Archive for category: Kyle Reinhardt

When the 2023 season opens for Kyle Reinhardt, some things will seem familiar, but the new year will bring changes.

The biggest change:  Jeff McCall and Reinhardt split a few weeks ago. The team spent the past two seasons traveling with the All Star Circuit of Champions (ASCoC) and supplemented their schedule with other races when time allowed, amassing over seventy events entered each season.

The combination had moderate success, including Reinhardt’s first ASCoC victory and a pair of eighth place finishes in the ASCoC Championship point standings. More importantly, they were accumulating resources and building the depth of their program. McCall’s departure is on good terms but nonetheless it sets Reinhardt’s program back a few steps.

“We were slowly building something solid the last couple seasons and we had things going the right direction the last couple months of this past season, but now we will need to restart the building process in certain ways,” Reinhardt commented.

“Jeff’s departure means we will start 2023 without some of the parts, engines, and key components that I have been able to rely on the last two years.”  He will not have any full time employees either.

On the familiar side of things, Capitol Renegade, who has been with Reinhardt since 2017, will remain a key partner.

“On a positive note, we will start the year on the same car and shock package we were running at the end of 2022.  We were running well on that combination, so we will have that to build on.“, Reinhardt shared.

The schedule will look a little different for Reinhardt in 2023. It will primarily consist of races in Pennsylvania, along with some travel for World of Outlaw, All Star and High Limit series events when possible. Exactly which events, and the total number of events, the team enters will be dependent on securing additional funding.

Reinhardt is open to a partnership that will enable him to rebuild the depth of his team, as well as enable him to run all the events on his tentative schedule.

“I am open to conversations about help, funding, or opportunities. I was hoping to kick off the season in Georgia with the All Stars, but given the current crew help situation and resources available, we will probably delay the start of our season to early March.,” Reinhardt said.

Kyle Reinhardt has definitely found speed again.

Coming into a late October two-race weekend in his home state of New Jersey, his month already included three top five finishes at three different tracks, one of those on the podium.

‘Sprinttoberfest’ at Bridgeport Motorsports Park in Swedesboro, NJ provided Reinhardt with two more shots in October to continue building momentum before heading south to compete at the World Finals in Charlotte, NC in early November. 

He capitalized on both opportunities.

October 29:  Sprintoberfest / Bridgeport Motorsports Park / Swedesboro, NJ  [25 cars, Qualifying 1st Group 1, Heat 4th (3), Dash 5th (5) A-main 5th (5)]

Reinhardt has expressed his love of the new 4-tenths mile configuration at Bridgeport ever since it opened a few years ago.  He has been fast on the high-banked surface, including a runner-up finish in the ‘Invasion of the Posse’ event back in April of this year in his Capitol Renegade / Capitol Custom Coaches & Trailers / Champion Hi-Tech Lubricants / J&J Auto Racing No.91.

Bridgeport Motorsports Park Sprintoberfest Format Details

Reinhardt’s draw placed him in group one.  He promptly laid down a lap of 12.786, quickest in the group, which put him inside row two to start heat number one and guaranteed him a spot in the dash redraw.

The Neptune City, NJ native finished 4th in his 8-lap heat race, drew the #5 starting spot for the dash, and finished in the same position in the 5-lap event.

Reinhardt started 5th in the 25-lap A-main and began to make moves early on.  He claimed the 4th spot at the start and held onto it through the first six laps before wrestling the 3rd spot away from Sye Lynch on lap seven.  Lynch battled back a lap later and took the podium spot back from Reinhardt.

Meanwhile, Gio Scelzi was closing in to become part of the battle.  He worked his way past Reinhardt to take 4th on lap ten, dropping the Capitol Renegade No.91 to 5th, where he would finish the event 

October 30:  Sprintoberfest / Bridgeport Motorsports Park / Swedesboro, NJ  [26 cars, Qualifying 1st Group 3, Heat 4th (3), Dash 6th (5), A-main 2nd (6)]

Sunday’s field grew by one to 26 cars, but the format remained the same as Saturday.

Sunday’s draw put Reinhardt in group three, but the result was no different.  Once again, he was quickest in his group, this time with a lap of 12.687.  The 8-lap heat race and redraw were like Deja vu as well, as Reinhardt started 3rd and finished 4th in the heat, then drew the 5th starting spot for the dash.

Reinhardt finished 6th in the dash, putting him outside row three to start the 40-lap finale.  Once again he got right to work, moving forward into the 5th spot on the opening lap.  He raced 5th for the majority of the first half of the race, slipping to 6th only briefly in the early going.

On lap twenty three, Reinhardt worked his way into the 4th spot, then found himself in the runner up spot with Gio Scelzi in front and Danny Dietrich on his heels with fifteen laps remaining.  

With Devin Borden and Lance Dewease also in the top five, there was no room for error during the final dozen circuits.  Reinhardt was up to the challenge and came home with the runner up finish, 1.288 seconds behind Scelzi. Dewease, Borden and Dietrich rounded out the top five.

“It was great to run up front both nights in front of a lot of family and friends.  I’m happy about the consistent speed we have found lately.  We’re running well, but we still have a little work to do to get the car into victory lane again.  Hopefully we can keep that going in Charlotte next week to finish out our season.“, Reinhardt commented.

Up Next

Reinhardt and the Capitol Renegade team will wrap up their 2022 season with a trip to the World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway.  The team will compete in the World of Outlaws sanctioned event on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, November 2nd, 4th and 5th.

In 2021, Reinhardt made the A-main on both Friday and Saturday night at Charlotte, recording finishes of 14th and 20th.  This week he will look to improve on last year’s successful trip.

The events will be broadcast on DirtVision.com for those who subscribe to the streaming service.

Season Stats

72 races, 0 wins, 10 top 5’s, 20 top 10’s, 36 top 15’s

Coming off a week that included two rainouts and a subpar National Open prelim night, Kyle Reinhardt was more than ready to strap back into the seat of his Capitol Renegade / Capitol Custom Coaches & Trailers / Champion Hi-Tech Lubricants / J&J Auto Racing No.91 and get back to work.

In recent weeks the Capitol Renegade team had been showing glimpses of their old speed again, and you can’t get faster sitting at the shop.  Three opportunities were on the docket last week for Reinhardt.  First up was the Brian Montieth Classic, just a mile or so down the road from the team’s shop at Lincoln Speedway in Abbottstown, PA.

October 6:  Brian Montieth Classic / Lincoln Speedway / Abbottstown, PA [36 cars, Qualifying 12th, Heat 1st (2), A-main 5th (4)]

Thursday night’s event used a single group qualifying format for the 36 cars on hand.  Heat lineups would be set by inverting the top four, with the balance of the lineup heads up by time.  The top five finishers from each of four heats would transfer to the A-main, with the top two making the redraw.  If the quick timer in the race could win, only the winner would be in the redraw.

Reinhardt was 27th in line but clocked in 12th quickest in the field, which put him outside the front row for the start of the fourth heat.  He blasted to the lead at the drop of the green, survived a late restart and led all 10 laps, enroute to a 1.5 second victory over Chad Trout.

The redraw produced the number four pill for Reinhardt, placing him outside the second row for the 35-lap A-main.  With Gio Scelzi and Brian Brown leading the field to the green, Reinhardt beat third-starting Dylan Norris to the low side of turn one and claimed 3rd on the opening lap.

The low side was good to Reinhardt for the first five laps, but on lap six, he moved to the high side as Justin Peck closed on his rear bumper.  Reinhardt closed the gap on second place Brian Brown and the trio waged an intense battle until the caution appeared with seven laps complete.

Reinhardt blasted under Brown entering turn one on the restart and immediately put distance between himself and the Missouri driver.  One lap later, the caution appeared yet again.

On the ensuing restart, Reinhardt held a firm grasp on the runner up spot, again pulling away from Brown by two seconds.  Scelzi was even better, putting several car lengths between himself and Reinhardt’s No.91.

Reinhardt began to close on Scelzi when he caught lapped traffic with twenty laps remaining, but he could not quite get close enough to challenge for the lead.  While this was going on at the front, Buddy Kofoid moved into third, with Justin Peck now fourth and Brown fifth.

Kofoid wrestled the spot away from Reinhardt on lap 25 and one lap later Peck got by as well, dropping Reinhardt from 2nd to 4th in the span of two laps.  

Reinhardt regrouped and set his sights on Peck.  Meanwhile, Danny Dietrich had moved into 5th just before the yellow lights flashed on with two laps remaining.  On the ensuing restart, Reinhardt seemed to be set to finish out the night in 4th until the final corner.  Dietrich turned under the Capitol Renegade 91 and drag raced Reinhardt to the line, nipping him by 0.042 seconds.

Despite some frustration with himself for giving up 4th in the run through the final corner coming to the line, Reinhardt was still happy with his team’s effort and results.  He put it in very simple terms after the race.

“Solid night.  We needed that.“

October 7:  Jim Ford Classic – Night 1 / Fremont Speedway / Fremont, OH [38 cars, Qualifying 7th in Group C, Heat 5th (7), A-main 12th (18)]

The final weekend of the season for the Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions (ASCoC) brought the series to Fremont, Ohio for the two-day Jim Ford Classic.  Night one produced a roster of 38 teams to chase the $6,000 winner’s share.

Reinhardt was the 8th of nine drivers in Group C to hit the track for qualifying.  He only managed the 7th best lap in the group, creating a bit of a hill for the Capitol Renegade team to climb.

Starting 7th in the third of four heats, Reinhardt needed to reach the top five to transfer directly to the A-main and avoid racing the B-main to get in.  The 8-lap qualifying race got off on the wrong foot when he slipped to 8th, but Reinhardt soon found his rhythm.  By lap five he had worked his way to 6th and was able to make the pass for 5th on lap seven, putting himself into the night’s finale.

Reinhardt started the 35-lap A-main in the 18th position and patiently waited for the traffic around him to sort itself out over the first five laps.  From there, he used a steady effort to chip his way toward the front, making his way into the top fifteen on lap nine.  

Reinhardt’s machine continued to get quicker as the fuel load burned off.  On the restart following a lap twenty caution, he surged forward into the 13th spot.  As the race reached its final five circuits, he moved up another position.  The late charge ended just 8-tenths of a second out of a top ten finish with Reinhardt in 12th.

October 8:  Jim Ford Classic – Night 2 / Fremont Speedway / Fremont, OH [39 cars, Qualifying 1st in Group 2, Heat 3rd (4), A-main 3rd (6)]

The $10,000 to win finale of the Jim Ford Classic and the 2022 ASCoC season drew a field of 39 cars, once again putting the four qualifying group, four heat format into action.

Reinhardt rolled out 7th in Group B for his turn under the clock and promptly showed the resurgence of his team’s speed as he laid down the fastest lap in the group.

Only needing to transfer by finishing in the top five of his heat race, Reinhardt ran hard from his starting spot outside row two in his 8-lap heat race.  He brought home a third place finish and along with it, a spot in the dash redraw.

Reinhardt drew the 6th starting spot for the 6-lap dash.  On the opening lap he moved up one spot but eventually finished 6th, putting his Capitol Renegade No.91 on the outside of row three for the 30-lap Jim Ford Classic main event.

On lap two, Reinhardt moved into the fifth position.  He held that ground, executing a steady performance, for the next twenty three laps and appeared set to come home with a nice top five finish.

Reinhardt wasn’t done yet though.

A caution slowed the field with four laps remaining and Reinhardt still running 5th.  On the restart, he drove to the inside of Zeb Wise in turn one and took the 4th position away.

Two laps later the yellow lights flashed on yet again, forcing a restart for a green-white-checkered finish.  On this restart, Cole Macedo was Reinhardt’s victim when the former professional engineer turned full time racer slipped underneath the No.18 entering turn one.

Reinhardt held on to 3rd for the remaining lap and a half, closing out the touring series’ portion of his season with his first ASCoC podium of the year and first ASCoC top five since August 24th at Bloomsburg Fair Raceway in Pennsylvania.

“I was trying to save my tire.  I could tell early on the track was probably going to take rubber and tires would be important at the end.  It’s tough to hold back but it paid off in the end.“, Reinhardt shared.

“We had a solid finish to our All Star season tonight.  It’s been a challenging year, but we’ve finally been finding our speed again lately, so hopefully we can continue that in our remaining races and go into the offseason with something positive to build on.  I want to say thank you to all of our partners and everyone involved with our team that got our 91 car up and down the road all season.”

Up Next

Reinhardt and the Capitol Renegade team will take the coming weekend off, then will return on Friday, October 21st at BAPS Motor Speedway for their “The Night Before” event.  The following night, the Neptune City, NJ native will roll back into Williams Grove Speedway for the rescheduled finale of the 60th Annual National Open.

Season Stats

68 races, 0 wins, 7 top 5’s, 17 top 10’s, 33 top 15’s

Statistically speaking, Kyle Reinhardt’s 2022 season has been a little better than last year, but that’s not much comfort to the Neptune City, NJ native who has struggled to find the consistent speed he needs to put up the stats he knows he and his Capitol Renegade / Capitol Custom Coaches & Trailers / Champion Hi-Tech Lubricants / J&J Auto Racing No.91 are capable of.

Williams Grove Speedway and Lincoln Speedway, both in the heart of Reinhardt’s home turf, have been the site of good runs for the team in the past.  They came into this past weekend hoping the familiarity would help dial in the missing speed.

September 16:  Dirt Classic Qualifier / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA

     [33 cars, Qualifying 6th in Group B, Heat 4th (6), A-main 14th (16)]

Friday night Reinhardt was among 33 drivers who signed in for the Dirt Classic Qualifier at ‘The Grove’.  The four-group format was initiated for the program.  While his 6th quickest qualifying run in Group B was still short of the speed he was looking for, he was able to race his way from the 6th starting spot to 4th and transfer into the A-main through his heat race.  It was a step in the right direction.

In the 30-lap finale, Reinhardt made a little more progress.  After starting 16th, he moved forward and reached 12th by the halfway point.  The battles for position in the middle of the pack were tight throughout the event.  Reinhardt ultimately finished 14th.

September 17:  Dirt Classic IX / Lincoln Speedway / Abbottstown, PA

     [50 cars, Qualifying 6th in Group E, Heat #5 5th (6), Heat #10 6th (5), B-main 11th (10)]

50 teams were in the pits to chase the $20,000 winner’s share of the Dirt Classic IX purse.  The annual All Star Circuit of Champions sanctioned event uses qualifying and double heats to accumulate points and set the starting field for the main event.

Reinhardt was slotted in the fifth and final group to go under the clock.  Once again he logged the 6th best lap in the group.

From his 6th starting spot in heat race number five, Reinhardt grabbed the 5th spot on the start.  Unable to make additional forward progress, he held on to that spot throughout the 8-lap race.

In the tenth heat race, Reinhardt was unable to gain ground in the running order or the point standings for the night.  He started 5th but lost a position on lap two and finished 6th.

Reinhardt found himself with an uphill battle when the points were tallied.  He would start 10th in the 12-lap B-main and would need to climb six spots to make the cut for the A-main.  It wasn’t in the cards and Reinhardt’s night ended with an 11th place in the consolation race.

Up Next

Reinhardt and the Capitol Renegade team will head to Eldora Speedway this weekend for two nights of competition.  First up will be the ‘BeFour the Crowns Showdown’ Friday night with the World of Outlaws.

Saturday night’s All Star Circuit of Champions race is part of the ‘4-Crown Nationals’ and pays $10,000 to win.

Season Stats

62 races, 0 wins, 5 top 5’s, 14 top 10’s, 30 top 15’s