Winner Ray Fountain (left) fist bumps Clayton Paul Windham, DDS, Windham Family Dental who was the award sponsor for Wing It.
October 4, 2020 (Photo Album) - Temperatures were mildly comfortable throughout the 44th Annual East Texas Poultry Festival, that is until Saturday afternoon October 3, 2020 when the heat under the big tent reached atomic meltdown proportions.
Rose Specter (T&R's Steaks and More) cranked up the heat, as several individuals were put to the test consuming a plethora of spicy delights designed to transport ones tastebuds and digestive system to the ultimate limits.
The Wing-it Hot Wing Eating contest, sponsored by Tyson Foods, with award sponsor Windham Family Dentistry, was held under the big tent just prior to the clucking contest.
Participants in the event included returning 2019 champion Jason Filz, and challengers William Jacobs, Ray Fountain, Aaron McMahon and Seth Volz.
Not only is each contestant seeking to top the other, they’re also contending with the ominous fact, the spice ain’t always nice and it may just be too much to take.
Every challenger made it through the first and second rounds; however, by the third round McMahon had to bow out.
In the fourth round and final challenge, the most skin tingling, take-your-breath-away plate of wings was presented to the contestants, and this one came with an added pitfall. The challenger that finished fastest would be the winner.
Each other round had a set of check points, challengers had a certain amount of time during which to gobble their flaming hot wings, and this was followed by a “burn period” that lasted several minutes.
Not in the final round, this time it was meant to be a photo-finish!
Once the final timer started, it was a jaw-dropping scene to witness as the lightning speed chew factor was something of which even a Tasmanian Devil would be envious. A visual display of sweat, sauce and tears as the challengers worked at ingesting their final set of fiery winged morsels, any way they could.
During the fourth challenge, Jacobs dropped out of the race; however, the final neck-and-neck face cramming came down to Filz and Fountain.
Although it was a very close finish, this year’s Wing-it Champion is Ray Fountain.
After a quick hose down of his potentially sauce blistered hands, Fountain was able to grasp his trophy awarded by Clayton Paul Windham with Windham Family Dentistry.
