to look ahead. 

"I'm super happy I got the invitation to come to Fort Bliss and get to eat against the soldiers, and I'm eating hot dogs the same way I always have… and I'm celebrating 4th of July with awesome people," he said of Thursday's competition.

Chestnut loves competing so much that he even told "Fox & Friends" he thrives off the "bloated" and "exhausted" feeling he gets from downing so much food.

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"It's like how some people are after they run a marathon. They feel like they're exhausted, but they still love that feeling," he said.

"I love the feeling of being bloated and exhausted and kind of gross, so I'm really lucky. But a lot of people don't like those feelings… that's a good time for me."

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