"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.
Earlier this week, a bright red 2013 SRT Viper base model wearing manufacturer’s plates and driven by Chrysler engineer Martin Morse was the first new Mopar supercar to wreck on public roads. The accident occurred in Hartland Michigan, about a half hour or so north of downtown Detroit. Sadly, due to the severity of the […] More »
While our Black Fridays feature videos generally focus on Ram pickups powered by an inline 6 cylinder Cummins Turbo Diesel doing little more than filling the sky with thick black diesel smoke, this week we take at a diesel powered Dodge Dakota that sends more smoke off of the tires than from the exhaust. The […] More »
When I am scouring the internet in search of our weekly Truckin Fast Wednesdays feature video, I generally search for “drag race” and whatever type of Dodge or Ram truck I am have chosen for that particular week. This little gem below came up with “spectator drag finals” and while I wasn’t sure what to […] More »
The 1st generation Dodge Neon was incredibly popular for not just its low price and great (for the time) fuel economy but also because it was a sporty, fun to drive car. Even though they didn’t pack the big power of the SRT4 versions offered during the 2nd generation, the early Neons helped to pave […] More »
The Chrysler Group had another great month in March 2013 with the 36th straight month where the group has posted year over year gains but key to the success of the company last month were the Dodge Challenger and the Dodge Dart – both of which posted their best sales months ever. For the Dodge […] More »
This week’s Muddy Mondays feature looks at what appears to be a fairly stock 2005 Dodge Ram Quad Cab powered by the 5.7L Hemi V8 in what is more of a small pond than a big mud puddle. This Ram appears to be of stock ride height with some aftermarket wheels and mud tires – […] More »
This week’s special Saturday edition of Black Friday looks at a Cummins powered 2nd gen Ram on the drag strip where it is abusing a much newer Duramax Chevy. Unfortunately, there is no information offered in either the description or the comments (which, by the way, are incredibly stupid) but it is clear that these […] More »