While her pumpkin’s flowery decorations may have lacked the flashiness of many of her competitors’ creations, Madison Beatle demonstrated that, when it comes to racing, performance beats aesthetics any day of the week.

Beatle took home the grand prize trophy during the Niles Optimists Club’s third annual Great Pumpkin Race, held Saturday afternoon in the back lot of the Niles-Buchanan YMCA. Forty-six children fielded pumpkin racers during the competition, with each racer judged on its appearance before taking the track to see which makeshift pumpkin car could make it to the bottom on the slope.

Registration for the competition opened at 10 a.m., with kids having the choice of building their own racer using the batch of pumpkins, wheels and axels the club had on hand, or by using their own premade entry to the venue.

“There was about half-and-half of kids using our pumpkins versus bringing their own,” said organizer and Optimist Betty Ardnt. “Some kids, after learning how to build them here the first year, build their models at home in order to help them win the next race.”

This year’s competition was the biggest yet, Ardnt said. The event has been growing since it began two years ago.

While the kids are required to pay a $10 entry fee, a majority of the money raised during the race is through the event’s sponsors. On average, the Optimist Club raises around $1,000 from each race.

“The money stays with the optimists,” Ardnt said. “It goes towards scholarship funds for local schools. We also use the money for after-prom and post-graduation parties.”