"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.
Picking the right motor oil for your Ram truck is important but with the introduction of Chrysler’s fuel saver technology with the Multiple Displacement System (MDS), choosing the proper motor oil is more important than ever. The MDS system in the 5.7L Hemi Ram requires 5W-20 motor oil for proper lubrication and function of the […] More »
The Chrysler Group has just announced that the 2014 SRT Viper will feature the unique light blue shade shown above, bringing a new color to the Viper’s option sheet unlike anything offered in the past. The only problem is that the company doesn’t have a catchy name for the new Viper blue paint option so […] More »
While there were some high performance turbocharged packages for the Dodge Shadow, converting these tiny coupes to rear wheel drive and mounting a V8 has become popular for those Mopar lovers who are looking to go very, very fast. This week’s Mopar Muscle Thursday feature takes a look at one of those rear drive converted […] More »
Changing your own spark plugs – especially in a Hemi powered Ram that has two plugs per cylinder – might seem like a highly technical job but this week’s Tech Thread Spotlight features a great DIY on how to change the spark plugs in the mighty 5.7L Hemi. Changing the spark plugs in the Hemi […] More »
The Mega Cab Ram powered by the Cummins Turbo Diesel engine is among the heaviest factory packages in the history of the Ram truck so it is traditionally not a model that many associate with being fast but this week’s Truckin’ Fast Wednesday feature looks at one of those massive Mega Cab pickups ripping through […] More »
The folks from Dodge have launched a new promotional mini site on their official blog that allows you to upload a picture of your vehicle to see if visitors of the site believe that your Dodge is “SEMA Worthy”. If you are somehow unfamiliar with SEMA, it stands for Special Equipment Market Association and the […] More »
The Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) annual Truck Rodeo awards have become some of the most coveted honors handed out by the media and at the 2013 Texas Truck Rodeo – Chrysler Group vehicles from Ram, Jeep and Dodge combined to claim 15 of the 24 available awards. Most importantly, the Chrysler Group claimed 3 […] More »