Regardless of how the Pittsburgh Pirates perform, no one can deny there is at least one great competition held in PNC Park each year: The Great Pierogie Race.

The race is held after the fifth inning of every home game, and was inspired by the Milwaukee Brewer’s sausage races.  Sometimes the Pittsburgh Parrot intereferes with the Pierogie racers, but for the most part the fastest Pierogie wins.

Going into the Pirates’ last home game of the 2010 season Sunday (Sept. 26), each of the four Pierogie racers — Jalapeño Hannah, Sauerkraut Saul, Oliver Onion and Potato Pete — had won 19 races each.  So before the final race of the season, the race that would determine who would be the Pierogie Champion of the World for 2010, the Pirates made an announcement:  Since the Pierogies were tied, they were throwing out the standings, and whoever won that race would win the championship.

As always, after the fifth inning, the Pierogies lined up at the starting line, and duked it out across the outfield.  But only one Pierogie could be the winner, and as they ran down the last stretch, it became clear, that that day, Potato Pete was going to be the fastest Pierogie.

Potato Pete crossed the black-and-gold balloon finish line to raucus cheering, and became the 2010 Pierogie Champion of the World!