“Double Dipping” Denis

For Quebec’s Denis Lachance a long time 25-year passion for drag racing has resulted in a very significant two-car racing team….

Lachance, who is based from Quebec City, has for the past couple of seasons been very busy campaigning a pair of very fast — but vastly different race cars.

During 2010 he took delivery of an American Chassis-built 242 inch dragster which he began racing in Top Dragster.   A year later he then added a Top Sportsman car to his equation after the acquisition of a 1963 Corvette which was formally driven by PMRA star racer Bruce Boland.   Since then Lachance’s racing progress has been moved forward steadily.

Denis Lachance

“In and around Quebec City there are not a lot of race cars like this in our area so it’s been a bit of a struggle finding our own way,” Denis admitted.  “At first we stayed mostly local but eventually we got both the cars running consistent and well enough so that we went further out racing.”

Those ventures have included running in TD and TS at some of NHRA’s Northeast Division Lucas Oil Series races including appearances in Virginia, New Hampshire and New York State.

“When I do go racing – I usually run both cars at the same event,” Denis added.  “That’s sometimes a bit of a challenge because often the Top Dragster and Top Sportsman sessions are run back-to-back which doesn’t leave much time between rounds.”

Lachance is however enjoying the experience immensely and in particular how much different it is for him driving the two race cars.

“There are a lot of obvious differences,” he continued. “The dragster is two times longer but has about half the power of the Corvette.  The feel of each car is very different.   The dragster is rather smooth and quiet to drive while the Corvette is a lot louder and more of a thrill to handle.   You cannot compare the driving technique between them.”

The summer of 2013 also included Denis’ first official venture into Pro Mod class racing.  He entered his Corvette for the first time in the PMRA circuit racing at Grand Bend Motorplex’s Stratford Spectacular last August. At that inaugural race he enjoyed good success by qualifying and also winning in round one.

“The Corvette has been a Top Sportsman car up to this point but we felt the motor (a supercharged 526 CID Bob Newberry built Arias) was making enough power that we could qualify in Pro Mod,” Denis affirmed.  “The car has run over 220 mph – so we are making some good progress forward.”

Denis Lachance entered his Corvette in both Top Sportsman and Pro Modified this past summer.

Denis funds his impressive 2-car racing operation primarily from his own company “Construction Injection EDM Inc.” which was founded by his father Eugene and which he co-owns with his brother Martin.   His team’s crew chief is Denis Jinchereaux.

Photos and posting by:  Bruce Biegler