SPENCER HYDE GAINS CONSISTENCY IN CHICAGO
By: Head Racing
CHICAGO (May 17, 2026) — Spencer Hyde, the Canadian driver of the Head Contractors and Engineers Funny Car, continued to build consistency this weekend at the Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK. The reigning NHRA Rookie of the Year made his best pass of the season during qualifying, earning him a solid No. 5 qualifying position in a stacked Funny Car field.
“Three out of our four qualifying runs were handedly in the 3.9-second range, and when you can consistently make those quick A-to-B runs, that gives both the driver and team a lot of confidence,” said Hyde. “Now that we’re seeing more consistency, I’m hoping more personal bests will also be around the corner.”
Hyde’s best pass of the weekend came during the third round of qualifying, a 3.930 second, 329.26 mph pass that was the quickest of the session, earning him three valuable bonus points. This run was also both the quickest and fastest of his 2026 season thus far.
“That run felt really good, from my perspective in the seat,” said Hyde. “I was confident even before I read the time slip that it was our best run of the year. It was great to see that I was right. That run also made me excited because I knew the conditions of that run would be like E1 on race day.”
The Chicago area race is the sixth of the season and is the beginning of summer racing. It was obvious to all the race teams why Chicago is called The Windy City, as they all battled the windy conditions throughout the weekend. In the first round, Hyde was up against No. 12 qualifier Alexis DeJoria, a driver he had a 2-1 record against in previous eliminations.
“I’ve faced Alexis now a few times, and I know what to expect when it comes to her routine,” said Hyde. “I knew it would be windy, but that was an obstacle everyone in the class was having to deal with. I was optimistic going into the run, but we unfortunately overpowered the track with the tune up, and Alexis was able to get the best of me, even though I left on her. Now that we have a tied record, I look forward to our next matchup.”
DeJoria went on to runner-up, making this the sixth race of the season where the driver who eliminated Hyde went on to either win the race or runner-up in the finals.
Despite the early race day exit, Hyde is thankful for the continued support of his sponsors, including Hyde Construction, OUTLAW Light Beer and the Caine Group.
“Our sponsors deserved better than what we were able to execute today,” said Hyde. “But we did make a lot of progress from a data perspective with the car this weekend, and I am looking forward to turning on more win lights for them when we head to another new track in Maryland in a few weeks.”
Hyde and the Head Contractors and Engineers Funny Car will be back in competition in two weeks at the NHRA Potomac Nationals presented by JEGS on May 29-31 at Maryland International Raceway. For this new national event, there will be two qualifying sessions on Friday, May 29 and two qualifying sessions on Saturday, May 30. For tickets or more information on the Potomac Nationals visit nhra.com.
Qualifying Results – Funny Car
Q1: 4.531 sec, 188.89 mph; Qual. 12
Q2: 3.962 sec, 320.36 mph; Qual. 8
Q3: 3.930 sec, 329.26 mph; Qual. 4
Q4: 3.966 sec, 326.71 mph; Qual. 5
Bonus Points: +3 (quickest of Q3)
Race Results
First Round – Funny Car
Alexis DeJoria, Los Angeles, Calif., Bandero Café Chevrolet SS, (.096), 3.947 sec, 326.48 mph def. Spencer Hyde, Stratford, Ontario, Head Contractors & Engineers Funny Car, (.070), 9.969 sec, 80.24 mph
Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Point Standings – Funny Car
1. J.R. Todd 468
1. Ron Capps 468
3. Matt Hagan 459
4. Chad Green 453
5. Jordan Vandergriff 416
6. Alexis DeJoria 389
7. Spencer Hyde 312
8. Jack Beckman 311
9. Dan Wilkerson 233
10. Dave Richards 222
