"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.
The Chrysler Group recently registered the trademark for the Scat Pack name, leading some people to believe that the Dodge Scat Pack and the associated enthusiast club could be returning after a 42 year hiatus. The re-invention of the Scat Pack could lead to new enthusiast-aimed marketing campaigns, Dodge Scat Pack apparel and collectables, a […] More »
The Michigan State Police have just announced some results from their vehicle testing procedures for the 2014 model year and the new Dodge Charger Pursuit AWD has set the record as the fastest all wheel drive police cruiser to lap the Grattan Raceway road course where the tests are conducted. With a lap time of […] More »
I love the theme of the Mopar branded vehicles like the Mopar 10 Challenger, the Mopar 11 Charger, the Mopar 12 300C and the Mopar 13 Dart – and so must DF member gdstock, who restored this second generation Dodge truck to make a sort of Mopar 99 Ram 1500. This 1999 Ram 1500 looks […] More »
This week’s Black Friday segment takes a look at a great looking 2005 Ram 3500 powered by a modified 5.9L Cummins Turbo Diesel that is rolling some coal on a nice, sunny day. While the Ram HD featured this week doesn’t have the level of gratuitous smoke as some of our Black Friday clips, it […] More »
Have you noticed that the engine in your Dodge Ram pickup is idling oddly while the truck is sitting at a stop – either in gear, in neutral or in park? If you, there is a good chance that your Ram’s Idle Air Control valve (IAC) is dirty and it is unable to send the […] More »
When the Chrysler Group introduced the new 3.0L EcoDiesel from VM Motori for the Ram 1500 earlier this year, the expectation was that the EcoDiesel would be the first diesel option in the half ton American truck segment early for the 2014 model year. However, as the 2014 model year is all but officially upon […] More »
There is a long list of companies who offer suspension lift and lowering kits for the 2nd generation Dodge Ram pickups so for the first time owner, it can be tough to research all of the options and decide which is best for you and your truck. Fortunately, our 2nd generation Dodge Ram section has […] More »