Pepper Eatin' Showdown hot new event for festival

There was a big crowd gathered around the stage at Jacksboro’s TNT Fest Saturday evening to watch bands and more leading up to the big fireworks event.

Jacksboro Newspapers hosted its Pepper Eatin’ Showdown.

There were 15 contestants competing for the top prize of $300.

The competitors were Ken Hargrave, Kyle Hammond, Brandon Martinez, Brandy Beardsley, Jack Lamberson, Jeremy Drennan, Kevin Baker, Justin Barton, Cynthya Barnes, Scott (last name unavailable), Faye Lewis, Kris Lopez, Benito Regalado, Tom MacDonald and Brian Peoples.

Most of the contestants were from Jacksboro but there were a couple from as far away as Breckenridge and Arlington.

The contest lasted three minutes seeing who could eat the most in that time. 

When the three minutes were up, Ken Hargrave came out on top with 17 peppers eaten. Second place was Brian Peoples with 13 peppers eaten and Kyle Hammond and Jeremy Drennan tied for third place with 12 peppers eaten each.

The sponsors who made the contest possible were Legacy Texas, CCA, Beyond Faith and Jack County Auto Sales.

The volunteer judges for the event were Doug Angell, Megan Moore, Wayne Morris, Cindy Long and Stacy Spurlock.

To see more about the contest, see “Cherry Picked” and a special ad in the July 1 edition of the Herald-Gazette.