There will be at least one prominent Canadian drag racer at NHRA’s National event level season ice-breaker….…
Quebec’s all time most prolific drag racer, Daniel Mercier has confirmed his entry for the upcoming NHRA Amalie Oil Gatornationals coming at Gainesville Raceway in Florida next week.
Daniel and his team have managed to circumvent all the challenges and the costs associated with making this event entry list – no small feat given all the barriers in place because of pandemic enforced restrictions involving travel between Canada and the USA.
Daniel will make his appearance at Gainesville racing within the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series division – Top Alcohol Dragster class – a category within which he is one of the quickest circuit cars on record.
While there had been some initial idea that he might have been able to enter his Top Fuel dragster at Gainesville – that option proved not to be possible at this time.
“We will race at both the “baby gators” (the LODRS this weekend) and then the Gatornationals (March 11-14th),” he confirmed.
“Because I operate the team out of Quebec I was able to cross under a commercial exemption,” he revealed. “We started all that paperwork required about a month in advance. We made all the necessary arrangements including for all of my crew who are also from Quebec.”
Given the quarantine and testing guidelines now necessary when returning back into Canada — Daniel did have to take a lot into consideration. “We are monitoring those things and I will respect whatever regulations are in place when I do return.”
At this point – due to COVID – DM Racing’s plans to race at additional events in the USA — and possibly including their Top Fuel dragster — are still not exact.
“We’ll see how the season goes with our A/FD and determine a little later on if we will go out in TF,” he stated. “Like everyone else I look forward to when the border situation can return to normal. It’s important for all the Canadian fans who like to travel for the races in the USA to have a Canadian team to root for!”
You can keep informed about his full season schedule with updates at his official racing website – Link: HERE
Canadian fans can however be optimistic and look forward to some additional appearances within Canada for Daniel this season. We can confirm at this time that he will headline at the Mopar Canadian Nationals at Grand Bend Motorplex next August. More details will follow about all that — but at this point his plan is to bring both his injected nitro dragster as well as his nitro Nostalgia Funny Car to that race.
Daniel will enter his 2021 season campaign with a reputed lineup including his important primary sponsor ADF Diesel and with Benoit Duquette as his Car Chief. The team has announced and are welcoming two new members into the fold for the year – Alex Lanctot and Brent Lagace.
Posted by Bruce Biegler
