Reigning NHRA Rookie of the Year Spencer Hyde and the Head Contractors & Engineers Funny Car team continued their strong 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series campaign this weekend at the inaugural Dodge NHRA Great Lakes Nationals presented by MOPAR at US 131 Motorsports Park. 

Despite persistent rain that disrupted the schedule throughout the weekend and ultimately forced the NHRA to postpone Sunday’s planned eliminations until Monday, Hyde and the Jim Head-led team delivered one of their most consistent qualifying performances of the season. Three of Hyde’s four qualifying runs were solid A-to-B runs, highlighted by his Friday evening pass of 3.9169 seconds at 331.13 mph.

The run was not only Hyde’s quickest pass of the weekend, but also the fastest run of his 2026 season to date. The performance placed Hyde No. 9 in the Funny Car qualifying order for Monday’s eliminations.

Hyde backed up that performance with another strong run during Saturday’s third qualifying session, posting a 3.9333-second pass at 327.99 mph. The run was the third quickest of the session and earned Hyde one valuable bonus point towards the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series championship. 

The Michigan event also marked the beginning of the six-race Countdown to the Championship. Hyde entered the playoffs among the championship contenders and leaves Michigan 10th in the Funny Car standings with five Countdown races remaining. 

On Monday, Hyde faced Daniel Wilkerson in the opening round. Both drivers are searching for their first NHRA Funny Car victory, and the two delivered a highly competitive side-by-side race. Hyde had a slight reaction-time advantage and the Head Contractors & Engineers Funny Car was competitive down the track, but Wilkerson ultimately posted the quicker elapsed time to advance. However, Hyde’s .0236-second reaction time established a new personal benchmark for the sophomore year Funny Car driver.

“Obviously, we wanted to go rounds today, but there are a lot of positives for us to take away from this weekend,” said Hyde. “That 3.91 on Friday was a huge run for us, and to go 331 mph was really exciting. It was our fastest run of the season, and then we backed it up with another 3.93 on Saturday and picked up a bonus point. That’s the kind of consistency we’re looking for, especially in the Countdown.”

While Hyde’s race day ended in the first round, the weekend provided plenty of positives for the Canadian driver and his team as they prepare for another event next weekend.  Supported by Hyde Construction, OUTLAW Light Beer and The Caine Group, Hyde and Head Racing will have little time to regroup before heading to North Carolina for another first-of-its-kind event.

This comingweekend was the beginning of a three weekend in-a-row run for the team. The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series heads to Rockingham Dragway in Rockingham, North Carolina, next weekend for the inaugural NHRA Nationals at The Rock. 

Posted by Elon Werner