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“Now is the time to figure out how to get better.  How to find speed.  To learn what I can do to the car and what I can’t“, Kyle Reinhardt said recently on the Sprint Car Unlimited podcast.

That is Reinhardt’s objective for March 2022 as he prepares for the upcoming Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions season.  Every choice, every decision since the end of last season has been aimed at being the absolute most-prepared he can be for the series’ tour.  Sometimes that meant being smart, staying home and saving his resources.   When mid-March arrived, it was time to get started.

For the second consecutive Friday night, Reinhardt and team rolled the Capitol Renegade / Capitol Custom Coaches & Trailers / Champion Hi-Tech Lubricants / J&J Auto Racing No.91 into the pit area at Williams Grove Speedway for another night of homework, so to speak.  The first outing was deemed a success when the team logged a top-5 finish.  Now they were back looking to continue building their notebook and their momentum.

March 25:  Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA

     (27 cars, Heat 1st, A-main 2nd)

The format for the 27 car field on week two at ‘The Grove’ called for three 10-lap heats, lined up by random draw.  The top six finishers of each would transfer to the night’s feature event, but only the top four would make the redraw.

Kyle Reinhardt lined up on the pole of heat number three and quickly showed strength, jumping out to a ten-car-length lead on the opening lap.  By lap nine he had built up a 3.5 second lead over Ryan Smith, but the caution lights flashed on for a slowing car.  The Neptune City, NJ native withstood a good restart by Smith and held on to win the heat race by 0.815 seconds.

The redraw put Reinhardt in the middle of the top ten to start the 25-lap A-main.  He looked strong, holding onto his 6th starting spot throughout the first ten laps.  In the middle of the event, Reinhardt picked up a couple spots on subsequent restarts and found himself in 3rd when the race entered the last ten laps.

At that stage, the Capitol Renegade No.91 got even quicker.  Reinhardt was rolling the bottom in turns 1 & 2 better than anyone else.  Not only was he gaining ground, he was staying out of trouble while the higher side of that end of the track was reaching out and biting some of the competition.  With 6 laps remaining, Reinhardt ripped off his fastest lap of the race, breaking into the 17 second bracket.  On the final lap, Reinhardt ran down Ryan Smith and wrestled 2nd away, capturing his first podium finish of 2022 and his second consecutive top-5 at Williams Grove.

“If it had gone without a caution and we could’ve raced in lapped traffic, I think we had a chance to get to the front, but it didn’t play out that way“, Reinhardt said.

After two solid outings at the Mechanicsburg, PA oval, Reinhardt sits 3rd in the season points close behind Dylan Norris and Justin Peck.  It could be a preview for the upcoming All Star season, where Peck and Reinhardt will be two of the top contenders this year.

“I feel really good after our first three races.  The car has really good balance.  We have a really good baseline for anywhere we go.  We know where we can make adjustments.  I’m making the calls myself this year and my guys are working really hard.  Can’t thank them enough.  We’re off to a good start”, Reinhardt shared.

Saturday’s planned trip to Reinhardt’s home state of NJ was scrapped when Bridgeport Motorsports Park cancelled due to weather, then ‘plan B’ at Port Royal Speedway fell victim to Mother Nature as well.  Sunday’s trip to Selinsgrove was also lost as a result of unseasonably cold weather.

“We have a couple more races remaining before the All Star schedule starts.  Our goal is to continue to run up front at The Grove and to go back to Port (Royal) and get up front by applying what we learned a few weeks ago up there.  If we can accomplish both, it will be a good weekend”, Reinhardt concluded.

Up Next

For their final tune-ups before kicking off the All Star Circuit of Champions season, Reinhardt and the Capitol Renegade team will make return trips to Williams Grove Speedway (PA) on Friday, April 1st and Port Royal Speedway (PA) the following night.  

Follow along at all the outlets listed below to keep up with Kyle’s season!

Kyle Reinhardt patiently waited to launch his 2022 campaign in an effort to wisely manage the resources of the Capitol Renegade team.  Friday night, March 18th, he finally strapped in at Williams Grove Speedway, and it was worth the wait.  

The Capitol Renegade / Capitol Custom Coaches & Trailers / Champion Hi-Tech Lubricants / J&J Auto Racing No.91 had good balance and speed all night on the way to a 5th place finish in the season opener at ‘The Grove’.  Reinhardt and team then moved on to Port Royal Speedway to round out their first weekend of the season.

March 18:  Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA

     (34 cars, Heat 3rd, A-main 5th)

A quality field of 34 sprint car teams representing several regions of the country came together to kick off Williams Grove’s 2022 season on an unseasonably warm mid-March evening in Central PA.

A random draw set the lineups for the four 10-lap heat races that would establish the lineup for the night’s feature event.  The top five from each heat race would transfer to the main event, but only the top three finishers would participate in the redraw with a chance to start up front.

Reinhardt’s draw placed him 3rd on the grid, which he was able to maintain throughout the event, holding off Lance Dewease to claim the final redraw spot.

The redraw can work in a driver’s favor, so being a part of it is always the goal.  However, being in the redraw doesn’t always guarantee a driver will be happy.  On this night a total of 12 drivers were in the redraw.

Reinhardt pulled the #10, putting him on the outside of row five to start the season’s first A-main at Williams Grove.  He would have to get to the front the hard way on a surface that was making passing challenging.

The engineer-turned-professional racer went to work at the drop of the green, steadily chasing down a competitor periodically throughout the event.  Reinhardt got smoother and quicker as the laps went by, turning his fastest lap on lap 12 just after he had climbed into the 4th position.  Kyle held strong there until late in the race when he slipped to 5th, which is where he ended his night.  It was a solid first night out for Reinhardt.

“The car had really good balance.  Probably the best I’ve ever had here.  We were able to pass cars and came out of it with a top five, so we’ll definitely take that”, Reinhardt commented.

March 20:  Port Royal Speedway / Port Royal, PA

     (25 cars, Qualifying 1st in Group 3 , Heat 4th, A-main 11th)

Sunday afternoon, Reinhardt and the Capitol Renegade team made the haul to Port Royal Speedway.  The 410 sprint car portion of Saturday’s show at Port Royal had been added to the track’s Sunday super late model and big block modified event.

The show used group time trials to set the heat lineups for the 25 sprint cars in attendance.  Reinhardt laid down a lap of 16.021 and claimed quick time in his group, giving him the fourth starting spot in the third heat.   While all cars would qualify from each of four 8-lap heat races, only the top two finishers would make the redraw for a chance at one of the top eight starting spots for the A-main.

Reinhardt was able to hold his ground but not advance in his heat race, crossing the line in 4th, which meant he would start 12th in the 25-lap feature event.  The main event turned out to be another story of holding his ground.  The New Oxford, PA resident did not fade but was unable to mount any charge toward the front either and rode home in 11th.

“We weren’t great tonight, but we were definitely better than we were here last year.  We had really good speed early but…when it gets slick…well, we need to work on that.  We learned some things today for next time“, Reinhardt shared.

The two surfaces that Reinhardt encountered over the weekend were quite different.  Even though not much translates from one track to the other, both provided good feedback that Reinhardt and his team can leverage.

“I’m really happy to get the year off on the right foot.  We struggled a lot last year, so this was a positive weekend for us.  You have to race to figure out how to get better.  I would love to pick up a win over the next few weeks, and I believe we can, but the main thing is to build our notebook on this car and be in a good place going into the All Star schedule in April“, Reinhardt shared.

Up Next

Reinhardt will take on his first 3-race weekend of the 2022 season with trips to Williams Grove Speedway (PA) on 3/25, Bridgeport Motorsports Park (NJ) on 3/26, and Selinsgrove Speedway (PA) on 3/27.

The Saturday event in NJ is a 360 sprint car show with the URC.  The Neptune City, NJ native always takes advantage of opportunities to race in his home state, plus the team is hoping to compete in a handful of other 360 races this season in addition to his full time tour on the All Star Circuit of Champions circuit.

Follow along at all the outlets listed below to keep up with Kyle’s season!

Kyle Reinhardt achieved a career objective in 2021 by putting a full season with a traveling sprint car series on his resume.  That certainly was not the end-goal though.  The Neptune City, NJ native has much more to do.

Considering the challenges of life on the road, his first season with the All Star Circuit of Champions (ASCoC) was a good one by most measures.  Despite the difficult learning curve that comes with keeping a team prepared and competitive, while logging mile after mile on the road, he captured his first All Star victory and finished 8th in driver points.

It wasn’t good enough by Reinhardt’s measure though.  He is a driven young man with a passion for the sport.  It is well-documented that he gave up an engineering job to go full time sprint car racing a few years ago.  He hasn’t stopped working on the cars or his partnerships ever since, and it shows.

The Capitol Renegade / Capitol Custom Coaches & Trailers / Champion Hi-Tech Lubricants / J&J Auto Racing No.91 team has steadily improved, both on and off the track, during that time.  The team continues to position itself to achieve the goals Reinhardt and company have set for themselves.  

The new season will find Reinhardt back out on the road for his sophomore season with the ASCoC.  He is ready to apply the lessons learned in his freshman year and use that knowledge to reach his 2022 goals.

“We learned a lot last year.  Not just on the track but off, including several things that will help us be better organized for the grind of maintaining our equipment while on the road.  Being with Capitol (Custom Coaches & Trailers), our trailer is sold at the end of each season.  It’s a lot of work to start fresh with a new trailer every year, but it gives us the opportunity to change the layout to be better organized.  This year especially, we took advantage of that so hopefully things are easier, and we are more efficient this year“, Reinhardt commented.

There are little things that will make the second time around with the All Stars easier for the Capitol Renegade team too.  The logistics of getting up and down the road, knowing where to stop, where the team can work on their equipment, and where they can get some rest, will collectively make the season at least a little bit easier too.

Reinhardt went on to mention that the team’s decision to not travel to GA and FL in February was also part of the equation to be better prepared for the points races.  The post-pandemic supply chain issues that have affected everyday life are also impacting racing.  

“It’s taking a lot longer than normal these days to get certain parts, so the last thing we wanted to do was travel south to race, have issues, break things, and dig ourselves a hole that’s tough to recover from in terms of resources.  I’m just trying to be smart and make the most of what we have“, Reinhardt said.

All of the careful preparation by Reinhardt and team is aimed at successfully achieving their goals for 2022.  The number one goal:  multiple wins.  Last season, Reinhardt parked the Capitol Renegade / Capitol Custom Coaches & Trailers / Champion Hi-Tech Lubricants / J&J Auto Racing No.91 in victory lane one time.  It was at The Dirt Oval at Route 66 in Joliet, IL.  He felt the team was capable of more than that but struggled with consistency.  

The second part of Reinhardt’s goal is to finish in the top five of the season’s point standings.  Improved consistency is the key element that can lead to achieving both goals:  more wins and a top five in points.  It sounds like a simple formula, but Reinhardt knows they have to put in the work and apply what they learned to get there.

Another key element for a successful team is having good relationships with great marketing partners.  Reinhardt and team have a solid foundation on that front.

“We wouldn’t be able to this at the level we do it without all the people who are behind this 91 car.  Jeff McCall is a huge part of our deal and of course Wayne Quackenbush with Capitol Renegade.  I’m very excited and happy to say that all of our partners are returning to support our second season with the All Stars and a couple have stepped up to provide a little more and do more with us.  These relationships are a two way street.  Our partners support us because it makes sense for them and we do everything we can to promote them.“, Kyle shared.

In addition to the All Star Circuit of Champions schedule, which consists of 53 points-paying races across 9 states, Reinhardt’s schedule will likely look similar to 2021.  Major national events and competition near the team’s home base of New Oxford, PA will be tacked on when the opportunity presents itself.

Up Next

Reinhardt and the Capitol Renegade team will make their 2022 debut this weekend at Williams Grove Speedway on Friday night, March 18th and Port Royal Speedway the following night.  The team will make a few appearances in Central Pennsylvania over the next few weeks to prepare for the All Star Circuit of Champions season, which officially begins Friday, April 8th at Attica Raceway Park in Attica, OH.