HYDE ADVANCES TO FIRST FUNNY CAR FINAL IN EPPING
Spencer Hyde raced to his first career final round at the NHRA New England Nationals
By: Head Racing
EPPING, N.H. (June 1, 2025) — NHRA Rookie of the Year frontrunner, Spencer Hyde, the Funny Car driver for Head Racing, made it to his first final round at the 12th NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway today. In the process, he set several new personal bests and secured himself a spot in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge next week in Bristol.
“I am so proud of myself and the Head Racing team for everything we accomplished this weekend,” said Hyde. “Jim and the guys put together a fantastic race car for me to drive, and it showed. Everyone can see that we have a competitive car. Making it to the finals in just my fifth Funny Car start is huge, and I am grateful for the opportunity.”
Hyde entered race day in the No. 8 position, immediately facing four-time World Champion Matt Hagan, the winningest Funny Car driver at New England Dragway. Hyde made a stellar 3.863 second, 333.08 mph pass, the quickest in the Funny Car class during that round, knocking out Hagan. This run was also a new personal speed record for Hyde and tied his personal best elapsed time. In the quarterfinals, Hyde went up against the driver of the Jim Dunn Racing Mooneyes Funny Car, Buddy Hull. Another solid 3.925 second, 325.30 mph pass was more than enough to get past Hull and make it to the semifinals.
“Matt Hagan and Buddy Hull are opponents that you can’t take lightly,” said Hyde. “Just making it to the semifinals is great because it means that we’ll get to compete for some extra cash and Championship points next weekend at the Thunder Valley Nationals during qualifying in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge. I’m hoping to pick up my second #2Fast2Tasty win of the season next week.”
Going into the semifinals, Hyde was paired against Jack Beckman, the most recent event winner on tour. Hyde knew that he would have to bring his A-game if he wanted to make it to the finals. He met the challenge by achieving the quickest reaction time of his Funny Car career at .052 seconds. It was a good thing that he was out ahead of Beckman, because Beckman’s car took a sharp left off the starting line, hitting the wall, but Hyde was already well out of the way from being hit.
“We knew we had to be aggressive against Jack, because he went .87 in the second round,” said Hyde. “My lights are getting a little bit better. I had my best light ever against Jack, and I was pretty jacked up for that. It was also the first time I’ve successfully pedaled one of these things. It sucks to see what happened to Jack there, but I am glad he is okay.”
In the final against J.R. Todd, the Kalitta Motorsports car ended up taking the decisive win. Despite the tough loss, Hyde is nothing but optimistic about the weekend. In addition to the points he picked up for going four rounds, he also picked up one bonus point during the first round of qualifying on Friday for having the third quickest car of the round.
“We had a really good day, and we were just one win light short of a great day,” said Hyde. “It’s nothing to hang our heads on. We are going to keep pushing forward, and we’ll get our first win soon.”
Now that the Epping race is over, Hyde is looking ahead to Bristol. This will be his second back-to-back race weekend since stepping into the Head Racing Funny Car at the beginning of this year.
“The long breaks suck because you almost have to reteach yourself Q1 again, especially since I don’t have lot of runs yet. I have just over 40 runs in this car,” said Hyde. “Now I’m starting to really feel comfortable in the car. This weekend gave me a lot of confidence as a rookie driver. We’re right there, knocking on the door. Everybody knows we’re here. The win is coming.”
Hyde and the Head Racing team will be back in competition at the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals on June 6-8 at Bristol Dragway. There will be two qualifying sessions on Friday, June 6 and two qualifying sessions on Saturday, June 7. For tickets or more information on the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals visit nhra.com.
Qualifying Results
Q1: 3.914 sec, 328.70 mph; Qual. 3
Q2: 8.794 sec, 65.03 mph; Qual. 6
Q3: 3.911 sec, 328.54 mph; Qual. 7
Q4: 8.194 sec, 77.77 mph; Qual. 8
Bonus Points: +1 (3rd quickest of Q1)
Race Results
First Round
Spencer Hyde, Stratford, Ontario, Head Inc. Funny Car, (.091), 3.863 sec, 333.08 mph def. Matt Hagan, Christiansburg, Va., TSR Direct Connection Dodge/SRT Hellcat Funny Car, (.065), 3.893 sec, 333.74 mph
Second Round
Spencer Hyde, Stratford, Ontario, Head Inc. Funny Car, (.110), 3.925 sec, 325.30 mph def. Buddy Hull, Dallas, Tex., Mooneyes Dodge Charger, (.090), 11.680 sec, 82.93 mph
Semi-Final Round
Spencer Hyde, Stratford, Ontario, Head Inc. Funny Car, (.052), 4.325 sec, 305.77 mph def. Jack Beckman, Corona, Calif., PEAK Chevrolet Camaro SS, (.069), No time – crossed the centerline
Final Round
J.R. Todd, Lawrenceburg, Ind., DHL Toyota GR Supra, (.135), 3.888 sec, 332.43 mph def. Spencer Hyde, Stratford, Ontario, Head Inc. Funny Car, (.094), 5.098 sec, 161.88 mph
