CONCORD, N.C. — Hayden Reinbold started his full-time racing career at 16 years old behind the wheel of a midget car.
At 19 years old, he’s taking his talents to the next level and joining the Xtreme Outlaw Midget presented by Toyota roster for his first full-length national schedule.
The Chandler, Ariz., native will pilot the AME Electrical, Stanton/Spike, No. 19AZ entry for Reinbold/Underwood Motorsports in his fourth season of midget racing. It’s been a tough grind for the recent high school graduate in his first three seasons behind the wheel, but he’s come a long way and decided that this is the year to take on his first national tour.
“It’s been tough because there’s no ‘little league’ in midget. You just go straight into it with everyone that’s been doing it forever,” Reinbold said. “It took laps, but I’m at the point where I’m pretty confident and super excited for this year.”
As part of the massive wave of youth sweeping the national midget ranks over the past several years, Reinbold takes pride in representing the next generation of racers. He said he’s learned a lot from watching, and now racing with, the veterans of the circuit and is ready to make his own mark with the Xtreme Outlaws.
“You don’t see this in any other sport where the young kids [are] competing with [veteran racers],” Reinbold said. “It’s super cool to see young kids not only competing for wins, but championships as well.”
While he’s yet to win at the national level, he’s already made trips to victory lane, capturing two feature wins last year in local competition at Jacksonville Speedway. The Xtreme Outlaws return to the Illinois quarter-mile on Sept. 15 — a date Reinbold already has circled on his calendar.
“We’re going back to Jacksonville and I’m super confident there,” Reinbold said. “I got a quick-time award with Xtreme and got my first two wins there. I feel like we’re very good there, and we’ll have a good shot.”
He began this season with a career-best run at the Chili Bowl Nationals in January, giving him the confidence and momentum needed to chase wins.
“Winning an Xtreme or USAC race would be super cool; that’s definitely one of my goals,” Reinbold said. “I want to finish in the top-five in Xtreme championship points and be able to compete for wins.”