Kyle Reinhardt On Top At Dirt Oval @ Route 66 For First-Ever All Star Sprint Victory

Story By: TYLER ALTMEYER / ALL STAR CIRCUIT OF CHAMPIONS – JOLIET, IL – It was a weekend of firsts for the FloRacing All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1, as Neptune City, New Jersey’s Kyle Reinhardt is now the newest member of the All Star winner’s club, etching his name in the Series history books with a wire-to-wire victory at the Dirt Oval at Route 66 in Joliet, Illinois.

Earning $8,000 for his first-ever All Star triumph, Reinhardt, aboard the RQM Enterprises, Capitol Renegade, No. 91 sprint car, was actually the second All Star Rookie of the Year contender to score their first Series win this weekend. Clauson Marshall Racing’s Tyler Courtney nailed down an $8,500 victory at I-96 Speedway just one night prior.

“This is pretty unreal,” Reinhardt said, an engineer by trade who traded in the workplace for a steering wheel. “I just can’t thank all of the people who stuck behind me enough. I wouldn’t have been able to stop working to race without their help and support. This is just unreal.”

Although Reinhardt was able to control all 25 circuits, it was not a walk in the park, as Courtney and Rudeen Racing’s Cory Eliason each did their best to overtake the Garden State native, giving little slack especially during single-file restarts.

Lapped traffic also played a major role over the course of the 25-lapper. Between laps 13 and 21, slower cars attempted to create a near-impenetrable road block for Reinhardt around the track’s bottom groove, ultimately allowing Courtney to keep pace with his fellow Series rookie. A late-race caution with four laps remaining actually sealed the deal for Reinhardt, creating a clear track and clean air for his final four circuits.

“I had a good pace going and I was able to get by a couple slower cars, but I ended up getting held up a lot by one. Even then, I wasn’t sure what was going on behind me,” Reinhardt continued. “When that last caution came out and they said over the raceceiver that there were 21 laps down, I actually took a big breath and relaxed a little bit because I thought we were going to be ‘OK.’”

Courtney held on to finish second, followed by Eliason, Cap Henry, and the “Northpole Nightmare” Bill Balog.

Up next, the FloRacing All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 will take center stage in the Hoosier State, set to battle for four straight nights at three Indiana bullrings, all of which kicking-off on Thursday and Friday, May 20-21, with a two-night stay at the all-new Circle City Raceway in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Dubbed the All Stars Indiana Invasion presented by Rayce Rudeen Foundation, competitors will not only duel for a total winner’s share equaling $48,000 over the four-day extended weekend, but a points fund equaling $26,000 will also be distributed among the top-five in the final weekend standings. The All Stars Indiana Invasion presented by Rayce Rudeen Foundation champion will be awarded a $10,000 top prize, with second through fifth awarded $7,000, $4,000, $3,000, and $2,000, respectively.

Contingency Awards/Results: Dirt Oval at Route 66 – Saturday, May 15, 2021
Event: The Open Wheel Slam
Entries: 28
C&R Racing Hot Laps: Bill Balog | 13.233
Dixie Vodka Fast Qualifier: Bill Balog | 13.024
Ford Performance Heat #1 Winner: Cory Eliason
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2 Winner: Hunter Schuerenberg
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3 Winner: Rico Abreu
Kear’s Speed Shop Dash presented by Elliott’s Custom Trailers and Carts Winner: Kyle Reinhardt
Classic Ink USA Screenprinting & Embroidery B-Main Winner: T.J. Michael
Rayce Rudeen Foundation First Non-Transfer: Matt Wiese
FloRacing A-Main Winner: Kyle Reinhardt
Hercules Tire A-Main Hard Charger: T.J. Michael (+10)

Qualifying

Group (A)
1. 17B-Bill Balog, 13.024; 2. 7BC-Tyler Courtney, 13.063; 3. 91-Kyle Reinhardt, 13.129; 4. 13-Justin Peck, 13.166; 5. 5-Paul McMahan, 13.170; 6. 11-Ian Madsen, 13.176; 7. 10-Zeb Wise, 13.220; 8. 67-Buddy Kofoid, 13.254; 9. 24-Rico Abreu, 13.273; 10. 26-Cory Eliason, 13.290; 11. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg, 13.322; 12. 4-Cap Henry, 13.325; 13. 8M-TJ Michael, 13.342; 14. 65-Jordan Goldesberry, 13.345; 15. 23-Russel Borland, 13.428; 16. 21BP-Brinton Marvel, 13.449; 17. 39-Jake Blackhurst, 13.498; 18. 9K-Kyle Schuett, 13.533; 19. 2W-Scotty Neitzel, 13.540; 20. 68-Dave Uttech, 13.600; 21. 4B-Scott Biertzer, 13.646; 22. 25-Danny Schlafer, 13.662; 23. 20R-Robbie Pribnow, 13.732; 24. 5J-Jeremy Schultz, 13.788; 25. 19B-Jack Berger, 14.182; 26. 29-Hunter Custer, 14.407; 27. 45-Matt Wiese, 14.482; 28. 73-Scotty Thiel, 56.021

Heat #1 – Group (A) (8 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer
1. 26-Cory Eliason [1]; 2. 13-Justin Peck [3]; 3. 10-Zeb Wise [2]; 4. 17B-Bill Balog [4]; 5. 21BP-Brinton Marvel [6]; 6. 2W-Scotty Neitzel [7]; 7. 8M-TJ Michael [5]; 8. 25-Danny Schlafer [8]; 9. 19B-Jack Berger [9]

Heat #2 – Group (A) (8 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer
1. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [1]; 2. 67-Buddy Kofoid [2]; 3. 5-Paul McMahan [3]; 4. 7bc-Tyler Courtney [4]; 5. 39-Jake Blackhurst [6]; 6. 65-Jordan Goldesberry [5]; 7. 20r-Robbie Pribnow [8]; 8. 68-Dave Uttech [7]; 9. 29-Hunter Custer [9]

Heat #3 – Group (A) (8 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer
1. 24-Rico Abreu [2]; 2. 4-Cap Henry [1]; 3. 11-Ian Madsen [3]; 4. 91-Kyle Reinhardt [4]; 5. 23-Russel Borland [5]; 6. 4B-Scott Biertzer [7]; 7. 5J-Jeremy Schultz [8]; 8. 9K-Kyle Schuett [6]; 9. 45-Matt Wiese [9]

Dash #1 (6 Laps)
1. 91-Kyle Reinhardt [1]; 2. 26-Cory Eliason [2]; 3. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [5]; 4. 24-Rico Abreu [3]; 5. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [7]; 6. 13-Justin Peck [8]; 7. 5-Paul McMahan [4]; 8. 17B-Bill Balog [6]

B-Main (10 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer
1. 8M-TJ Michael [1]; 2. 5J-Jeremy Schultz [4]; 3. 9K-Kyle Schuett [2]; 4. 68-Dave Uttech [5]; 5. 20R-Robbie Pribnow [3]; 6. 29-Hunter Custer [8]; 7. 45-Matt Wiese [9]; 8. 25-Danny Schlafer [6]; 9. 73-Scotty Thiel [10]; 10. 19B-Jack Berger [7]

A-Main (25 Laps)
1. 91-Kyle Reinhardt [1]; 2. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [3]; 3. 26-Cory Eliason [2]; 4. 4-Cap Henry [10]; 5. 17B-Bill Balog [8]; 6. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [5]; 7. 11-Ian Madsen [11]; 8. 67-Buddy Kofoid [9]; 9. 39-Jake Blackhurst [15]; 10. 8M-TJ Michael [19]; 11. 2W-Scotty Neitzel [17]; 12. 5-Paul McMahan [7]; 13. 65-Jordan Goldesberry [16]; 14. 21BP-Brinton Marvel [14]; 15. 68-Dave Uttech [22]; 16. 23-Russel Borland [13]; 17. 4B-Scott Biertzer [18]; 18. 5J-Jeremy Schultz [20]; 19. 20R-Robbie Pribnow [23]; 20. 29-Hunter Custer [24]; 21. 9K-Kyle Schuett [21]; 22. 10-Zeb Wise [12]; 23. 24-Rico Abreu [4]; 24. 13-Justin Peck [6] Lap Leaders: Kyle Reinhardt (1-25)