Joey Chestnut downs 62 tacos in 8 minutes for Santa Monica eating contest

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Competitive eating master Joey "Jaws" Chestnut downed a record 62 carnitas tacos in eight minutes to win the inaugural Pacific Park World Taco-Eating Championship on Thursday.

The event on the Santa Monica pier offered $5,000 in prizes, including $2,500 for first place, and featured many of the world's highest-ranked competitive eaters. The eating circuit's top female, Miki Sudo from New York, finished in fourth place with 37 tacos.

Chestnut, who is from San Jose, held 44 eating records prior to the taco event and is perhaps best known for his digestive feats at the annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest on Coney Island, where he has downed a record 74 hot dogs.