Kyle Reinhardt on top at Dirt Oval @ Route 66 for first-ever All Star victory
JOLIET, Ill. (May 15, 2021) – 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.
For those who can not witness the All Star Circuit of Champions live and in person, FloRacing.com, the official media partner and broadcast provider of the All Stars, has you covered. To access live and on-demand racing action from the All Star Circuit of Champions, visit FloRacing.com and become an annual PRO subscriber. Race fans can see all the USAC and dirt late-model action they want in addition to Eldora Speedway’s slate of races and those of the All Star Circuit of Champions. The subscription unlocks access to premium content across the entire FloSports network. Watch the events across all screens by downloading the FloSports app on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire and Chromecast.
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)
2021 All Star Circuit of Champions Winners:
1. Screven Motor Speedway, Georgia (January 29, 2021): Donny Schatz
2. Screven Motor Speedway, Georgia (January 30, 2021): Aaron Reutzel
3. East Bay Raceway Park, Florida (February 2, 2021): Donny Schatz (2)
4. Volusia Speedway Park, Florida (February 3, 2021): Logan Schuchart
5. Volusia Speedway Park, Florida (February 4, 2021): Carson Macedo
6. Attica Raceway Park, Ohio (April 3, 2021): Justin Peck
7. Virginia Motor Speedway, Virginia (April 15, 2021): Tony Stewart
8. Williams Grove Speedway, Pennsylvania (April 16, 2021): Kyle Larson
9. Port Royal Speedway, Pennsylvania (April 17, 2021): Logan Wagner
10. Bedford Speedway, Pennsylvania (April 18, 2021): Anthony Macri
11. Sharon Speedway, Pennsylvania (May 1, 2021): Justin Peck (2)
12. Tri-City Raceway Park, Pennsylvania (May 2, 2021): Sam Hafertepe Jr.
13. I-96 Speedway, Michigan (May 14, 2021): Tyler Courtney
14. Dirt Oval at Route 66, Illinois (May 15, 2021): Kyle Reinhardt
2021 All Star Circuit of Champions Driver Standings (as of 5/15/21):
1. Ian Madsen – 1240
2. Tyler Courtney – 1206
3. Justin Peck – 1194
4. Zeb Wise – 1148
5. Hunter Schuerenberg – 1148
6. Cory Eliason – 1142
7. Cap Henry – 1108
8. Bill Balog – 1104
9. Paul McMahan – 1054
10. Kyle Reinhardt – 1054
About the All Star Circuit of Champions:
All Star Enterprises, LLC, wholly owned by Tony Stewart, d/b/a the All Star Circuit of Champions, is a winged sprint car series. The All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Car Series is one of the oldest traveling 410 sprint car organizations and is a staple of grassroots, open-wheel racing. Formed in 1970 by Bud Miller, the series has largely been considered the first ‘outlaw’ Sprint Car organization of the modern era. Motorsports entrepreneur Tony Stewart agreed to terms with Guy Webb to become the sole owner of the original winged sprint car tour in January of 2015.
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Sources: Tyler Altmeyer/FloRacing All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 PR
Photo Credit: Chad Warner