Story By: A2DPR / KYLE REINHARDT RACING – KNOXVILLE, IA – Kyle Reinhardt has produced good speed and consistent finishes all season. He hoped to carry that momentum into the 62nd Annual Knoxville Nationals.
The Nationals are a different animal though. With over one hundred of the best drivers from the United States, Canada and Australia in competition for a big payday, there are no guarantees. Every team works hard for every spot they earn, but they also need a little luck to align with their preparation.
Reinhardt reached the B-main in both 2021 and 2022, a respectable accomplishment on its own. He was back in Iowa this summer looking to make his first career Nationals A-main.
On his qualifying night Wednesday, the pill draw handed Reinhardt a late spot in the qualifying order, 38th of the 52 cars on hand. The Neptune City, NJ native posted the 41st quickest time, missing the heat race in version by 0.085 seconds.
From his 9th starting spot in heat race number one, Reinhardt was only able to move forward to 8th during the 10-lap event.
Prior to the B-main, the Capitol Renegade, Coors Banquet Beer, Henry’s Wrecker Service team made adjustments and it showed immediately when he hit the track for the 12-lap B-main.
Reinhardt advanced from 17th to 10th in just five laps. Unfortunately, a few laps later, a shock broke on the No.91, and he finished 12th.
The teams that were not already in a good position for Saturday’s finale were pit-side for Friday night’s Hard Knox Night to take another shot at locking into the Nationals A-main, or to at least improve their position on Saturday. The large field of 78 cars was split into two groups for qualifying.
Reinhardt drew pill 93 of 100, putting him deep in Group 2 qualifying, the 71st car to hit the track overall. It wasn’t the ideal way to start a night where he needed things to go his way to have a shot at making Saturday’s A-main.
Reinhardt and team didn’t hit the combination they needed. He ended up 25th quickest in Group B time trials. He was able to bounce back in his heat race though.
Showing a lot of speed, Reinhardt went from 9th to 4th in the 10-lap race, but it wasn’t quite enough. He missed the A-main transfer by one spot.
Unfortunately, the heat race progress was all wiped away because officials set the B-main lineup using each competitor’s original qualifying time.
In that 12-lap B-main, Reinhardt advanced from 16th to 12th, bringing an end to his night.
Ultimately it ended up being the end of the Nationals week for Reinhardt.
“Overall, we just did not time trial well and that was just the entire week. We worked hard to get out of the hole, but the format just doesn’t allow you to do that. You can’t chip away and get out. We almost did it on Friday but came up one spot short and basically got completely reset. Saturday we just decided to cut our losses and pack it up.“, Reinhardt commented.
Sponsorship opportunities are available for the 2023 season.
Reinhardt will kick off his new opportunity in the Grove Racing No.45 with two All Star Circuit of Champions races on August 18th and 20th.
The series rolls into Outlaw Speedway in Dundee, NY on Friday night and then wraps up the weekend with a Sunday night appearance at Selinsgrove Speedway in Selinsgrove, PA.
Following those dates, Reinhardt will run the remainder of the All Star Circuit of Champions 2023 schedule with the Grove Racing team. Fans will also see Kyle in his familiar Capitol Renegade, Capitol Custom Coaches & Trailers, Coors Banquet Beer, Henry’s Wrecker Service No.91 as he currently plans to fill some additional dates on his calendar with that car.