This weekend the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series will be running the only four-wide national event of the season, and the unique event will provide 2025 NHRA Rookie of the Year, the opportunity to promote The Caine Group with a specialty wrap on his 12,000-horsepower Nitro Funny Car. Last year Hyde met executives from The Caine Group at zMax Dragway and over the past year the Canadian driver from Stratford, Ontario, has built a positive relationship that has led to this exciting opportunity. The company is owned by Jim and Janet Russell who named the company after their late son Caine who was a huge drag racing fan.
“We met with the folks from The Caine Group during the race and after the race we came back to North Carolina and spent some time getting to know them,” said Hyde, who recently raced to the final round at the NHRA Arizona Nationals. “They have a lot going on in North Carolina and they wanted to support our Funny Car team, so we worked out a deal for them to be the primary sponsor for this weekend’s 4-Wide Nationals. They have been fans of the NHRA for a while and recognize what a family friendly sport this is, so it was a great fit.”
The Caine Group joins Outlaw Light Beer as new additions to the Head Contractors and Engineers Funny Car driven by Hyde for the 2026 NHRA season. As the reigning NHRA Rookie of the Year and lone full-time Funny Car driver from Canada Hyde has continued to raise his profile with marketing partners as he enters his second year of full-time professional racing.“We are constantly talking with people and companies about the benefits of the NHRA. We both run family-owned businesses, and this was a win-win for both groups,” said Hyde. “This season is off to a good start on the track, and we are looking forward to more exciting announcements off the track. Jim is a great team owner and crew chief, so this Funny Car is going to go rounds and we want to make sure we are giving our marketing partners both old and new the best bang for their buck.”
Hyde and The Caine Group Funny Car will have four qualifying sessions to secure one of the 16 top spots on the qualifying ladder this weekend at zMax Dragway. The first two qualifying sessions will be held on Friday at 5:00 p.m. and 7:45 p.m. and on Saturday Hyde will have two more chances with runs at 12:50 p.m. and 3:20 p.m. The final eliminations of the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals will get underway Sunday, April 26 at 12:00 p.m. For information on tickets or the race schedule visit www.nhra.com.
