"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.
I recently had a chance to attend the Chrysler “What’s New” event at the Chelsea Proving Grounds and among the dozens of cars available for the invited members of the media to drive was the 2013 SRT Viper GTS. Technically, there were two new Vipers to be driven – a GTS Blue Pearl unit that […] More »
It has been many moons since the Chrysler Group has offered an SUV as rugged as the Ramcharger and in this week’s Muddy Monday feature video – we watch what looks to be an early 80s RC digging through a sloppy flooded trail. Not only does this Ramcharger effortlessly tear through the mud and water […] More »
Team Mopar had a chance to take back to back double wins this past weekend at Summit Raceway Park in Norwalk Ohio with a pair of Dodge Chargers in the Funny Car finals and the top qualifier over in the Pro Stock class but in the end – only Johnny Gray was able to take […] More »
The Chrysler Group posted an incredible 39th consecutive year over year gain in June 2013 with an 8% improvement over June 2012 with 156,686 vehicles sold last month. None of the 5 company brands posted a decline in sales compared to the same month one year ago and the biggest contributors to the strong growth […] More »
There is just something awesome about watching a Cummins Turbo Diesel powered pickup roar down the quarter mile with diesel soot pouring from the stacks and in this video – we get to enjoy a custom built regular cab/short bed 1st generation Ram fitted with a CTD and build specifically for drag racing. The result […] More »
SRT Viper deliveries continued to ramp up through June 2013 with 97 examples of the stunning American supercar reaching happy new owners around the country. While sales numbers are still fairly low relative to the industry averages, Chrysler continues to reach “record” figures for the new Viper in each month since the first unit left […] More »
Team Mopar had a great weekend as the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series took to the track in Joliet Illinois for the Route 66 Nationals – with a Dodge racer taking the win in both the Pro Stock and Funny Car classes. Things started off strong for the Mopar drivers in the Funny Car class […] More »