"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.
In case you didn’t know, the Dodge Journey is sold in several European markets as the Fiat Freemont and to help boost already strong sales of the Freemont, Fiat used the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show to introduce a new high end trimline – the Black Code. While it is hard to tell from the image […] More »
Changing the transmission fluid in your Ram can be a messy job and if not correctly, it will not be as effective but taking it to a shop can cost over $100 just to have the transmission flushed. Fortunately, Ram owner and DF moderator dirtydog put together an awesome DIY thread on how to best […] More »
As much as I love the sound of a big supercharging whining under the hood of an American muscle car, there is something even more special about hearing the distinct whistle of a turbocharger setup in conjunction with the roar of a V8 – and the 1968 Dodge Dart in the video below is a […] More »
It seems that there is a cold air intake or a high flow “drop in” air filter for pretty much every vehicle sold in America and there is a seemingly endless list of options for Dodge Ram trucks – but are these products really worth the money? These filter and air intake systems promise power […] More »
While the 2.4L engine of the 2013 Dodge Dart GT was least efficient of the engine options for the first year of the new compact sedan, word on the street suggests that the Dart’s most powerful engine will get a big jump in fuel economy figures as it becomes the standard mill for the most […] More »
The official pricing for the 2014 SRT lineup has gone live on the DriveSRT website and there will be price increases across the lineup – although the new Charger Core package brings about a new lower cost option for those Mopar lovers who want to put a 470hp Dodge sedan in their garage. Also, while […] More »
This week’s Truckin’ Fast Wednesday video takes a look at an early 3rd gen Dodge Ram 1500 short cab/long bed pickup powered by the 5.7L Hemi in action on the quarter mile against what appears to be a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle. In many circumstances, we wouldn’t expect too much from the Ram in this race […] More »