Since we just left Michigan on Father’s Day, we thought this Fan of the Week was the perfect one to post this week. Seems he and the whole family have the racing bug and even a track championship trophy on their mantle.

But, the real reason we chose this person for our FoW was the great picture of him and his four-year old son. It was taken on Father’s Day at Michigan, the same day his favorite driver finished top-five with that great paint scheme.

Name: Randy Merchant

From: Traverse City, MI

Age: 26

Occupation: Floor Covering Sales

How long have you been following racing: The first race I watched was when Richard Petty took out the fence at Daytona.

How did you get started: My dad was always a fan of NASCAR. I just started watching it for myself and watched every race; it was our Sunday ritual.

Who was your first favorite driver, and why: Dale Earnhardt Sr., because my brother liked him and I couldn’t route for a Ford driver like my dad; he was a Davey Allison fan. That, and I liked the way he drove that black Goodwrench car!

Who is your favorite now, and why: Well Dale Jr., of course. He’s a great driver and I’m rooting for the family tradition.

What is your driver’s best racing moment: To come back and win the July 2001 race at Daytona. My next favorite was the past race at Martinsville when everything on the track hit his car and still pulled a good finish. I think he would have won if it wasn’t for Newman pinching him off, in the turn.

How many races do you attend per year: I try to get to at least one per year, but this year I am going to both Michigan races.

Best race you ever saw on TV or in person: 2001 Daytona 500, I saw a side of Dale Sr. I have never seen before. I knew they were helping Mikey get the win, Sr. was in third making his car three lanes wide. That was truly great because Sr. would “Rattle anyone’s cage” for a win. My next best race was in 1990 when Dale Sr. won because it was the first race I went to at MIS; that was very cool!

What is your favorite track for racing: That’s a tough one…I think is a tie between Talladega and Darlington.

If your favorite driver came to your town, where would you take him and what would you do: Well there are a couple of local short tracks in the area; a couple dirt and one paved. But the hunting and fishing is really good up here.

If you worked at DEI, what would you do: (We think he wants to be on a pit crew because of this story, we think) My brother used to have a racecar on the local tracks. For about four years, we started on dirt and went to the paved track. Our dad helped when he could, but I was with my brother every Friday and Saturday night hauling the car and tools in my truck. My brother drove and I was the pits. The best time was our first season on the pavement and going for the championship in the bomber series. My brother got tangled with another car and got a flat tire. The rules at the track were you can only pit under the caution and have to return under the same caution. So my day and I hauled butt from the stands to our pits, which was a good 1000 feet away. We changed the left front with our custom four way -“no air or power tools” - and got the car back out just in time track. They ran four laps under yellow on a 3/8 mile track and we came out just in time for the green. We won the championship that year.

If you ran NASCAR for a day, what rule would you change, add or delete: I would get rid of the field freeze when a yellow comes out, so they can at least race back to the line. Oh yeah, on more thing - Bring back North Wilkesboro!