Kyle Reinhardt Endures Bumpy Sharon Nationals

Kyle Reinhardt arrived in Hartford, Ohio last weekend with the Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions (ASCoC) aiming to continue riding the wave of improvement the team had generated over the past few weeks.

Back in June, his last visit to the northeast Ohio 3/8-mile clay oval during Ohio Speedweek had resulted in a top ten run after starting 22nd, so the odds certainly looked to be in his favor of achieving the goal.

September 2:  Sharon Nationals – Lou Blaney Memorial Night 1 / Sharon Speedway / Hartford, OH  [40 cars, Qualifying 6th in Group C, Heat 3rd (6), A-main 24th (14)]

A quality field of 40 cars turned out for the first night of the ASCoC sanctioned Lou Blaney Memorial at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, OH.  The series’ four-group qualifying, four-heat race format would set the field.  The top five finishers from each heat would transfer to the A-main, along with the top four finishers from the B-main.

Reinhardt’s Capitol Renegade / Capitol Custom Coaches & Trailers / Champion Hi-Tech Lubricants / J&J Auto Racing No.91 was the ninth car in Group C to hit the track for qualifying.  He recorded the 6th quickest lap in the group, putting him outside row three to start the third heat.

Reinhardt wasted no time going on the offensive in his heat race, surging around the high side on the opening lap to claim 3rd at the completion of lap one.  He wasn’t able to close the gap on second place Tyler Courtney, but he was able to hold a firm grasp on the 3rd spot throughout the 8-lap qualifying race.

The 30-lap A-main would have provided 14th starting Reinhardt plenty of time to navigate his way to another top ten or better, but things went awry early.  The Neptune City, NJ native was working the high side again as he had done with success in his heat race, but the result wasn’t the same.  He got into the outside wall with his right rear tire and ended up tumbling into turn two.  He emerged unscathed from the crash, but his Capitol Renegade No.91 needed attention in the work area.  The repair work was nearly complete when the clock ran out on the team’s allowed time, and the race resumed without Reinhardt. He was officially credited with a 24th place finish.

“I came into turn one a little hot and got into the wall.  Thank you to all the guys who helped to try and get us back out.  It was close.”, a disappointed Reinhardt commented.

September 3:  Sharon Nationals – Lou Blaney Memorial Night 2 / Sharon Speedway / Hartford, OH  [40 cars, Qualifying 5th in Group C, Heat 4th (5), A-main 17th (14)]

With everyone returning, the field and format was the same for night two of the Lou Blaney Memorial, and once again Kyle Reinhardt was slotted in Group C.  His lap of 15.657 was good enough for 5th quick in the group.

Starting from inside row three in the third heat, Reinhardt made a move on the start to grab the 4th position but was unable to make additional forward progress in the 8-lap qualifying race.

It was a relatively uneventful main event for Reinhardt.  He started 14th in the 35-lap A-main for the second consecutive night.  Forward progress was difficult.  He battled hard throughout to maintain his track position but ultimately slid a few spots to a 17th place finish.

“We just missed it tonight.  Disappointing weekend for us, especially since we’ve had things going the right direction lately.  We’ll keep digging.“, Reinhardt said.

“I’m really looking forward to getting to Port Royal.  We’ve struggled there lately but we’ve changed a lot of stuff since our last trip there, so I’m excited to see what we can do at the Tuscarora 50.”

Up Next

Reinhardt and the Capitol Renegade team will set up camp at Port Royal Speedway to race the All Star Circuit of Champions sanctioned, three day Tuscarora 50 event.

Thursday’s preliminary action offers $8,000 to the winner, Friday’s ‘Night Before the 50’ awards the victor with a tidy $10,000 prize, and Saturday’s 55th annual installment of premier event not only drops $55,000 into the bank account of the winning team but also pays a minimum of $2,000 just to qualify and start the event.  The three day total event payout will exceed $230,000!

Season Stats

57 races, 0 wins, 5 top 5’s, 14 top 10’s, 29 top 15’s