Who are you crushing on in this season’s The Amazing Race (TAR)? Our friend Kevin has a crush on sports marketer Timothy Sweeney but our eyes (and heart of course) is set on the “cute, funny and brave” oil field operator Daniel “Danny” Merkey. Why do we like him? Hmmm, we like him because he picks the birth of his daughter as the best accomplishment he is most proud of. How cool is his answer? We also like him because he appears to be the one who will enjoy the TAR experience the most and that he doesn’t seem to be the kind of guy who go to reality-TV shows to become a Hollywood star. Not that we are saying that the current TAR 23 contestants have that agenda but a lot people, particularly twenty-somethings of Danny’s age group, do.

Anyhoo, Danny is competing with his best friend Tim Wiyninger who’s also an oil field operator. We hope they go a long way in the competition. Go team, Oil Field Operators!

For those of you wondering about what an oil field operator does, Danny talks about it below in his profile-cum-interview with cbs.com:

Name: Daniel “Danny” Merkey
Age: 25
Hometown: Cordell, Okla.
Connection to your teammate: Best Friend
Current occupation: Oil Field Operator
Describe what you do: In the bulk plant my job is to blend various cements for oil rigs in the field. I also have to keep track and maintain any and all cements and additives used in the blending.
3 words to describe you: Cute, funny and brave.
Favorite hobbies: Fishing, golfing and Thunder Basketball.
What is the accomplishment you are most proud of? The birth of my daughter. A close second is taking 3rd in state in wrestling with a torn ACL.
What famous person reminds you of yourself? Mark Wahlberg – tough and gritty but also hilarious.
What famous person reminds you of your teammate? Vince Vaughan – he is a fast talking ladies’ man but has a big heart.
What scares you most about traveling? I love traveling for the most part. I’m not a big fan of the ocean. Just something about not knowing what’s out there makes me nervous.
What excites you most about traveling? Seeing new cultures, sites and learning about different ways of life.
Biggest challenge you and your teammate will face on The Race together: Tim and I are both very headstrong and sometimes argue about the simplest things to prove the other wrong. To win we will have to put that aside at times and trust each other.
Pet peeve about your teammate: His dirty car. When we go to lunch we never take his car because I can’t fit in the passenger seat with all the junk.
What country and place would you most like to visit and why? I have always wanted to see Rome with all the history and culture it has to offer.
What do you hope to accomplish by running The Race (other than winning one million bucks)? This is a once in a lifetime chance to see the world and make new friends.