Chris Bye started racing in the Players GM series in 1986, before scoring multiple wins and podiums in the Firestone Firehawk Endurance series and the Canadian Endurance Championship between 1989 and 1991. He finished runner-up in the F1600 Championship in 1991 and initially retired five years later, before racing a Prototype for Brumos Porsche in the 2003 24 Hours of Daytona.

After a second retirement from driving, Bye supported other Canadian drivers, through his role as president of FEL. The company was James Hinchcliffe’s first sponsor in Formula BMW in 2004 and has sponsored other notable drivers, including James Vance, Daniel Morad and Scott Hargrove. From 2015 to 2017, FEL’s sponsorship of F1600 helped increase car counts by roughly 15 entrants.

Most recently, Bye led FEL through the creation of FEL Motorsports, which launched a pair of sports car touring series in 2021, including the Sports Car Championship Canada.