Pimp my pumpkin

                                                       Jennifer Cappuccio-Maher/Staff Photographer

The RC Grape Pumpkin race this afternoon brought out some city leaders but Council ham Rex Gutierrez was the only one who raced a pumpkin. The event, mostly geared for children or children with competitive parents, raced personalized wheeled pumpkins down a small walkway outside the ticketing office of The Epicenter.

Gutierrez's pumpkin had a wrinkly granny mask with hollowed eyes and a toothless scowl. He told the crowd the pumpkin was modeled after his fourth grade teacher but told me, "It was going to be my mother-in-law but then my wife showed up."

One referee suspected that a rigged pumpkin might be possible when a local politician is in the race.

"You know how politicians are. I think we need a carriage check," said the referee.

Nevertheless, Gutierrez's pumpkin didn't pass the first round, and in fact, had crashed into his competitor.

More than 50 contenders raced their pumpkins despite a constant threat of rain. Organizers said they hope more people will participate in the future now that people know what a pumpkin race is.

Perhaps sounding a bit frustrated that the event wasn't held inside The Epicenter, Mayor Don Kurth said, "Next year, we're gonna have it in there and charge every one $30. And the year after that, we'll have it at the Staples Center."