Reinhardt Caps Solid Ohio Weekend with Top-10 at Atomic

Kyle Reinhardt and the Capitol Renegade / Capitol Custom Coaches & Trailers / Champion Hi-Tech Lubricants / J&J Auto Racing No.91 were in Ohio last weekend with the Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions for their final chance to prepare for the upcoming Ohio Speedweek.

The Capitol Renegade team made the most of two important opportunities.  Friday they added to their notes at Attica Raceway Park, a facility that has been challenging for Reinhardt and team.  Saturday they made their first visit to Atomic Speedway, giving them valuable track time to start a notebook on the southern Ohio track.

June 3:  Attica Raceway Park / Attica, OH

      (38 cars, Qualifying 6th Group 2, Heat 5th, A-main 14th)

The always well-supported Attica Raceway Park drew a field of 38 cars for the $6,000 to win All Star event.  The field was divided into four groups for qualifying per the All Star format.

Kyle Reinhardt’s qualifying effort garnered the 6th quickest lap in Group 2.  With only the top five finishers from each 8-lap heat race transferring to the A-main, the Neptune City, NJ native would need to make improvements to avoid the B-main.

From outside row three, Reinhardt pursued a top five transfer spot from the drop of the green.  Mid-race he slipped backwards to 7th but was able to regroup and find his rhythm.  He recaptured 6th on lap five, then set his sights once again on a transfer spot.  On the final circuit he worked his way by Scott Bogucki to grab 5th and made his way into the A-main.

Reinhardt started 17th in the 40-lap main event.  From there, it would be an up and down run.  By lap eight, he had navigated his way to 13th and appeared capable of more.  

Over the next twenty laps, things went the wrong direction.  Reinhardt found himself losing what he had gained and more.  With ten laps remaining, he was mired in 18th.

During the closing laps Reinhardt bounced back,  climbing to 14th by the time the checkered flag fell.

“We have a lot of work to do still at Attica.“, Reinhardt summarized.

June 4:  George Fisher Memorial Freedom 40, Atomic Speedway / Chillicothe, OH

      (38 cars, Qualifying 3rd Group 2/4th overall, Heat 2nd, A-main 7th)

Teams rolled nearly 3 hours due south to Atomic Speedway for Saturday’s $15,000 to win George Fisher Memorial race and once again, 38 teams signed in.

Kyle Reinhardt found himself in group 2 once again, but this time turned in an impressive time, good for 4th overall and 3rd quickest in his group.  It was a much better start to the night.

The qualifying run provided Reinhardt with an outside front row starting spot for heat number two.  He was not able to chase down Cole Duncan for the top spot but he held a firm grasp on 2nd throughout the 8-lap qualifying race.

Reinhardt took the green for the 40-lap A-main from the 9th position and quickly found himself in a little trouble.  During the scramble for track position on the start, Reinhardt found himself stuck in the middle and losing spots.  He slipped to 13th.

Reinhardt spent the next thirty laps trying to get out of the early hole, which was a task made even more difficult when the track surface took rubber.  When a track takes rubber, the preferred line is narrow, passing is extremely difficult, and tire wear becomes a concern.

The race became a balance of gaining positions and making it to the end.  The final ten laps saw Reinhardt make some passes in the rubber, but also benefit from attrition when a few others lost tires.

With two laps remaining, Reinhardt found himself in 7th and surging forward, taking advantage of a few restarts in the final four laps.  He raced into 5th at the white flag, then claimed 4th off of turn two on the final circuit.

As Reinhardt entered turn three, he too fell to the tire wear circumstances.  His right rear tire exploded and he managed to maintain enough control to cross the line 7th on the rim.

“It’s a top ten, so we’ll take it, but we don’t really know how good we would’ve been tonight.  When a track takes rubber, you don’t race the track the way you would normally, so it’s hard to know how our car really was and get good notes.“, Reinhardt commented.

“Should’ve been better, could’ve been worse.”, he said, simplifying the team’s night into a single sentence.

Up Next

Reinhardt embarks on the grueling 9-day, 9-race Ohio Sprint Speedweek this Friday, June 10th.  The opener will take place at Attica Raceway Park on Friday night, followed by two consecutive nights at Fremont Speedway.  See the full schedule below. 

Season Stats

24 races, 0 wins, 4 top 5’s, 6 top 10’s, 15 top 15’s, 11 top 20’s