"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 made a surprising announcement earlier this week, making the 2.4L Tigershark engine that is currently only offered in the Dodge Dart GT that standard engine for the lower priced Dart SXT and Limited trimlines in addition to the performance minded GT package. The 2.0L Tigershark engine remains the standard engine for the […] More »
We have looked at all sorts of pictorial threads but today, we look at a different sort of show-off thread from the 1st generation Dodge Dakota section. Rather than a simple “check in” thread or an individual project thread, this link takes a look at our members’ rides when they got them and after some […] More »
Each year, Mopars at the Strip draw some of the baddest Mopar Muscle cars from around the United States and Canada and this week’s Mopar Muscle Thursday video is a compilation of action from the 2008 Vegas event. While this video is a few years old, it is still an awesome example of all sorts […] More »
Tearing apart the 4.7L V8 in your Dodge Dakota (and some Dodge Rams) can be a daunting task but with the proper tools and a good step by step walk through – even the most notice mechanics can take apart their engine. Fortunately, our 2nd generation Dakota subsection has a great DIY thread that will […] More »
After podium finishes at each of the last two American LeMans Series races including the first modern SRT Viper GTS-R win since returning to endurance racing, the two SRT Viper teams headed to the street course of Baltimore with the hopes of continuing the streak. Sadly, they were unable to do so in the wreck-shortened […] More »
The first Dodge Caravan rolled off of the assembly line on November 2nd 1983 as a 1984 model year vehicle and to celebrate the 30th birthday of the vehicle that literally invented the minivan segment – Chrysler will offer a special 30th Anniversary Edition Dodge Grand Caravan. The Dodge Grand Caravan 30th Anniversary Edition is […] More »
It is always fun watching a Cummins Turbo Diesel powered Ram beat up on a high performance sports car and having the Ram leave the car in a cloud of diesel soot in the process serves as an extra bonus. This week’s truckin fast Wednesday video shows a 2nd generation Cummins Ram smoking a turbocharged […] More »