DC United's Perry Kitchen takes part in race competition against fellow MLS stars, wins Lamborghini

WASHINGTON - DC United's season ended last month, but one member of the Black and Red is winning off the field.

Midfielder Perry Kitchen took his love of cars and put it to good use against his fellow Major League Soccer stars.

"It's pretty powerful," he said. "It was pretty intense. Insane."

Kitchen isn't talking about putting his foot to the ball for another goal or a bone-crushing slide tackle. He is talking about putting his foot on the gas in the MLS racing series "What'Cha Got."

He raced fellow MLS players behind the wheel of a Lamborghini Huracan, a 602-horsepower, V10 supercar.

It's a ridiculous, ridiculous car," Kitchen said.

In the finals, Kitchen posted a time of 47.43 seconds to beat Sporting Kansas City's Dom Dwyer. Now that Lamborghini is officially his.

"I have an Audi A5, a nice car, but it's certainly not a Lamborghini," said Kitchen. "There is no comparison."

He credits the rigors of driving in the D.C. area for his on-track success.

"Driving in D.C. the past four years is the best training you can have," he told us.

Kitchen's training on the pitch has taken him from a first round MLS draft pick to DC United's Most Valuable Player in 2013. He is a defensive midfielder known for his physical play, but his family didn't always respect soccer's toughness.

"My dad thought soccer was a girl's sport when I started playing," Kitchen said. "He actually did play a little bit and actually broke his ankle from a challenge. He learned pretty quick."

Kitchen also learned pretty quick just how exhilarating driving his new $230,000 car can be on an open road. Now, he gets to bring it home to D.C. gridlock.

"Probably not very fun sitting in traffic," he said. "It will be more fun driving that in traffic than my current car, so I can't complain."