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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

Coming off two top ten runs on a mini-swing through New York state with the All Star Circuit of Champions in early July, Kyle Reinhardt probably would have preferred to keep the momentum going.  Instead, the series schedule called for a nearly two week break.

The season had been taxing on the team’s motor program, so a little extra time to freshen them up and regroup was the positive side of that situation.  Now it was time to load up the Capitol Renegade / Capitol Custom Coaches & Trailers / Champion Hi-Tech Lubricants / J&J Auto Racing No.91 and hit the road to Missouri to get back to the track.

July 22:  Beach Brawl Night 1 / Lake Ozark Speedway / Eldon, MO

      [34 cars, Qualifying 6th Group D, Heat 6th (6), B-main 2nd (5), A-main 13th (22)]

The tour brought Reinhardt and 33 other drivers to Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon, MO for a 2-race stint dubbed the Beach Brawl.

When qualifying was complete Friday night, Reinhardt found himself in a hole he would need to climb out of.  He logged the 6th quickest lap in his group, then treaded water in his 8-lap heat race, finishing where he started, 6th.

The Capitol Renegade crew and Reinhardt, a mechanical engineer turned full time sprint car driver, put their heads together and made some changes in an attempt to rally their night.  From his 5th starting spot in the 12-lap B-main, Kyle charged toward the front.  He moved into a top four transfer spot by lap two, but he didn’t stop there.  At the checkers Reinhardt was the runner-up.

It appeared the team had found a little something and had things going the right direction.  Reinhardt went on to validate that belief, advancing from his 22nd starting spot to a 13th place finish in the 25-lap A-main.

“We didn’t time well tonight.  We’ve been struggling with that lately.  It’s really important in this format, and we are working hard to get better in that area.  I’m proud of my guys because we didn’t give up.  We kept digging and we got better.  We were able to turn a bad night into a decent one.“, Reinhardt commented.

July 23:  Beach Brawl Night 2 / Lake Ozark Speedway / Eldon, MO

      [34 cars, Qualifying 4th Group C, Heat 8th (3), B-main 5th (11), A-main 22nd (25)]

Saturday night’s finale of the 2-day show started off much better for Reinhardt.  With 34 cars on hand again, he registered the 4th quickest time in his group, putting him in much better position in his heat race and for the night overall.

Reinhardt started inside row two in his heat race, but the potential quickly turned into disbelief when a fuel line burst while running 4th on lap two of heat race number three.  The part failure left Kyle and the Capitol Renegade team with a steep uphill battle for the rest of the night.

Reinhardt officially finished 8th in the heat race, burying him deep in the starting lineup for the 12-lap B-main.  Only the top four finishers would advance to tag the tail of the A-main starting lineup.  The Neptune City, NJ native made an inspired drive, charging toward the front but ultimately falling one spot short of the main with a 5th place finish. 

Leveraging a provisional starting spot for only the second time this season, Reinhardt was prepared to make another charge through the field.  He had done it the night before and again in the B-main on this night.  

Taking the green from the 25th position, forward progress was a little tougher than Friday night, but Reinhardt was making some ground.  Then came yet another setback.  After moving forward seven spots, his left rear tire exploded and brought an end to his night.  He was listed 22nd in the official finish.

“What a night to forget.“, a frustrated Reinhardt said.  

“We timed a little better than we have been, so I felt like we put ourselves in a decent position to start the night.  Then we had a part failure; the fuel line burst.  We battled back from that, then had a tire fail.  It’s frustrating, but those aren’t things we can control.  We’ve certainly had our share of it this season.  All we can do is keep working hard and hope we can shake this monkey off our back.“

The 2022 season has been especially rough for the Capitol Renegade team, with few things falling their way.  Often speed has been plentiful, but luck has been scarce.

In sprint car racing, just like any  other competitive sport, when you get knocked down the most important thing is to get back up again.  Reinhardt and team will do just that.

Up Next

Kyle and the Capitol Renegade team will be in Missouri again this week with the Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions for the 2-day Rayce Rudeen Foundation event at I-70 Speedway in Odessa, MO on 7/28 & 7/29, where Friday night’s finale will pay $26,000 to the victor.

Saturday night Reinhardt and the All Stars will roll into the Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa for the tour’s lone 2022 stop at the famous half-mile where they will compete for an $8,000 winner’s share. It will also serve as an opportunity to add to the team’s notebook before the upcoming Knoxville Nationals in August.

Season Stats

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