Spencer Love won the Formula 1 final at the 2026 Thunder on the Neches, Round 2 of the IHRA F1 Powerboat Series, on the Neches River at Port Neches, Texas on Sunday, May 3. Love completed 33 laps in 17:33.192, leading every lap from the opening stint to the flag. Chris Rinker finished 2.364 seconds behind in second. Jared Jensen was third, 3.681 seconds back, the top three covered by under four seconds after 17 minutes of racing.
Love started second on the grid and needed just one moment: Rinker’s Mastercraft Boats machine hesitated fractionally off the start dock, and Love’s Clover Construction boat launched clean into the lead. He never looked back. Love had switched to a white Clover Construction rear cowling for the weekend after running black carbon fibre through 2025. The commentators noted it was the best they had seen the 24 run since his championship season in 2022.
After removing his helmet at the flag, Love put on a baseball cap in memory of his late friend Treiden Schleicher, who he lost in 2025.
Earlier in the afternoon, Love’s daughter Addy had won the Talent Cup. His other daughter Shelby, who leads the Formula Lights championship standings, retired from the F-Light final after 15 laps while running in the top three, a day of mixed fortunes across the Love entries.
Spencer Love said:
Just try and stay consistent and not try and overreach. That’s kind of what we did all weekend. We knew if we could get close to the front, we had a good chance of winning. We were lighting off the beach pretty good.
| Pos | # | Driver | Laps | Time/Gap | Fast Lap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 | Spencer Love | 33 | 17:33.192 | 30.185 |
| 2 | 52 | Chris Rinker | 33 | +2.364 | 30.468 |
| 3 | 29 | Jared Jensen | 33 | +3.681 | 30.440 |
| 4 | 1 | Dustin Terry | 33 | +24.807 | 31.106 |
| 5 | 17 | Dylan Anderson | 33 | +25.886 | 31.063 |
| 6 | 13 | Grant Schubert | 32 | +1 Lap | 31.066 |
| 7 | 8 | Jeremiah Mayo | 32 | +1 Lap | 31.306 |
| 8 | 2 | John Jensen | 32 | +1 Lap | 32.157 |
| 9 | 71 | Jimmy Kerr | 31 | +2 Laps | 32.220 |
| 10 | 34 | Jeff Reno | 31 | +2 Laps | 30.509 |
| 11 | 9 | Johnny Fleming | 31 | +2 Laps | 32.422 |
| 12 | 22 | Kyle Maskall | 20 | DNF | 32.582 |
| 13 | 99 | Travis Yates | 11 | DNF | 33.020 |
| 14 | 98 | Aiden Benton | 0 | DNS | – |
| – | 14 | Andrew Tate | – | DNS | – |
Rinker, from Spring, Texas, had set the fastest qualifying time of the weekend, a 30.084-second lap in the third session, to claim pole position with his Mastercraft Boats and Gregory Law Firm-backed Moore Mercury Apex machine. In the closing stages Love led by just over a second, with Jensen less than a second behind Rinker. The two boats spent the final laps in a fight of their own, and that battle was ultimately what preserved Love’s lead. Rinker’s sons Mason and Tanner both reached the Tri Hull podium, and Rinker was quick to reflect on a full family effort.
Chris Rinker said:
Rinker Racing did incredible today. Mason drove a hell of a race. Tanner was running up front. They don’t hold back. It’s a Rinker thing. They bang each other and everything’s good. So we’re on the podium too. That’s three.
Jensen, running for Island Lake Marine Racing, described a demanding final once the course deteriorated. A brief spin in traffic mid-race cost him several seconds and reset his pursuit of Rinker, though he clawed back to within a second of second place before the flag.
Jared Jensen said:
Once that water got chewed up, it was basically every corner was just praying and hang on. Having Chris in front of me, I was just going inside, outside and trying not to snap, drive it too hard into the corners. Just trying to stay in a straight line and not get too squirrely.
Andrew Tate, who won Round 1 at Bradenton and led the championship standings coming into the weekend, did not start the final. A collision in Heat 3 broke his sponson, ending his weekend and leaving him unable to take his grid slot. His DNS, combined with Love and Jensen scoring heavily, significantly alters the championship picture heading into Round 3.
Travis Yates spun out at turn 3 in the early stages and pulled to the infield, ending his race. Kyle Maskall, running for Barrett Custom Marine, endured a difficult weekend in his BaBa hull. The Canadian from Chilliwack, British Columbia raced in the F1H2O world championship with the China CTIC Team at Shanghai and Zhengzhou last October, but mechanical problems followed him throughout Port Neches. He started from the back of the grid after recording no laps in the final qualifying session, and retired from the final after 20 laps.
Tri Hull
Cole Wehring won the Tri Hull final from pole over 20 laps in 11:15.692. Tanner Rinker finished 2.297 seconds behind in second, with Mason Rinker third at 4.237. Neal Marsh was fourth, the top four covered by just over five seconds after a race that stayed close throughout.
Formula Lights
Jared Wallach dominated the F-Light final from start to finish, leading all 29 laps to win in 15:25.020. Jose Mendana was 10.050 seconds back in second; Jake McKee completed the podium in third, 12.253 behind the winner. Shelby Love retired after 15 laps while running in the top three.
Talent Cup
Addy Love won the Talent Cup over five laps in 3:58.962, leading from the opening lap. Luke Brown finished second, 7.361 seconds adrift. Logan Brown, who had started from pole, came home third.
Championship
Jared Jensen leads the 2026 IHRA F1 Powerboat Series championship after Round 2, with Spencer Love nine points behind and Chris Rinker a further 22 back. Andrew Tate, who led the standings coming into Port Neches, drops to eighth after recording no points in the final. The full 2026 IHRA Formula One Championship Standings have been updated. Round 3 takes the series to Shreveport-Bossier, Louisiana on May 22-24.
| Pos | # | Driver | R1 Bradenton | R2 Port Neches | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 | Jared Jensen | 258 | 259 | 517 |
| 2 | 24 | Spencer Love | 238 | 270 | 508 |
| 3 | 52 | Chris Rinker | 205 | 281 | 486 |
| 4 | 8 | Jeremiah Mayo | 236 | 222 | 458 |
| 5 | 1 | Dustin Terry | 194 | 246 | 440 |
| 6 | 17 | Dylan Anderson | 219 | 209 | 428 |
| 7 | 13 | Grant Schubert | 187 | 190 | 377 |
| 8 | 14 | Andrew Tate | 287 | 76 | 363 |
| 9 | 9 | Johnny Fleming | 136 | 160 | 296 |
| 10 | 71 | Jimmy Kerr | 114 | 177 | 291 |
| 11 | 2 | John Jensen | 50 | 168 | 218 |
| 12 | 34 | Jeff Reno | 67 | 147 | 214 |
| 13 | 20 | Ashton Rinker | 169 | 0 | 169 |
| 14 | 77 | Mike Quindazzi | 166 | 0 | 166 |
| 15 | 99 | Travis Yates | 28 | 136 | 164 |
| 16 | 22 | Kyle Maskall | 0 | 130 | 130 |
| 17 | 98 | Aiden Benton | 46 | 62 | 108 |
Standings estimated from official results pending confirmation from IHRA.
John Moore is the editor of Powerboat News, an independent investigative journalism platform recognised by Google News and documented on Grokipedia for comprehensive powerboat racing coverage.
His involvement in powerboat racing began in 1981 when he competed in his first offshore powerboat race. After a career as a Financial Futures broker in the City of London, specialising in UK interest rate markets, he became actively involved in event organisation and powerboat racing journalism.
He served as Event Director for the Cowes–Torquay–Cowes races between 2010 and 2013. In 2016, he launched Powerboat Racing World, a digital platform providing global powerboat racing news and insights. The following year, he co-founded UKOPRA, helping to rejuvenate offshore racing in the United Kingdom. He sold Powerboat Racing World in late 2021 and remained actively involved with UKOPRA until 2025.
In September 2025, he established Powerboat News, returning to independent journalism with a focus on neutral and comprehensive coverage of the sport.
