Ryan Kuhn Edges Jake Matheson in Wild Finish in Virtual Bullring at Las Vegas Presented by Viper Graphics
SEEKONK ROAD TRIP TOUR CONTINUED LIVE ON SPEED51.COM
LAS VEGAS — Ryan Kuhn and Jake Matheson both put it all on the line in virtual Las Vegas Thursday night. They weren’t gambling at slot machines — but instead — were competing in round four of the iRacing Seekonk Speedway Road Trip Tour, in the Gamblers Classic 150 presented by Viper Graphics, at the virtual Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race aired to a live audience on Speed51.com.
In the final corner, Matheson was leading, but a tap from the back bumper by Kuhn got Matheson a bit sideways. The two leaned on each other off turn four, with Kuhn edging Matheson to the line by .076 seconds for the victory. It was Kuhn’s third straight win in the Road Trip Tour, and moves him into the points lead by just two points with four races remaining in the series.
“It was a really fun race,” Kuhn said. “The outside was a killer tonight, there wasn’t any to work with. I tried crossing him over a few times, but just couldn’t do it. I got the money run on the last lap, got to the inside, he threw a little block… it was a good night for us.”
Thursday’s Gamblers 150 was sponsored by Viper Graphics, located in Seekonk, Massachusetts. Viper does vinyl wraps, signs, screen printing, embroidery, and more, by designing, printing, and applying all graphics in-house. With over 30 years of design and printing experience, Viper can take on any project — no job is too big or too small.
While the top two battled into turn three for the final lap, Brandon Wilkinson and Ryan Doucette rode in third, looking to pounce. Neither would get close enough to challenge for the win, but they would swap spots in the final 500 feet. It was Kuhn, Matheson, Doucette, and Wilkinson across the line at the finish, with defending Seekonk real-life Sport Truck champion Richie Murray finishing fifth.
“The last 50 or 60 laps I picked up the lead and I was just trying to conserve the best I could, and Ryan is extremely good in these cars,” Matheson said. “Going into three, it’s the last lap at The Bullring, what else can you expect. The gloves came off and I expect that out of Ryan and he fully expects it out of me. If it was the opposite way, the exact same thing would have happened.”
“I had a feeling with how much contact there was going on it was going to be a dramatic final corner,” Doucette said. “Hopefully the next time I can get a little bit better starting position and it will work out a bit better.”
As part of Seekonk’s Road Trip Tour, multiple contingency sponsors joined the program, providing more than $300 in awards. A point fund has also been formulated paying the top 24 in the final standings at the end of the Road Trip Tour. Along with Viper, who paid $75 to race winner Kuhn, $50 to Matheson for second, $30 to Doucette for third, $25 to Wilkinson for fourth and $20 to Murray for fifth, a full group of sponsors also passed out prizes. A full list of awarded prizes is below.
CONTINGENCY FOR SEEKONK iRACING AWARDS. ALL EIGHT RACES:
Homerun Heats from Watermark Electric ($8 per heat win): Ryan Kuhn, Jake Matheson, Mason Tessier
Crime To Pay More Than A Dime 10th Place Feature Finisher $100 Award: Trent Goodrow
“Hard Luck” Award Courtesy of Atlantic Yacht Rigging $25 Award: Kyle Casper
MID-PACK MANIAC $12 Award From A&A Auto Parts: Chase Belcher
Halfway Bonus From Anchor Paws Rescue For $25: Brandon Wilkinson
Leading The White, Free Paint Scheme From Trent Goodrow Designs: Jake Matheson
Helger’s Southcoast Power Move Of the Race Award ($25): Karlin Levesque (+11 spots)
Lucas Milhaupt Fourth-Place at Lap 44 for $4.44: Jake Matheson
Mason Tessier, Tom Scully III, Brad Sousa, Karlin Levesque, and Trent Goodrow finished the top 10.
The virtual Seekonk Road Trip Tour returns to the track on Thursday, July 23, at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida.
OFFICIAL FINISH: GAMBLERS 150 PRESENTED BY VIPER GRAPHICS
1. Ryan Kuhn
2. Jake Matheson
3. Ryan Doucette
4. Brandon Wilkinson
5. Richard Murray
6. Mason Tessier
7. Tom Scully III
8. Brad Sousa
9. Karlin Levesque
10. Trent Goodrow
11. Richard Regan Jr.
12. Chase Belcher
13. Reese Bogue
14. Danny Massa
15. Nick Wood
16. Andrew Gomes
17. Mike Floyd
18. Ryan Vanasse
19. Darryl Church
20. Tyler Alkas
21. Kyle Casper
Sources: SeekonkSpeedway.com