CONCORD, N.C. — After a strong ending to his first season on the national midget scene, Hayden Reinbold is ready to take the next step in his career.
“We just want to try and win the championship,” Reinbold said. “I’m super excited to come back and I’m ready to battle for the championship.”
The 19-year-old driver from Chandler, Ariz., will return to the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota in 2024 to chase the points title, riding a wave of confidence after breaking through for his first career series victory in the season finale last October.
That win was more than just a new face in victory lane. It was concrete evidence of the progress he’d made behind the wheel throughout the season.
“Last year, I struggled to make Features,” Reinbold said. “I wasn’t even worried about the points; I was just trying to get races under my belt. Now that I have some good finishes and have been running pretty good as of late, I’m super excited to go back out. My confidence is a lot higher than it was a year ago.”
He clinched a seventh-place finish in the 2023 championship standings on the back of one win, four top-fives and 12 top-10s. Each of those four top-fives came in the second half of the season, contributing to an average finish of 7.6 – a massive turnaround from his average finish through the first half of the season (14.6).
“This time last year we were struggling to make Features, let alone win a race or go top 10,” Reinbold said. “Now, we have a bunch of top 10s, top fives and even a win.”
Reinbold will also take his next step up outside the midget world this year. Father and team co-owner, Andy Reinbold, will put Hayden at the controls of a winged sprint car this season with plans to run a variety of events throughout the midwest.
“My whole racing career was just midgets. I never raced anything else,” Reinbold said. “I’m super excited to get into another type of racecar. Winged cars look super fascinating to me.”
Though he’s breaking new ground with a potential career in Sprint Cars, he’s not letting that create any pressure. He’s just going to enjoy every lap he gets.
“I don’t feel any pressure or anything, I’m just super excited to go out and race Midgets more,” Reinbold said.