"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.
Do you have a 1998-2003 Dodge Durango and you are looking to prolong the life of the vehicle while also improving the fuel economy capabilities and power output? If so, you are in luck as our first generation Durango subsection has a lengthy thread with information from our members who own these models detailing how […] More »
The Dodge brand will turn 100 years old in 2014 and to celebrate their centennial, a new limited edition package will be offered for both the Charger and Challenger. The 100th Anniversary package is available for both the SXT Plus and R/T Plus which means that they are available with either the 3.6L Pentastar V6 […] More »
Late last week we brought you the news that the new blue hue offered for the 2014 SRT Viper would be called Competition Blue after the Viper Color Contest that began in October. Competition Blue beat out Viral Blue and Overtaking Blue in the final round of the voting but with over 11,000 entries, it […] More »
This week’s Muddy Monday feature doesn’t have all that much visible mud but it has a 4th generation Ram 1500 regular cab/short bed (RCSB) tearing through deep enough water that it is worthy of being included in the muddy fun. The water is just deep enough to reach the fog lights of this white Ram […] More »
This week’s Black Friday feature looks at yet another Cummins Turbo Diesel powered Dodge Ram in action on a drive-on dynamometer and while this dyno run doesn’t occur indoors like others that we have seen – this Ram produces enough smoke to fill the entire camera shot with thick black soot. Even though the video is […] More »
This week’s Photo of the Week feature takes a look at DF Member User’s 2001 Dodge Dakota R/T Regular Cab in Bright Silver. For those of who are not familiar with User, he previously had a very sharp 2000 Dakota R/T that fell prey to fire and after losing that truck, he purchased the Bright […] More »
The Chrysler Group announced this morning that the new blue hue that will grace the color chart of the 2014 SRT Viper will be named Competition Blue – a color name proposed by Patryk Skarzynski of Chicago Illinois as part of the “SRT Viper Color Contest.” Skarzynski’s entry of Competition Blue beat out Overtaking Blue […] More »