The Dodge name might be leaving the NASCAR ranks after this
season but the Chrysler Group is alive and well in the motorsports world with
the latest news coming from the Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car B-Spec
class – where a new Fiat 500 took home the 2012 championship.
For those unfamiliar with the Pirelli World Championship or
B-Spec racing, the various leagues are comprised of race cars based on actual
production (street legal) vehicles and new for 2012 is the Touring Car B-Spec (TCB) class.This new
group joins the GT, GTS and Touring Car TC) classes with vehicles including the
Fiat 500, Ford Fiesta, Mazda 2, Chevrolet Sonic, Honda Fit, Kia Rio, and Nissan
Versa making up this new group of near-stock racers.
Modifications to the TCB class are very strictly limited to
basic safety features including a race seat and a roll cage along with
performance enhancements limited to tires/rims, shocks and springs.In short, the TCB teams can make the cars
safe to race and improve their handling but in terms of the drivetrain – these vehicles
are identical to those models available in showrooms around the country.Mind you, we are not talking about the
upcoming Fiat 500 Turbo or the high performance 500 Abarth but rather, Smart’s
Fiat race car was based on a standard production 500 with the 1.4L MultiAir
4-cylinder engine and a 5-speed manual transmission.
The #00 Fiat 500 driven by Jonathon Smart had an incredible
season as the only Fiat in the field. Smart and his black-and-red 500 was the only driver in the class to post
a top 5 finish at each and every one of the 9 races in 2012 – including two
victories at Miller Motorsports Park. Smart ended up with 946 points on the season, allowing him a landslide
win over second place Craig Capaldi who had just 651 points.
Jonathan Smart’s championship win in the Touring Car B-Spec
class against some of the top compacts available in the US is a shining example
of the compact Fiat 500’s performance capabilities compared to other cars in
the class.I’ve driven all of the current
Fiat 500 variants and they are all a great deal of fun to drive and while some
people question how much fun the 500 can be – hopefully this championship helps
show skeptics the sporty aspect of this 38mpg compact.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
