Kyle Reinhardt Highlights Wisconsin ASCoC Swing with Top 5 at Plymouth Dirt Track

A rare Tuesday night show in his home state of NJ gave Kyle Reinhardt an opportunity to race in his home state on May 17th before hitting the road to Wisconsin for his next round of events on the All Star tour on May 20-22.

Reinhardt posted strong runs throughout the week, including his first top five of the ASCoC season, but also experienced some tough luck that wrote an undesirable ending to a good night for the Capitol Renegade / Capitol Custom Coaches & Trailers / Champion Hi-Tech Lubricants / J&J Auto Racing No.91.

May 17:  Bridgeport Motorsports Park / Swedesboro, NJ

      (WoO:  33 cars, Qualifying 19th, Heat 4th, A-main 11th)

A subpar time trial result can often put a race team in a hole they cannot climb out of.  When Kyle Reinhardt turned in the 19th quickest qualifying lap of the 33 cars on hand at Bridgeport Motorsports Park during the World of Outlaws event, he and the team kept their heads down and kept working to get better throughout the night.

The lap wasn’t terrible at all, it just wasn’t what they needed, and it wasn’t what Reinhardt knew he was capable of at the NJ facility.

Reinhardt lined up 5th in the third of four 8-lap heat races.  The top five finishers from each would transfer directly to the A-main.  After slipping backwards on the opening lap, the Neptune City, NJ native charged from 6th to 4th by the fourth circuit and set his sights on Kasey Kahne, who was occupying 3rd.  Reinhardt wasn’t quite able to get to Kahne and settled for 4th.

In the Outlaw format, each position gained in a heat race improves the driver’s A-main starting spot by four positions.  Reinhardt’s forward progress in the heat race helped secure the 15th starting spot in the night’s finale, which was shortened by five laps as a result of tire wear issues earlier in the night.

After gaining a couple spots in the early going, the mechanical engineer turned professional sprint car wheelman found himself back where he had started in the running order.

As the laps clicked off and Reinhardt’s fuel load lightened, the car and the track began to come to him.  In the final seven laps, he charged from 16th to 11th and was ready to break into the top-10 when the checkered flag fell.

“A solid 11th with the Outlaws tonight. I really started passing cars at the end. Wish it didn’t get shortened to 25 laps because we were fighting for a top 10.“, Reinhardt commented.

May 20:  Wilmot Raceway / Wilmot, WI

      (ASCoC:  Rained Out)

Reinhardt and team made the 13 hour tow from NJ to Wilmot, Wisconsin for their next All Star Circuit of Champions event but got the night off when Mother Nature decided she was going to win on Friday.

May 21: Plymouth Dirt Track / Plymouth, WI

      (ASCoC:  36 cars, Qualifying 3rd Group D/11th overall, Heat 2nd, Dash 7th, A-main 5th)

With Wilmot rained out, Reinhardt and the Capitol Renegade team headed two hours north to Plymouth Dirt Track, which sits about halfway between Milwaukee and Green Bay.

Saturday night, 36 teams signed in for action with the All Star Circuit of Champions on the one-third mile clay oval.  Reinhardt was the sixth car in Group D to go under the clock.  He turned in the 3rd fastest lap in the group, good for 11th quick overall.

The lap put Reinhardt on the outside of the front row for the fourth heat.  He was unable to beat Bill Balog to turn one and settled into second.  Kyle brought his No.91 home second, which earned him a spot in the dash when the group’s fast timer, Justin Peck, was unable to transfer after a lap one incident.

Reinhardt appeared poised to capitalize on the opportunity.  After drawing the 4th starting spot, the Champion Hi-Tech Lubricants driver used the high side in turns one and two to move into 3rd down the backstretch.  As the field entered turn three, Reinhardt looked to dive low and challenge for 2nd but incidental contact from behind turned his No.91 around, bringing an end to his shot at a front row starting spot for the A-main.

Reinhardt was credited with a 7th place finish in the dash, putting him inside row four for the 30-lap finale.  A strong move early on put the New Oxford, PA resident into the top five.  Reinhardt rode home 5th after his attempts to chase down Parker Price-Miller in 4th came up short.

“I was a little tight early and gaining as the race went on.  Solid night after getting tangled up in the dash. Our first All Star top-5 on the year, so we’re pretty happy with the direction we’re going.“, Reinhardt said.

May 22:  Angell Park Speedway / Sun Prairie, WI

      (ASCoC:  33 cars, Qualifying 2nd Group A/5th overall, Heat 2nd, A-main 23rd)

For Sunday’s event, the All Star tour traveled about 90 minutes southwest to Angell Park Speedway, just outside of Madison, Wisconsin.

The night started off with a favorable pill draw for Reinhardt and team, giving them an early shot at the track during timed qualifying.  He used the opportunity to record the 5th quickest overall lap of the 33 cars on hand.  It was good for 2nd best in Group A.

Having earned the pole for heat number one, Reinhardt jumped out to an early lead.  The field chased the Capitol Renegade No.91 for the first five circuits until Bill Balog overtook Reinhardt to claim the top spot.

Reinhardt’s 2nd place finish in the heat race handed him the 9th starting spot in the 30-lap A-main.  With a top-1o starting spot and a good car under him, he was poised to put a solid week in the books and some momentum in his pocket.

Unfortunately, it didn’t play out that way.  The rough surface reached out and bit Reinhardt on the opening lap, sending him to the work area after a tangle in turn two.  Despite some delays getting there to assess the damage, the team had repairs nearly complete when time expired on them and brought an end to their night officially 23rd.

“Unfortunate ending to our night. Got out of shape in the choppy track and just a mess after that. We definitely have frame damage, so we’ll have some work to do this week.”, Reinhardt shared.

“Special thanks to all the guys trying to get us back out! Wish they would have gotten us to the work area a little quicker. We were ready to roll when they put the lights out. 20 seconds would have changed our night.  That aside, I’m looking forward to getting back to PA this coming weekend!“, he concluded.

Up Next

Reinhardt and the Capitol Renegade team will spend the Memorial Day holiday weekend back home in Pennsylvania with stops at Williams Grove Speedway for Friday’s $10,000-to-win Randy Wolfe Tribute and Port Royal Speedway for the Bob Weikert Memorial, which pays $10,000 to Saturday’s winner and $29,000 to Sunday’s winner.

Season Stats

20 races, 0 wins, 4 top 5’s, 5 top 10’s, 13 top 15’s, 9 top 20’s