Great hot dog race

The grill was hot and the meats had a great bite this holiday weekend, just how America intended.
The Nathan’s Famous hot dog eating contest is appointment television every year on July 4 for both the hungry and queasy. 
Human versus (hot) dog. A battle one of our great American heroes, Joey Chestnut, has never lost. 
Chestnut claimed his 17th mustard belt, scarfing 70-1/2 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes and with it, around $10,000. That comes out to about $142 made for each dog.
However, it wasn’t just Chestnut’s chewing ability that had my mind wondering all weekend. It was a hypothetical bouncing around the internet that kept me up at night.
If Joey Chestnut and Usain Bolt had a race that included eating a hot dog and running a 100 meter dash, who wins?
Bolt, for those who don’t remember, is still the world record holder in the 100 meter dash, doing so in 9.58 seconds. 
It’s a phenomenal question and at first glance, seems difficult to answer. Once you think about it, the result is clear.
Most people probably believe this is an easy win for Bolt. Even now, surely with some light stretching he can run out a 10-something 100 dash. 
Chestnut’s stomach, however, defies logic. He’s got 55 eating world records, including 76 hot dogs and buns a few years ago.
That works out to 7.6 seconds per dog. For just one dog, the guy can probably inhale it in less than six seconds or so. 
That’s astronomically better than Bolt’s 100 dash time. 
But, then there are the unknowns. We have no idea how fast Chestnut can run 100 meters and we have zero clue how fast Bolt can chow down a hot dog. 
As long as Chestnut can run faster than it would take Bolt to eat one dog, probably 15-20 seconds, it’s an easy Chestnut win. Turning this into a competitive eating-Olympic track relay race would put the dogs in the buns. 
One thing is for sure. I’d put up good money to find out the answer. Lastly, betting against Chestnut is simply unAmerican. USA! 
RICHARD RHODEN can be reached at sports@hamilton.net.