Kyle Reinhardt Continues Preparation for All Star Season

Kyle Reinhardt has been doing his best to use the month of March to prepare for the upcoming battle.  His second season traveling with the Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions will begin soon, so he and the Capitol Renegade team have been working hard to be ready.  Mother Nature hasn’t exactly cooperated, eliminating three of seven planned races.  His finishes have ranged from the podium to mid-pack, but every outing has been a winner in terms of learning and preparation.

Williams Grove Speedway was Reinhardt’s planned destination on April Fool’s Day, but that show fell victim to Mother Nature, leaving the Capitol Renegade team with a trip to Port Royal Speedway as their only opportunity of the weekend to hit the track.

April 2:  Port Royal Speedway / Port Royal, PA

      (30 cars, qualifying 1st, heat 6th, A-main 14th)

The Capitol Renegade / Capitol Custom Coaches & Trailers / Champion Hi-Tech Lubricants / J&J Auto Racing No.91 of Reinhardt was one of thirty 410 sprint cars to enter competition Saturday afternoon.  A group time trial format was in place for the event.  The field was split into three groups by random draw for laps under the clock and heat races.

Reinhardt got his day off to a promising start by turning in the fastest qualifying lap in his group.  A four car inversion for heat races put him on the outside of row two for his 8-lap heat race.  The top six finishers would transfer to the feature, but only the top two would earn their place in the redraw for one of the top six starting spots for the finale.

On the initial start Reinhardt charged into second spot by the time the field reached the backstretch.  Moments later the red lights flashed on for a crash in turn three.  With no laps complete, the field lined up for a complete restart after the cleanup was complete.  Take number two didn’t play out as well for Reinhardt.  Instead of gaining two spots, he lost one.  A few laps later, he lost another and ended up finishing 6th.

Next up was the 25-lap A-main.  To demonstrate how every spot matters, consider how different Reinhardt’s day might have been if not for the red flag in his heat race.  If he holds on to 2nd, he’s guaranteed to start in the top six.  Instead, he found himself starting 17th.  From there, Reinhardt managed to get to 14th by the time the checkered flag fell on the day.

“I think our track time around home preparing for our regular season has gone well.   It’s been productive.  We definitely know our car better.  We just need to keep racing and continue building on what we’ve started“, Reinhardt said.

Reinhardt has had solid outings at Williams Grove thus far in 2022, but Port Royal has been a little more challenging.  After struggling at ‘The Speed Palace’ in 2021, the Neptune City, NJ native has shown improvement.  They have been fast early in the show but haven’t quite put the entire day together there yet.

“We still have a lot to figure out there (at Port Royal).  We’re gonna keep chipping away at it“, Reinhardt commented.

Up Next

With the All Stars delaying their season opener due to weather, Reinhardt and the Capitol Renegade team will spend one more weekend in Pennsylvania preparing for the All Star season.  This weekend, weather permitting, they will race at Williams Grove Speedway on Friday, Lincoln Speedway on Saturday, and BAPS Motor Speedway on Sunday.  It’s an unexpected opportunity they will capitalize on to get track time at Lincoln, where Reinhardt will compete in All Star shows later this season.

The following week they will finally hit the road to Attica Raceway Park in Ohio to kick off their Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions season.  The season launches with a 2-day show on April 15th & 16th.