"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.
A couple of weeks back we looked at a 2nd gen Dodge Ram storming through the mud with the word “Yahtzee painted across the tailgate and this week, we have another video featuring that high riding Ram in action – this time in a longer, more impressive video. This time, we get to see the […] More »
Now that the 2015 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat has been officially unveiled, we want to know whether the members of DodgeForum.com would rather pick the 707 horsepower Charger or the 707 horsepower Challenger. The two cars will likely be priced in the same general ballpark in addition to have the same drivetrains. They will also […] More »
Today I attended a small, private event at a diner along Detroit’s Woodward Avenue, where I got to meet the quickest, the fastest, and the most powerful sedan sold in the world – the 2015 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. It was all but a sure thing that the most powerful Mopar road engine would end […] More »
This week’s Truckin’ Fast Wednesday clip has a 2nd gen Dodge Ram 2500 powered by a Cummins Turbo Diesel engine racing on the quarter mile against what looks to me to be a 1970 Buick Skylark. The Skylark was Buick’s muscle car, being mechanically similar to the Pontiac LeMans and the Oldsmobile Cutlass, but this […] More »
This past weekend the Dodge Viper SRT GTS-R race teams headed to Road America for the 8th event of the season for the GTLM class and while the Vipers couldn’t pull offer as strong of a finish as they have in the past few races – the team continued their podium streak and closed the […] More »
The Dodge Stratus sedan is arguably one of the less sporty sedans offered by the Dodge brand in the past 15 years or so, but this week’s Tire Shredding Tuesday video shows that in the right conditions, the roomy midsized family sedan can do one crazy, wicked burnout. Sure, it is raining and lots of […] More »
While I don’t know that I would ever send my Dodge Ram rocketing off of a jump into a pool of deep, muddy waters – I cannot help but enjoy watching other guys taking flight with their full size Ram trucks. This week’s Muddy Monday takes a look at one of these flying Rams as […] More »