Family is a big reason Zach Reinke got into racing, and it remains a big reason he’s still into racing.
The 38-year-old watched his uncles and cousins race at Sheyenne Speedway in Lisbon. Soon, he was helping his cousins with their cars, and then the racing bug bit.
“And I thought, that looks like fun,” Reinke said.
His career started in the Bomber class in 2005, and since 2009 he’s raced in the Wissota Midwest Modified class. He farms with his brother, Nate in the Lisbon area, and they happen to race against each other in the Midwest modified class.
And, yes, the siblings race each other hard.
“Short of wrecking each other, yeah -- because you trust the other one,” Reinke said. “You trust him so you can race hard.”
There’s another family aspect – Zach’s 12-year-old son, Regan, is a rookie in the INEX Legends class after years of go-karting. Zach’s advice to his son is to “be smart, be safe and make every lap you can.” Regan’s racing has added even more enjoyment at the track for the Reinke family.
“I love it,” Reinke said. “We are having a blast with Regan at the racetrack.”
Zach Reinke, who plans to follow the Rebel Midwest Mod Tour which kicks off Thursday at Norman County Raceway in Ada, has had success in the Midwest modified class. Since 2017 Reinke has recorded 15 feature wins in the division along with four track championships. The 2022 was one of his best seasons with three feature wins and track championships at Sheyenne Speedway and Jamestown.
He is in his third year racing a Rage Chassis.
“This will be the third year with it,” Reinke said. “I bought it brand new. The first year was a lot of learning. Last year we were good. Last year was the first year of the Mopar Concept, that really picked up the program too. I’m pretty happy with it.”
This year, he’s searching to regain the speed he had in 2022. He has one top five in four starts.
“It’s been very frustrating so far, but I’ll keep working to get better,” Reinke said.
He’s won the Sauerkraut 500 a few times, including both nights last week. The opening night win last year was memorable as he made a late pass of former national champion Lucas Rodin and Brennon Weight on a restart.
“I was running third to Lucas and Brennon, and passed them both,” Reinke said. “Those are two of the toughest guys we regularly run against.”
He plans to race weekly at Sheyenne and start the Rebel Tour, but there will also be some travel for Regan to race at different tracks.
“We’re going to take him around some, probably be a lot more here and there at tracks we’ve never been at. We’ll see how the schedule works,” Reinke said. “I like the look of the Rebel Tour with two weekends. Just to compete in it -- I have no expectations; I just want to go drive.”
Driver Profile
Zach Reinke
Wissota Midwest Modified #22
Age: 38
Residence: Lisbon, N.D.
Sponsors: Dairyland Seed, Golden Properties, Quality Engines
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