Reinhardt Set for Knoxville’s 360 Nationals, Capitani Classic and 410 Nationals

The annual summertime break in the Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions schedule is upon us, which means it is time for the 360 Sprint Car Nationals, Capitani Classic and 410 Sprint Car Nationals at ‘The Sprint Car Capital of the World’, Knoxville Raceway in the heart of Southern Iowa.

In 2021, Kyle Reinhardt earned the 360 Nationals Rookie of the Year, and he is back to compete again this year in the Capitol Renegade / Capitol Custom Coaches & Trailers / Champion Hi-Tech Lubricants / J&J Auto Racing No.91.

Reinhardt will qualify on Thursday, August 4th and the finale of the three day event takes place on Saturday, August 6th.

“I’m looking forward to the 360 Nationals.  It’s a fun event on its own but it also gives us valuable track time that can help us next week too.”, Reinhardt commented.  “There are over 100 cars entered.  Our goal is to make the A-main.”

The following day, Reinhardt will go back to 410 sprint car racing in the Capitani Classic, honoring Knoxville’s longtime promotor, Ralph Capitani.

Reinhardt and the Capitol Renegade team tentatively have the Front Row Challenge race at Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, IA on the schedule for Monday, August 8th.  A decision will be made regarding that event following Sunday night’s race at Knoxville.

Tuesday, August 9th, will be an off day to make final preparations for the 61st NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals.

The 410 Nationals kick off on Wednesday when over 50 drivers, including Reinhardt, qualify.  Another 50 drivers will get their shot to qualify the following night.

“Obviously the key to the Nationals is a good qualifying night, especially time trials.”, Reinhardt said.  “Last year we were okay on Wednesday, fought back on Friday and made it to the B-main on Saturday, so if we can get our week off on the right foot this year, we can be in position to improve on that.“

Friday night, which is dubbed ‘Hard Knox Night’, gives teams their final chance to tally points and improve their positioning for the series of mains that are conducted on the final day of the four day event on Saturday, August 13th.

For full Knoxville 410 Sprint Car Nationals format information, click here.

Prior to turning his focus to the national events at Knoxville, Reinhardt competed in the final two ASCoC events at I-70 Speedway in Odessa, Missouri and Knoxville.  

July 29:  Event / I-70 Speedway / Odessa, MO

     [28 cars, Qualifying 17th, Heat 5th (6), A-main 25th (15)]

Night number one of two scheduled nights at I-70 Speedway was washed out by rain.  Night two brought 28 teams pit-side for the $26,000 to win Rayce Rudeen Foundation race.

Reinhardt’s night got off to an average start with a lap that placed him 17th quick in the field.  While he was not able to make the gains he needed to put himself inside the top ten in the starting lineup for the night’s finale, he was able to transfer into the A-main through his heat race with a 5th place finish despite engine issues that had been present since the start of the night.

From his 15th starting spot in the 25-lap A-main, Reinhardt held his ground for the opening five circuits, but the engine issues were persistent and getting worse.  He slipped down the running order several spots and was forced to retire from the event after fourteen laps.

“I want to thank everyone at Champion Hi-Tech Lubricants for supporting us.  Their headquarters is in Clinton, MO not far from here.  We had them on the wing tonight.  I wish we could’ve gotten a better finish for them.”

photo credit: Chad Warner Photography

July 30:  Event / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA

     [55 cars, Qualifying 8th in Group B, Heat 8th (8),

      C-main 2nd (2), B-main 15th (18), A-main 23rd (26)]

The desire to get some final track time at Knoxville Raceway before the Nationals drew 55 cars to compete for the $8,000 winner’s share. 

Despite having his engine issues solved from the night before, Reinhardt struggled to find speed, qualifying 8th in his group.  His heat race appeared to be going his way early on but during some tight competition he was forced high and lost momentum, which is critical at Knoxville.  The end result was an 8th place finish and a trip to the C-main.

He went on to finish 2nd in the C-main and advance to the B-main where he gained three spots to post a 15th place finish.

For only the second time this season, Reinhardt leveraged a series provisional to join the A-main field in an effort to make adjustments and get more laps to find some solutions to the team’s issues.  He finished the night in 23rd.

Season Stats

40 races, 0 wins, 4 top 5’s, 9 top 10’s, 23 top 15’s