Dan Mercier and Rob Wendland have been working together for five years on a part-time basis.

Wendland built Mercier’s first nitro-powered dragster and worked with the Montreal engineer sort of as a side gig, tuning his car for sporadic appearances on the Camping World Drag Racing Series tour.

But the Top Fuel tandem has announced it has entered a fulltime partnership and will compete at eight races this season, including four of the six Countdown to the Championship events – with a plan to become more deeply involved in 2024 and 2025 and beyond.

Theirs will be an unconventional team, not in parts and equipment, but in logistics and communication.

Both Mercier and Wendland are tethered to their respective business operations in Saint-Remi, Quebec, and Brownsburg, Ind., where each operates multiple companies. That’s a separation of about 860 miles, or a 12.5-hour drive. So they’ll prepare their primary and back-up Top Fuel dragsters via Zoom teleconferences. That will be extra-tricky because the crew members at Saint-Remi (all but Texan Josh Scott, of San Antonio) speak French primarily, and Wendland would be lost in a Quebec restaurant or retail store.

Surprisingly, Wendland said he isn’t worried about the language hurdle or the fact the car will stay at Mercier’s brand-new 13,000-square-foot shop that opened recently with a tribute and ceremonial nod to the late Barry Paton, Mercier’s mentor.

And that represents a huge concession for Wendland, a typical crew chief who naturally needs to know the race car is only a step or two away. But Wendland last year fretted that the Mercier crew had to shift mental gears constantly to accommodate Mercier’s passion for driving both his Top Alcohol dragster and his Top Fuel dragster, which have definite differences and require different tools and different mindsets.

But Wendland slipped into modern management, figuring, “Everyone has learned how to work remotely over the last few years due to the pandemic, so that’s how we will manage this partnership.  We will use teleconference and Zoom meetings to discuss progress on items needing accomplished and any other relevant information regarding the team’s preparation.”

So it will be remote learning and remote strategizing for Mercier and crew members Benoit Duquette, Alex Lanctot, Brent Lagace, and Scott. (Scott served under Wendland when Wendland managed Terry McMillen’s team.) And that’s a perfectly acceptable solution for Mercier.

“For me, Rob is the best teacher for the team,” Mercier said. “He knows the equipment, because he built it himself. He is positive and never gives up. Rob has had many notable successes in the past, including working with some of the best crew chiefs in the industry, such as Austin Coil, Brian Corradi, Mark Oswald, to name a few. Having the ability to sign him on board is an exciting opportunity. Now it is time to win some rounds. We have high hopes of developing a professional and well-respected team.” 

Mercier also works on the car when his three engineering businesses don’t require his attention. Wendland said Mercier “takes care of the racks [pistons], and he helps build the short blocks and services the blower sometimes.”

On the driving side, Wendland said Mercier “has the passion and resources to have a top-10 team. I am excited for the opportunity to be a part of this team and share my experiences and knowledge to help develop the future of Mercier Racing.”

And he knows he won’t have to deal with switching operations from the A-Fuel car to the 12,000-horspower, nitro-powered Top Fuel ride. After one last fling in March at the “Baby Gators” Lucas Oil Series divisional event and the Camping World Series season-opening Gatornationals in Florida, Mercier will park his Top Alcohol Dragster at home alongside his Nostalgia Funny Car and concentrate on Top Fuel matters.

“For me, Top Fuel was always the unknown,” Mercier said. “It was important for me to continue the Top Alcohol Dragster program to make sure I continued my long-term passion.  But this year, with Rob’s commitment in partnering with our team, we will put the A/Fuel car aside after Gainesville and focus on the Top Fuel Dragster for 2023.”

However, Mercier said, “The goal is to prepare for the years 2024 and 2025.” Until then, he said, his “ideal dream” is to qualify for all the events . . . and winning a few qualifiers [rounds].”

He won’t have the luxury of testing officially, but he said he plans to attend several match races, likely on the northern side of the border. Those will double as testing opportunities after he made just three appearances on the Camping World tour last year.

He drove at Epping, N.H.; Norwalk, Ohio; and Indianapolis – with mixed results. In his first appearance, at New England Dragway, Mercier qualified ninth but smoked the tires against Justin Ashley in the opening round. Later in June, at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, he missed the field by a mere three-thousandths of a second. At the U.S. Nationals, which Wendland won with driver Terry McMillen in 2018, Mercier grabbed the No. 16 and final spot on the grid. And in his first meeting with Brittany Force encountered problems that Wendland said in hindsight were avoidable.

Wendland said he enjoys working with Mercier because “he’s very focused. He’s very critical of what he does. He’s an engineer. Engineers are very critical, very methodical, in their processing. He wants to know about everything: the car, the tune-up, the this, the that. Sometimes, as a driver, if you worry about all of that, maybe you don’t do the best job of driving. But that hasn’t affected him. He just needs more laps. That’s all there is to it. There’s a difference between an alcohol dragster and a Top Fuel car. It just takes laps, and so far we haven’t had that many laps. I’m confident that’s not an issue with him.”

Mercier Racing expects to attend the following eight NHRA races this year: 

NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte, NC (April 28-30)
NHRA New England Nationals in Epping, NH (June 2-4)
Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, OH (June 22-25)
Dodge Power Brokers NHRA US Nationals in Indianapolis, IN (Aug 30-Sept 4)
Pep Boys NHRA Nationals in Maple Grove, PA (Sept 14-17)
NHRA Carolina Nationals in Charlotte, NC (Sept 22-24)
NHRA Nevada Nationals in Las Vegas, NV (Oct 26-29)
In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals in Pomona, CA (Nov 9-12)