"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.
We have plenty of members here on DodgeForum who have Plastidipped their wheels or other small components of their car or truck but DFer bassjake took it one step further, coating his entire Dodge Ram 1500 in black Plastidip. In addition to the wheels, the roll bar, the front push bar and the bumpers, bassjake […] More »
One of the key attractions each year at the massive Chryslers at Carlisle car show in Pennsylvania is the burnout competition and this week’s Tire Shredding Tuesday clip takes a look at a 1969 Plymouth Barracuda doing a gigantic smokey burnout at the huge Carlisle event. This Cuda roasted the tires for more than two […] More »
The ability to open your truck without having to get out with the key and open it manually can prove to be very handy if you are often carrying cargo in your truck but while some Dodge Neon sedans came with a remote power trunk button, many did not. Fortunately, installing the items needed to […] More »
Last week’s updated 5-year plan from the Chrysler Group included the news that the SRT brand will be consolidated into the Dodge brand and with that, the SRT Viper will once again become the Dodge Viper. This news included the fact that the “new” Dodge Viper will be refreshed from the SRT Viper on sale […] More »
This week’s Muddy Monday feature takes a look at a 3rd gen Dodge Dakota with a bed full of camping gear (and a kayak) working to pull a 1997-2003 Ford F150 out of the mud after flash flooding. It is clear that the Dakota at work here is nowhere near as muddy as most of […] More »
As the information in Chrysler’s 2014 5-year plan hit the web last week, the key piece of information was that the SRT brand was being consolidated into the Dodge brand – making the SRT Viper the Dodge Viper once again. Even though the high performance brand is being killed off, there will still be plenty […] More »
If you like watching heavily tuned and modified Cummins Turbo Diesel powered Ram Heavy Duty pickups, this week’s Black Friday clip is sure to please. It features a dark blue 2nd gen diesel dually Ram 3500 lining up against a 3rd gen SRW Ram 2500 also powered by a Cummins powerplant. The dually Ram in […] More »