On the first weekend of March, Canada’s Spencer Hyde rocketed to the top of the Pro Modified world when he won the $100,000-to-win Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod presented by J&A Service at Bradenton Motorsports Park. Now, Hyde’s victory lap continues as he appears on the cover of Drag Illustrated’s new WSOPM Issue, which is now available in digital form and arriving in subscriber mailboxes at the end of May.
“This is obviously very exciting for me and my crew and everybody that’s been behind me,” Hyde said. “It was nice to see the WSOPM footage on the CBS Sports show a few weeks back. That brought all the memories back. I think this issue of Drag Illustrated is really gonna make it all hit home and sink in that we did something pretty cool.”
“Spencer Hyde proved himself the kind of race car driver that is a ‘difference maker’ with his performance at the World Series of Pro Mod,” said Wes Buck, founder and editorial director, Drag Illustrated, “but as I’ve gotten to know him better over the course of the last few months, I’ve learned that he’s an equally impactful human being and ambassador for the sport of drag racing.
“We’re proud to have Spencer as our champion, and we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to tell his story on the pages of Drag Illustrated,” added Buck, who is also the promoter of the WSOPM. “Spencer didn’t just win the big one. He overcame obstacles, defied the odds, and came out on top. He won the biggest, richest Pro Mod drag race in the history of the known universe in what probably amounts to the hardest way possible.”
The WSOPM issue is not Hyde’s first time appearing in DI. In 2021, he was featured in the 30 Under 30 issue as one of 30 young people making an impact in the sport. He had visions of one day appearing on the cover like other Pro Mod heavy hitters including Melanie Salemi, who he’s raced against since before the two were in Pro Modified classes.
“I had always dreamt of being on the cover of Drag Illustrated,” Hyde said. “Especially when Melanie was on the cover a few years ago. Growing up with her and racing side-by-side with her for so long and always aspiring to be able to race competitively against her in the same class, that’s when it kind of hit home, and I was like, man, I think I can do this too. I just have to surround myself with the right people and take the right opportunities and go make it happen.
“I knew that before I was done with racing, I wanted to be on the cover of Drag Illustrated,” Hyde continued. “I never thought it would be for winning the World Series of Pro Mod, but I was hoping it would be a big win somewhere. I couldn’t be happier that it was Drag Illustrated’s race, and now we’re on the cover of the magazine. The whole thing is just a feel-good story.”
Along with a full cover story on Hyde, the WSOPM Issue includes features on runner-up Kurt Steding, $hameless Racing Mountain Motor Pro Stock Invitational presented by Seminole Paving winner John Montecalvo, D H Davies Racing Factory Stock Classic winner Lenny Lottig, XFWD Challenge winner David Ngo, Top Dragster winner McKenna Kitterman, Super Pro winner Brooks McMath, and over a dozen other stars of the race.
Read the full WSOPM Issue for free at digital.dragillustrated.com.
This story was originally published on May 23, 2023. 
