SAN DIEGO _ Competitive eating's one-stomach dynasty has inhaled nearly 13 pounds of deep-fried asparagus in one sitting and 141 hard-boiled eggs in another.
He's been willing to ingest and miraculously digest almost anything, from 103 Krystal burgers to 55 mutton sandwiches, during a dozen years of chomping his way along a food-abusing road.
Petco Park, though, has Joey Chestnut nervous.
"It's going to suck really bad," Chestnut in a telephone interview Thursday. "The last time I did ice cream, it was the most painful thing I've ever done."
Chestnut is preparing his psyche and small intestine for a tongue-twister called the Baked Bear World Ice-Cream Sandwich Eating Championship, a 1 p.m. hors d'oeuvres before Sunday's Padres-Rockies game.
Talk about an ice-cream headache.
"It hurts, but you keep going through the pain," said Chestnut, 33, the reigning and nine-time champ of the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest.
"Then your throat hurts. Then your mouth is kind of numb. Then it's in your stomach. It affects your core temperature. I did ice cream in Lakeland, Fla., when it was like 100 degrees and 90 percent humidity, but I was shivering at the end."
The event held at Petco's Park at the Park will be six minutes. Chestnut predicts he will polish off about 15 pounds of the ice-cream treats, which translates to 45 sandwiches.
Two additional challenges: Chestnut said No. 2-ranked eater Matt Stonie has joined the contest and the champ also committed to a contest Friday in Santa Monica to benefit the Salvation Army on National Donut Day.
And yes, Chestnut indeed enjoys hot dogs when he's off the clock. He's picked some up at Petco Park while visiting his brother Will, a San Diego resident.
"It's pretty rare for me not to order a hot dog," he said. "Maybe two or three if I'm going to battle a line. I love a good hot dog, so it's not a problem. A runner can jog sometimes, right?"
