Archive for category: Kyle Reinhardt

Kyle Reinhardt and the Capitol Renegade / Capitol Custom Coaches & Trailers / Champion Hi-Tech Lubricants / J&J Auto Racing No.91 team came into their second Ohio Speedweek more prepared than they were for their first shot at it in 2021.

The grind delivered by the nine day racing extravaganza is tough for a team even if everything goes well.  Add in issues and it gets exponentially tougher.  Ohio Speedweek is a true test of what a team is made of.  Just to survive is an accomplishment.

Kyle Reinhardt and his Capitol Renegade team have shown a lot of progress on the bullrings around the Midwest so far this season, but one mystery they haven’t been able to solve the past couple seasons is the always slick Port Royal Speedway.

When they unloaded the Capitol Renegade / Capitol Custom Coaches & Trailers / Champion Hi-Tech Lubricants / J&J Auto Racing No.91 for the 2-day Bob Weikert Memorial this past weekend at ‘The Speed Palace’, they brought some new ideas in hopes of turning their luck around.

Weikert Memorial Format

Although the lucrative event is sanctioned by the All Star Circuit of Champions, the Weikert Memorial uses its own, unique format.  Full details are included below, but here are the key points for the car counts at Port Royal Speedway’s event:

• single flight time trials, order determined by pill draw
• points awarded following time trials
• 10-lap heats, top 8 in each starting lineup is inverted 8 from time trials
• passing points awarded following heats
• top 10 in points after qualifying participate in a redraw for their A-main starting spot
• 11-20 in points after qualifying line up in A-main heads up by points
• remaining drivers race the B-main with the top 4 finishers tagging the back of 30-lap A-main

May 28:  Weikert Memorial Night 1, Port Royal Speedway / Port Royal, PA

      (41 cars, Qualifying 31st, Heat 5th, B-main 15th)

Saturday was a bit of an uphill battle from the start.  The Capitol Renegade team’s pill draw placed them 35th in the time trial order for the 41 cars on hand.  From that slot, Reinhardt mustered the 31st quickest time in the field and earned 60 points.

Reinhardt’s qualifying run put him on the pole of heat number three with a chance to add 100 points if he could hold off the field for 10 laps.  From the inside line, he wasn’t able to take control of the race on the opening lap, so Reinhardt held down second.  Fighting an ill-handling car, he slid backwards to a 5th place finish when the checkered flag fell, adding another 66 points to his total for the night.

Following the heat race, the team had a lot to get done before the B-main.  They replaced the steering box on the No.91 and made adjustments that would hopefully enable Reinhardt to race into a top four transfer position.  The 12-lap B-main was his final shot to earn his way into the A-main.  The adjustments would have to be spot on to get there from his 11st starting spot. 

Things quickly went from bad to worse when Reinhardt’s No.91 looped around in turn one on the start, completing a full 360-degreen spin and continuing on.  By All Star rules, he was required to restart the race from the rear of the field.  Reinhardt’s night ended with a 15th place finish in the B-main.

May 29:  Weikert Memorial Night 2, Port Royal Speedway / Port Royal, PA

      (44 cars, Qualifying 22nd, Heat 10th, B-main DNS)

Day two of the Weikert Memorial didn’t bring much better fortune for Reinhardt.  He went out late (32nd of 44 cars) and registered the 22nd quickest lap.  That was the good news.

Reinhardt started outside the second row in the fourth heat and was working to find a groove that would make his tight race car a little happier.  Instead, he found the outside wall in turn two, damaging the front axle.

The Capitol Renegade team, with assistance from multiple other teams, executed a front axle change in the work area to get Reinhardt back on the track.  He finished the qualifying race in 10th.

Following the heat race, the team found rear end damage from the earlier impact.  The damage would require a complete change of the rear assembly.  Reinhardt was scheduled to start 13th in the B-main, so the team made the decision to load up and call it a night.  

“We just have to move on and shake off the weekend.  We’ll keep digging and get this figured out“, Reinhardt said.

Up Next

Reinhardt and the Capitol Renegade team will head to Ohio for the weekend with the All Star Circuit of Champions.  The tour will make stops at Attica Raceway Park on Friday and Atomic Speedway on Saturday.  Both tracks will later be a part of the 9-race Ohio Speedweek that will take place June 10th-18th.

“I’m looking forward to getting back to Attica and building on our improvement there.  Atomic will be a new track for me.  We’ve been getting better on these types of places, so we can use this weekend to get ourselves ready for Ohio Speedweek.“, Reinhardt commented.

Season Stats

22 races, 0 wins, 4 top 5’s, 5 top 10’s, 13 top 15’s, 9 top 20’s

Following a weekend off, Kyle Reinhardt couldn’t pass up an opportunity to race just two miles from the Capitol Renegade team’s race shop, before hitting the road for the next three stops on the All Star Circuit of Champions (ASCoC) tour.

Not only did Wednesday’s Outlaw show at Lincoln Speedway offer a potentially good payday, it meant valuable track time before Reinhardt returns to the Pigeon Hills oval two more times later this season with the ASCoC for races paying $7,300 and $20,000 to win.

May 11:  Gettysburg Clash / Lincoln Speedway / Abbottstown, PA

      (55 cars, Qualifying 17th, Heat 10th, C-main 1st, B-main 17th)

An unfavorable draw placed Reinhardt near the end of Flight A qualifying for the first 28 of 55 cars on hand at Lincoln Speedway.  He recorded the 17th quickest time in the group, placing him 9th to start heat number one.  Only the top five from the 8-lap qualifying race would move directly to the A-main.

Reinhardt came home 10th in the heat race, placing him on the pole of the C-main.  He went on to capture the win in the 10-lap ‘C’, then finished 17th in the 12-lap ‘B’.  

May 13:  Mace Thomas Classic / I-96 Speedway / Lake Odessa, MI

      (29 cars, Qualifying 17th, Heat 6th, A-main 7th)

With 29 teams signed in at I-96 Speedway for the Mace Thomas Classic, the single-group qualifying, and three heat format was in effect per the All Star rule for 30 cars or less.

Kyle Reinhardt was 21st in line to go under the clock.  The late slot wasn’t ideal for qualifying against the entire field.  Reinhardt managed to record the 17th best time overall, slotting him 6th in heat number two.

In the three heat format, the top six finishers from each 8-lap qualifying event transfer directly to the A-main.  Reinhardt ‘held serve’ and came home 6th to lock into the 30-lap feature event, but he would have his work cut out for him from the 17th starting spot.

Piloting the Capitol Renegade / Capitol Custom Coaches & Trailers / Champion Hi-Tech Lubricants / J&J Auto Racing No.91, Reinhardt saved his best for last. From the drop of the green in the A-main he surged forward, entering the top ten by lap nine, then steadily working his way further up the leaderboard, reaching the 8th position by lap 19.

A few laps later, a flat right rear tire appeared to ruin a terrific run by Reinhardt.  His team was able to replace the tire and get him back out in time to rejoin the rear of the field.  

With just seven laps remaining at the restart, Reinhardt wasted no time charging back into the top ten, ultimately reaching 7th by the time he flashed under the checkered flag.  It was an impressive recovery from a dose of bad luck.

May 14:  Wayne County Speedway / Orrville, OH

      (27 cars, Qualifying 7th, Heat 4th, A-main 15th)

The series rolled into Wayne County Speedway on Saturday night with a contingent of 27 teams in tow.  Once again, the single group qualifying, three heat format was in effect.

Reinhardt turned in a solid lap, making himself 7th quick in the field and snagging the outside front row starting spot for heat number one.  It was a good opportunity to claim a spot in the dash by winning the qualifying race, but it wasn’t to be.  Reinhardt finished 4th and transferred to the feature event.

Rolling off from his 12th starting spot in the 30-lap A-main, Reinhardt had his sights set on a second consecutive top-10 finish.  The opening laps of the finale saw him struggle with an ill-handling car and drop through the running order.  

After falling as far back as 18th two laps before the halfway point of the race, the Neptune City, NJ native began his resurgence.  By lap 26, Reinhardt had climbed all the way back to 12th.  A solid recovery, but he was still challenging for more when the caution came out on lap 28.

“We got better as the fuel load burned off and I was able to get back everything I lost early on.  My right rear started going down with a handful of laps to go but we were about to get into the top-10 when the caution came out with two laps to go.  The tire was almost completely flat by the time we went back to green, and I lost a couple spots.“, Reinhard explained.

He crossed the finish line in 15th when all was said and done.

May 15:  Waynesfield Raceway Park / Waynesfield, OH

      (23 cars, Qualifying 6th, Heat 1st, Dash 4th, A-main 13th)

The final stop of the weekend for the All Stars was Waynesfield Raceway Park in western Ohio.  Kyle Reinhardt’s night started off well, registering the 6th quickest lap in the field of 23.

The momentum continued with a dominating win in heat number three.  Reinhardt led all eight laps and held a 2.061 second advantage at the finish line.

The dash draw handed Reinhardt the fourth starting spot in the 6-lap dash.  He grabbed 3rd on the start but eventually Justin Peck worked his way back into the spot, relegating the Capitol Renegade No.91 of Reinhardt to a 4th place finish.  

The 30-lap A-main shaped up to be a season best for Reinhardt.  He took the green from the 4th starting spot and worked his way into 3rd by lap ten.  His J&J Auto Racing machine was good, and he was clearly on offense.  

Reinhardt was poised to take a shot at 2nd place on lap 25 when he made slight contact with the No.7 of Scott Bogucki as the pair exited turn four.  It was enough to spin Reinhardt, sending him to the back of the field for the restart.  He managed to fight back to 13th at the final flag.

“I totally blew that one.  The 7 crossed over more than I thought he was going to, and I got my left side in the slop and just plowed into him.  Feel terrible for my guys because we needed that one.  We were racing hard for a win. Not much else to say.“, a disappointed Reinhardt tweeted after the event.

There was one more note from Waynesfield.  Reinhardt had yet another right rear tire go down during the final five laps, making it three in three nights.

Wrap-Up

“I’m definitely a lot more comfortable on the smaller, slicker tracks than I was last year.  We’re a lot better this year…a lot closer to where we need to be.“, Reinhardt commented.

“We put ourselves in position for three top-10 finishes this weekend.  It’s disappointing to have a couple of them slip away, but we have to shake it off.  We know we’re getting better.  Three right rear flats in three nights…that’s just tough luck and out of our control.  We have to work on the things we can control and hope the things we can’t, start to go our way.“

Up Next

Reinhardt will kick off his race week Tuesday night, May 17th, with a trip to his home state of NJ to take on the World of Outlaws at Bridgeport Motorsports Park.

Later in the week, the Capitol Renegade team will head north to Wisconsin for stops with the Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions at Wilmot Raceway, Plymouth Dirt Track, and Angell Park Speedway on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Season Stats

17 races, 0 wins, 3 top 5’s, 5 top 10’s, 11 top 15’s, 7 top 20’s

Kyle Reinhardt wrapped up his ‘preseason’ outings with a top-10 run at Lincoln Speedway Saturday night in the Weldon Sterner Memorial aboard his familiar Capitol Renegade / Capitol Custom Coaches & Trailers / Champion Hi-Tech Lubricants / J&J Auto Racing No.91.

It’s not really fair to refer to a string of tough races in Central PA as ‘preseason’.  Given the level of competition present, every race is a dogfight.  It was preseason in a sense though for Reinhardt, as he and his team have been working for the past few weeks to sharpen themselves and their equipment for their regular season with the Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions, which kicks off Friday, April 15th at Attica Raceway Park in Ohio.

April 9:  Weldon Sterner Memorial / Lincoln Speedway / Abbottstown, PA

      (43 cars, qualifying 2nd, heat 3rd, A-main 10th)

The lucrative Weldon Sterner Memorial event at Lincoln Speedway drew a quality field of 43 cars to compete for the $6,900 winner’s take.  Kyle Reinhardt was slotted 17th overall, part of group 1, for time trials.  He ripped off a lap of 13.851 to take the top spot on the chart.  Five cars later, Danny Dietrich knocked him from his perch, taking quick time by a mere 0.084 seconds.

The PA Speedweek format was in place for the night’s action, so four 10-lap heats were lined up with the four best times in each inverted for the start.  The top five from each race would transfer to the A-main, with two cars from each heat going to the redraw:  the winner and the fastest timer who transferred.

Reinhardt was able to advance from his number four starting spot to a 3rd place finish, thus transferring and putting himself in the redraw.  The results of the redraw made Reinhardt’s night a little tougher when he pulled the 8th starting spot.  

In the 35-lap feature event, Reinhardt moved into 7th at the drop of the green, but he slid backwards to 9th by the time the race had reached the halfway point.  He held his ground there until the final lap when Matt Campbell slipped by, relegating the Neptune City, NJ native to a 10th place finish.

“Time trials were something we definitely wanted to improve on from last year, so I feel like we’ve done that so far.  We’ve been timing really well and have had good speed early in the night.  Now we need to work on making the right decisions later in the night, so we can finish as well as we start“, Reinhardt explained.

Lincoln Speedway has been a challenging venue for Reinhardt in the past, so while the finish may have been a few spots shy of the goal Saturday night, it was a solid step forward for him and his team.  It also establishes a trend in the right direction when coupled with his 6th place finish there last August in the Kramer Klash with the All Stars.

Up Next

Reinhardt finally gets to hit the road this week.  The team will travel to Attica Raceway Park in Ohio to begin their Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions campaign.  The season launches there with shows on both Friday and Saturday, April 15th-16th.

“We struggled at Attica last year but I’m looking forward to kicking off our All Star season there.  I’d like to get a top-10 there.  We’re capable of it.  We just need to get a good lap down to start the night and we’ll be ok.  It’s a different type of track than we have been running so far this year, but a lot of the things we’ve improved will translate“, Reinhardt explained.

Following the 2-day All Star opener, Reinhardt will have the opportunity to return to his home state of NJ to compete in the special ‘Invasion of the Posse’ 410 sprint car show at Bridgeport Motorsports Park on Tuesday, April 19th.

Season Stats

5 races, 0 wins, 2 top 5’s, 3 top 10’s, 5 top 15’s