Coming into the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals, the Head Contractors and Engineers Funny Car team led by Jim Head and piloted by Spencer Hyde made significant changes to the car by upgrading several parts.

Those changes were reflected positively on the track almost immediately, when Hyde qualified in the No. 4 position in a competitive field of 23 Funny Cars.

“We knew coming into this weekend with such a large field that we were going to have to bring our A-game,” said Hyde. “We upgraded a few parts and changed some things related to our clutch, and I was happy to see that it really made a difference. Now that we know we are moving in the right direction, we can head into the Countdown a lot more confidently.”

There were five qualifying sessions held over the course of three days at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. Hyde’s best run of qualifying came during the third session, with a 3.944 second, 319.45 mph pass. It was the third quickest run of the round, which earned him two bonus points. He ended up earning a total of five bonus points by also having the third quickest run of the fourth qualifying session and the fourth quickest run of the fifth qualifying session.

“Bonus points are critical when we’re jockeying for position in the final race of the regular season,” said Hyde. “It was great to have earned so many of them during qualifying. It also showed how consistent our car was able to be, in a variety of conditions when the weather was constantly changing.” 

The fourth qualifying session was also the first round of the PlayNHRA All-Star Callout, where Hyde was called out by 4-time world champion Matt Hagan. Hagan was able to get around him, but Hyde still had one of the quickest cars of the session.

“Hagan made a big show of calling me out because I’m an expecting dad, and according to him I need time to build a crib,” said Hyde. “Even though we didn’t get the win, I am still proud of how we performed. I am hopeful that I’ll have another shot at the callout next year.” 

The 2025 NHRA Rookie of the Year entered race day in the No. 4 position, which had him facing Paul Lee in the first round of eliminations on Monday. In previous matchups, Hyde was 2-0 against Lee. He felt good going into race day, and that optimism was echoed by NHRA fans – 87.25% of Drag Race Bracket Bonanza players picked Hyde to advance to the second round.

Unfortunately, Lee was first out of the gate and Hyde could not catch up when his car started to mix up cylinders. 

“Everyone always builds up the significance of this race, and it felt even more important this year as part of the NHRA’s 75th anniversary,” said Hyde. “Our entire team was hoping for a longer day on Monday, but we learned a lot this weekend overall. We were able to maintain our position in the Top 10 going into the Countdown, and that’s the biggest thing. The team is going to keep working over the next few weeks, that way we can represent Hyde Construction, OUTLAW Light Beer and the Caine Group well through the rest of the season.” 

Hyde and the Head Contractors and Engineers Funny Car will be back in NHRA competition in two weeks at the inaugural Dodge NHRA Great Lakes Nationals presented by MOPAR on September 25-27 at US 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan. There will be two qualifying sessions on Friday, September 18 and two qualifying sessions on Saturday, September 19.

The first race day of the 2026 Countdown to the Championship will be contested on Sunday.

Posted by Elon Werner
Photos by Dave DeAngelis