HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (AP) A California engineer with a passion for gardening achieved victory at a renowned pumpkin-weighing event in Northern California with a hefty pumpkin weighing 2,346 pounds.

Brandon Dawson, hailing from Santa Rosa, California, claimed the top spot on Monday at the 52nd World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off held in Half Moon Bay, just south of San Francisco.

After his triumph, Dawson raised his arms triumphantly and celebrated by seating his two children atop the enormous pumpkin, which weighs as much as a small car or large bison.

“My mind is kind of racing because I was in this position last year when I lost by 6 pounds,” he said in an interview.

Dawson works as a manufacturing engineer at the electric vehicle company Rivian Automotive. He credited his five years of giant pumpkin cultivation success to the precise skills from his job, which aided him in providing the ideal watering and sunlight conditions for his pumpkin’s growth.

He said he enjoys getting his children involved in the process.

“We like to spend time out in the patch and watch the thing grow,” Dawson said about his 2-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter.

“My 4-year-old now can really pay attention to the growing process,” especially since the giant pumpkins can grow by 50 to 70 pounds a day, he added.

The pumpkin champ won a $20,000 prize for growing the biggest pumpkin.

Last year, Dawson’s pumpkin was the runner-up at the Half Moon Bay contest, finishing behind the winning entry grown by Minnesota horticulture teacher Travis Gienger, which weighed 2,471 pounds.

In 2023, Gienger, based in Anoka, Minnesota, set a new world record at the California contest with a pumpkin that tipped the scales at 2,749 pounds. Unfortunately, Gienger’s pumpkin sustained damage earlier this season, preventing him from entering this year’s California competition.

Two brothers in England earlier this month broke Gienger’s record with a gourd that weighed 2,819 pounds.